Photo by Marcelo Setton
Matias Aguayo is a Chilean-born, Germany-raised electronic producer, but for his new album, he ditched the computer for more of a band sound. It’s no less expansive; in fact, Sofarnopolis is an incredibly ambitious undertaking. Sofarnopolis is an imaginary city, and the record was conceived as a soundtrack to this placeless place, with the Desdemonas being just one of many bands that inhabit the city. Aguayo’s own drawings flesh out the album’s characters and come to life in music videos.
There’s a cold, punk-inflected sound that hovers over the whole album, reconnecting to Aguayo’s first listening experiences as a teenager on the outskirts of Cologne. The throb of “Cold Fever” also touches on Germany’s punk/dance history when bands like Can and Kraftwerk blurred the scenes. Those groups created worlds of sound, and with Sofarnopolis, Aguayo is taking that world-building to another level.
“Cold Fever” appears on Sofarnoplis, out October 13 via Crammed Discs.
–Art Levy // host, Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., producer, My KUTX
