By José Gandue @Gandour
Every time the multi-instrumentalist Gastón Salazar, better known in the music industry as Gas Lab, When he releases a new album, there's an implicit invitation to write a review with poetic texts that attempt, in some way, to capture the inspiration behind his work. Perhaps Salazar is one of the independent artists I admire most, not only for the quality of his work, but also for the way he has managed to create his own world, away from the pressures of the cultural market, from his home studio in Belén de Escobar, a small town in Buenos Aires province, without needing to surround itself with the glamour and heavy burden of the Federal Capital, but, at the same time, without losing a real connection with the specialized market of contemporary international sound.
His new album, Jazz Cats, published two years laterThe Blue Room, one of his most talked-about productions worldwide, is a work preceded by the good results on digital platforms of the first promotional singles, Drift, Ancestors y Lush, which totaled more than two million views. His work, as we have observed since his previous productions, It is the fine combination of classic jazz from the 50s and 60s, with aromas and textures of contemporary hip hop. The image evoked by listening to his recordings may seem rather pastel-colored, but it's as if, in front of Salazar's rural home at night, while on the roof, mixed-breed cats settled in to listen to the spirits of Miles Davis and the unfortunately young, deceased J Dilla, playing at surprising each other, creating magical moments that deserve to be heard, creating peace in the memories of every inhabitant of this planet.
Jazz Cats It barely lasts half an hour, with its twelve tracks of almost exclusively instrumental recording, but even so, It quickly becomes an indispensable album, especially if we want to soothe our hearts in hostile territories and escape the violent obviousness that surrounds us. But don't be mistaken, this isn't a saccharine therapy or self-help album trying to resurrect nonexistent gods. Quite the opposite. It's about knowing that we don't have to invent stories of nonexistent magic. to understand the beauty that surrounds us and that we can constantly hear.
