white vinyl version - Murcof’s first three albums are to be reissued on vinyl to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of his seminal debut album, Martes. Out of print for many years, these albums have been hugely influential in the minimal and ambient electronic worlds in their use of modern classical instrumentation, and are significant landmarks in the history of The Leaf Label.
Martes: Fernando Corona had a stated purpose for his debut album as Murcof: Take contemporary composition and introduce it to the world of minimalist Mexican techno. Originally released only in Mexico in late 2001, Martes didn't see broader distribution until the middle of 2002, when the Leaf label saw fit to reissue the record in North America and Europe. The album was quite a departure for Corona, already widely known in Mexico as Terrestre, whose decidedly funkier fusion of traditional norteño and electronica had already become a staple of Tijuana's Nortec Collective. Martes (Spanish for "Tuesday") is far afield of Terrestre's bootylicious grooves. In this much more intimate affair, Corona isolates the smallest elements of select classical works, such as a plucked string, one bow length across a cello, or a furious pound on a piano's keyboard, and integrates them with beats similar to those programmed by Morr Music or blip-hop artists. The result is a moody recontextualization of contemporary classical music, in which, though dismembered, the original pieces find new life and space to breathe while somehow maintaining their original mood.
Utopia:
Tijuana electronic music continues to excel over all expectations of what most listeners would pragmatically assume to be an obvious fusion scene of cliché Hispanic sounds and techno techniques. But while it's mostly Europeans who shamelessly graft every conceivable genre of regional music on to computer grooves, true Hispanic artists like Fernando Díaz Corona are pushing forward the electronic template, presumably thrilled with the separation of cultural hegemony and true experimentation. For his part as Murcof, Corona achieved his own alchemy of sorts, bringing together classical music and muted electronics in perfect harmony on his 2002 release, Martes. This tie-over release does more than pacify; it fully satisfies. Remixes from Aeroc, Icarus, and Coleen create breathless vistas while Sutekh and Fax create punchy dubs. But most impressive are the two new Murcof tracks, previously released only on 12" singles, with "Ulysses" growing into an epic of symphonic shoegazing perfection that is made all the more impressive when it's noted that Corona abandoned his string-filled sampler in favor of his own classical composition. Someone get this gent into a studio with a full orchestra and let the next recordings begin.
| A1 | Memoria |
| A2 | Marmol |
| A3 | Momento |
| B1 | MaÃz |
| B2 | MO |
| B3 | Mes |
| C1 | Mir |
| C2 | Mapa |
| C3 | Minda |
| D1 | Muim |
| D2 | MFRelay |
| D3 | Unisón |
| E1 | Ulysses |
| E2 | Una |
| F1 | Urano |
| F2 | Ultimatum |
