What does Biomigrant sound like?

Organic electronic music that integrates field recordings of the natural world.

The review of ‘Cetáceo’ by Biomigrant

With just their name alone, Biomigrant conjures up all kinds of exotic and extravagant cultural, glocal, and global thoughts. A world of life, forever in movement. What a great canvas to draw on. With their latest release, ‘Cetáceo’ transforms field recordings from Colombia’s Chocó region into downtempo, Afro-Latin folktronica. The Chocó region is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. Humpback whales visit the area as part of their migration route. Weaving together recordings of the humpback whales with other amphibians, insects, and environmental noise, with drums, synths, flute, trumpet, and ocarina, Biomigrant creates a vivid and vibrant world.

‘En Lo Profundo del Mar’ opens the album with trickling water that soon sweeps the listener away into the rhythms of the ocean. As water trickles turns into rhythmic waves and vast gusts of wind, calming flute, airy synths, and majestic percussion seep into the mix. Michael Alfred Wagner, the man behind Biomigrant, takes on almost every sound for the release. Gregorio Quirós guests on this track with some sumptuous marimba, but the main structural performer alongside Michael is Yekilemus. Yekilemus (Pedro Luis Lemus Borja) takes on percussion for four of the five tracks on the EP, and the varied drums and rhythmic patterns add an Afro-Latin flair to each song. Sometimes, as in this track, the vibe is more Nu-Cumbia. Elsewhere, there’s more of an Afro nuance. The end result is an opening track that feels strident, panoramic, and teeming with life. Much like the water and oxygen we need, the music here is like an elemental, peppermint-laced breath of fresh air.

‘Yubarta’ follows on, and the downtempo rhythms pave the way for a beautiful track of trumpets and humpback whale samples. The samples, captured by Carolina Ortiz, mesh together blow spouts and whalesong with confident trumpet riffs from Biomutant. As the rhythm and trumpet are low and slow, once again, a track that could veer towards cheap and cheesy becomes majestic and strangely humbling. The dancefloor awaits us with ‘Sapo Callejero’. Here, toad ribbits, calls, and purrs are arranged to create their own melodic loop, whilst crisp electronic beats punch an uptempo flow into the water. When the synths aren’t warbling, the ocarina takes the lead. The ocarina, much like the trumpets before, largely stays low and smooth, although towards the end of the track, Biomutant adds a sizzle effect to it as if it’s plugged into a quiet guitar amp. It’s a banger that is perfect for the heat of the night. Who knew toads would make such great dance music?

Keeping things uptempo is ‘Noche Por la Orilla’. Weaving in waves lapping against the nighttime shore, this track is the most electronica piece on the album. With some simple lyrics, the electronic beats flip from thin kick drums and clicky wooden knocks to militant drum rustles. Crickets chirp, delicate bell synths glisten like stars, and occasional nods towards pared-back rave synth-pads float around in the background. The EP moves us from day to night, but the world is still teeming with life, and that’s what the final track reminds us. ‘Cantos Cetáceos, Oídos Humanos’ translates to ‘Whale Songs, Human Ears’. It’s an extensive collage of different whale songs and samples arranged around a whooshing sound of wind. It’s a chorus of life that evokes all kinds of emotion, just like whale song often does. There’s a majesty to whale song, an awe, and sometimes I hear a profound sorrow and comfort in their bassy bellows. Hearing this all rolled into a montage is beautiful.

Biomigrant’s ‘Cetáceo’ is delightful. Each song brings something different, and until the closing whale song track, each song builds momentum, too. Listen to it as a love letter and party ode to the Oceans full of wonder around us. From a technical standpoint, I marvel at Biomigrant’s ability to layer field recordings alongside organic instrumentation without either side overpowering the other. Recordings of water and wind are notorious for hiss and whistle, and yet these recordings are expertly layered and connected together. This is top-tier organic electronic music. Don’t skip it.

As a side note, ‘Cetáceo’ came about because Biomigrant was involved in the production of a documentary called Arrullo Azul. It aimed to pair traditional cantaoras (folk singing by elders) and humpback whales. That sounds like an audio-visual explosion for the senses, so I’ll be trying to find a copy of that to experience and write about too!

Recommended track: Yubarta

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