TRANQUIL Tuesdays: Music from Columbia | Montañera – “A Flor de Piel”
Ahead of the release of her new album A Flor de Piel this Friday via Western Vinyl, Montañera has shared the album’s title track and confirmed more live dates. It was mixed by Joseph Shabason and mastered in Germany by Stephan Mathieu.
‘A Flor de Piel’ is a meditative journey of self-discovery across oceans, time, and the traditional confines of genre. Check it out below:
Originally from Bogota, Colombia, María Mónica Gutiérrez (aka Montañera) began the album as a way to explore her identity after a difficult move to London for school left her feeling untethered and alone in a strange new place. The daunting 5,000 mile journey over a seemingly endless ocean, sparked the beginning of a metamorphosis, imparting her with a new understanding of herself as an artist, and as a human being. Throughout the album Gutiérrez examines the immigrant’s experience through a rich sonic lens inspired by sources as disparate as traditional Colombian and Senegalese music, contemporary ambient and experimental production, and whalesong from the depths of the Atlantic.
Today, she shares the heady, brooding title track and accompanying visualiser, commenting: “Inspired by Japanese traditional sounds (like the koto) and deep bass lines, it’s a song that talks about how to make my heart a little lighter; I know that inside of me I can be light as the mist in the heat, I can be as fragile as the song of a sparrow, however, I still need to get born into this…”
Using skilfully restrained synths and electronic textures, ‘A Flor de Piel’ triumphs by re-contextualising traditional sounds and sentiments into something fresh, urgent, and pulsing with life. It’s a fitting representation of Montañera’s personal struggles, while also echoing universal truths, as she summons the strength of past generations, to emerge as a phoenix full of hope and potential. As she describes it, “The album has accompanied me through inner journeys of finding myself in a new territory — of redefining myself, of remembering who I am — in a strange place.” As we drift towards an uncertain future, perhaps Montañera’s ‘A Flor de Piel’ is exactly what we need: a deep well of strength, to bring us peace, and to accompany our own journey into the unknown.
María Mónica Gutiérrez known in her solo project as Montañera or Mountainess has established herself as one of the most intense and unique voices in Colombia. With the experience of 8 albums in tow, this London-based singer and songwriter has traveled a twelve-years trajectory with her bands Suricato (New Colombian Music) and Ságan (Cosmo-natural Pop) that has taken her to Europe, the United States and Latin America, invited to perform on stages as important as the Smithsonian Museum and Kennedy Center in Washington DC, a live act at KEXP in Seattle, SXSW in Austin, Lollapalooza and Festival Estéreo Picnic in Colombia, MaMA Festival in Paris among others.
‘A Flor de Piel’ will be released on November 17th via Western Vinyl. Pre-order here.
Montañera EU Live Dates:
Nov 24th – London – Kingsgate Project Space
Nov 30th – London – Southbank Centre Foyer
Dec 2nd – Lille, FR – Cinema L’Universe
