Los Thuthanaka Wak’a review | The Verge
Los Thuthanaka came out of nowhere last year to capture The fork album of the year with their self-titled debut album. Because it was not available for streaming, it went largely unnoticed. Honestly, I kind of forgot about it until Fork gave him the top spot on his end-of-year list. In retrospect, I don’t really know how. Thuthanaka it’s unlike anything else. It’s happy, jagged and sounds like it’s coming out of a broken Bluetooth speaker in your neighbor’s backyard – it’s glorious.
The follow-up EP Wak’a decreases the tempo and softens some of the sharper edges. It uses the same sonic palette of blown speakers and sampled traditional Bolivian instruments, equal parts pluderphonic and psychedelic rock. But Wak’a is just as indebted to shoegaze. Its chord progressions and melodies are more nostalgic, the guitars drenched in fuzz and reverb. There are horns and keys that shine through the mix like half-forgotten memories of other songs.
Siblings Chuquimamani-Condori and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton deliver an aural rendition of the Aymara creation legend of the first sunrise over the course of three songs lasting just 18 and a half minutes. If you purchase Wak’a on Bandcamp, the download includes a PDF created in collaboration with Ch’ama Native Americas that tells the story in the Aymara language.
Fittingly, the EP feels like a world emerging from darkness. Opening track “Quta (capo-kullawada)” begins with a low synthesizer hum and chirping crickets before an Eno-esque guitar melody and distorted drum line kick in. “Wara Wara (capo-kullawada)” is beautiful, but also terrifying. The wall of sound is oppressive and startling, in the same way one might expect the first searing rays of the sun to be to people who had previously existed in perpetual night. It ultimately reaches the kind of cathartic climax that many musicians have spent their entire careers chasing, as horns, keyboards, growling vocals and asymmetrical guitars all collide in chaotic hell.
In comparison, “Ay Kawkinpachasa?” (capo-kullawada)” is a calming descent, despite its undeniably dense arrangement where individual instruments are increasingly difficult to distinguish. There’s what sounds like accordion, violin, and keys all fighting for the same sonic domain, and the choppy guitars eventually take over just in time for the end of the EP.
For those who found the band’s self-titled record a little too abrasive, this EP offers a more accessible introduction to their unique sound. Los Thuthunaka Wak’a is available now on Bandcamp.
