Words by Justin Turford

We’ve been waiting impatiently for this one. A folk trio made up of songwriter Maria Fernanda Ruette on lead vocals and cuatro, Raúl Monsalve (from fellow Olindo signing Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos) on bass, percussion and vocals and Edgar Bonilla Jiménez on keyboards and vocals, Insólito UniVerso are not your ordinary folk trio. This is Venezuelan psychedelia of the highest calibre played by musicians at the top of their game. Paris-based, the Venezuelan expats interpret the varied sounds of their home country but add so much more. The ever-cool ambience of 60s French cinema, a nod to prog-jazz here, folkloric whimsy there, they sound like no-one else.

Rhythmically complex (Raúl is a remarkable percussionist) and with melodies filled with wit, surprise and power, the songs on the band’s second album are nearly all original and yet perceptibly recognizable, the history of Venezuela seeping into Maria’s exceptional songwriting. The opener, ‘Ese Puerto Existe’ (tr: That Harbour Exists), is a prime example of a song that hits me like a childhood memory even though it isn’t mine to recall. Perhaps it has a melodic strain from elsewhere in the chorus I recognise but whatever the reason, I am instantly charmed. Fantastically trippy clavinet and wonky organ playing by Edgar (the album is co-mixed by Malcom Catto and Meridian Brothers’ Eblis Alvarez, who knows a thing or three about wonky music), shakers and hand drums propel Maria’s clear and precise voice, exuding romance and inquisitiveness. Apparently the rhythm is a “gaita de tambora, originating to the south of Lake Maracaibo, the song a cosmic invitation to feel the immensity of a grain of sand, and at the same time recognise one’s own inner center or port”. Beautiful. ‘Pajarillo Con Chipola’ (‘Little Bird with Chipola’) is a Venezuelan folkloric tune interpreted and rearranged into a lively, brilliantly performed psyche-folk workout, everything played at warp speed, Maria holding court with a voice full of authority and rapid cuatro strumming as Edgar’s keys wild out into freakzone territory. Check this version by Grupo Raíces de Venezuela to hear where the band have taken the original!

The devotional ‘Tiento de Batalla’ enters with a chant and drums before sweeping down into a stripped vocal and guitar before returning to the atmospheric refrain. Possibly the most extraordinary of the album’s songs appears next and was written by Edgar. Featuring additional vocals by Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier, ‘El Chivo’ is a psychedelic masterpiece, eight and a half minutes of perfectly paced groove about a goat! The rhythm is a merengue caraqueño, the bass and percussion growing slowly but surely, space travel synths fizz by, a trance created long before the multilayered wordless voices begin their endless chorus, joined eventually by the bleating of the acclaimed goat as the echo boxes go haywire. A stunningly funky hypnosis seems to occur every time I listen to it.

‘Goyo Tuyero’ is a different beast entirely. Written by José Gregorio López, this keyboard piece sounds like Mozart on ayahuasca, Edgar’s fingers on this are quite something. ‘Ventana Honda’ is a party track with a pining soul. Based on a “gaita de furro from Maracaibo, a style often heard booming from sound systems during the festive period”, a strange accordion sounding keyboard, killer drums and bass push the tune on while Maria brings out the big choruses to play. Ace.

It’s worth mentioning that Maria’s words are pure poetry For the non-Spanish speakers (yo hablo un poquito!), it’s a shame but doesn’t detract from her intent. A little example here from ‘Fulia del Cacaotal’, a bewitching fulia drum and vocal lament about the cocoa plantations on Venezuela’s coast.

The ant rises its antenna
Smelling the cocoa plantation.
This little golden chain
Is completed as you listen.
Oloilelo leilelo la…
How does it sound up the hill?
How does the mangrove vibrate?
Come into the shade
‘Cause this is just about to begin.

The album closes with ‘Tonada del Bip Bip’, a drum-less ode that has the desert in its veins. Guitar, flutes and horn follow Maria’s pleading voice, a cancion of commanding heartbreak. Wow.

Wow indeed, Insólito UniVerso fully deserve our first 10 of the year, 'Ese Puerto Existe' is a fantastic release. Once again, Olindo Records bring us the best in Venezuelan music. 10/10

BUY HERE! https://olindorecords.bandcamp.com/album/ese-puerto-existe