EDUARDO
MATEO
& JORGE TRASANTE
"Mateo y Trasante" LP
Under
the dark cloud of an early 1970's
dictatorship, most musicians fled
Uruguay. Not the nation's
best, iconoclast Eduardo Mateo.
It was during this dark period that
Mateo reached his zenith as a composer
and arranger, with a help from
famous Afro-folk percussionist Jorge
Trasante. On this album, Mateo goes
deep into sonic explorations of
percussion variations and guitar
techniques. Mateo’s voice also
underwent a mutation for the
album, which many people thought the
result of a deep mental illness;
Trasante explains that Mateo used
modulations drawn from Arabic music to
“get into different characters with
his voice.” This record is now
considered indisputable evidence of
Mateo’s genius. “If Eduardo Mateo was
a genius, and that fact no one
who has heard his music doubts, then
‘Mateo y Trasante’ is his masterpiece.
There were some who said that
Mateo and Trasante were both crazy,
that Mateo could not sing. Mateo and
Trasante resisted the vile and
ruthless criticism of those skeptics:
those who resisted the quality and
depth of this record. Mateo and
Trasante resisted, immovable, as are
those who know that history will have
its day of judgment. To
paraphrase someone who knew music and
much more, for the truth and Mateo, I
sign my name here.” —Daniel
Figares.
Our sincere thanks to Enrique Abal
Oliú for allowing us to use his
amazing photos, and to Daniel
Figares for allowing us to translate text
from his book Mateo y Trasante:
Treinta Años, 1976-2006, which is
the source for all of Jorge
Trasante’s musings on this
epochal album, which are included
in this reissue.
•First time vinyl reissue of this
tremendous 1976 guitar/percussion
album.
•From the original multi-track master
tapes
•Four panel insert has info on
the making of the album as told by
Jorge Trasante, lyrics in English and
Spanish + amazing session photos
by Enrique Abal Oliú.
Track List:
Side A:
01. Dulce brillo (4:15)
02. Canto a los soles (2:22)
03. Amigo lindo del alma (4:55)
04. Y hoy te vi (2:45)
05. Palomas (2:20)
Side B:
06. Un canto para Mamá (4:03)
07. El blues para el bien mio (3:08)
08. Canción para renacer (3:55)
09. Voz de diamantes (2:00)
10. Canción para el Tamborero (2:25)
Catalogue number: LION LP-147
UPC: 778578314712