By José Gandue @Gandour
Simplicity has its elegance. Simplicity has its risks. Ultimately, that's the lesson you learn from watching the documentary about the album recording process. Ice life preserver, from the Uruguayan Jorge Drexler.
Adopting simplicity as an ideology for creating an artistic work, when all the necessary elements for complexity are readily available, is not easy. We've always heard that phrase. «"Less is more"» And, to be honest, it sounds good, but it's rarely achieved. Drexler, using vocals, guitars, and percussive techniques with the same stringed instruments used during the recording, It contradicts the need to fill all sound frequencies and yet achieves an intimate, exciting, and mature work. This hasn't been an exercise for teenagers, as it's more about cleaning than filling spaces., playing with the depth of lightness and to say what needs to be said directly and without embellishment. For 23 minutes, and after a little over a year of recording the songs in the studio, we see Drexler and his collaborators on screen during the recording process, a process that constantly emphasized heart over strategy, where courage was a vital part of ensuring a successful outcome. We see people pass before the camera... Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte, Julieta Venegas, El David Aguilar and other artists who are clearly moved to have been invited to participate in this endeavor, and to record in a way that is no longer usual in the industry: Upfront, exposing themselves with the sobriety of the circumstances and defending himself with what his talent and sensitivity provide.
The documentary never claims to be an untouchable masterpiece of cinematic art, but it is a good summary of what happened during the recording of an album that has achieved great success in the Latin American market. This is appreciated, and that is the main praise we can give it, because it is an honest portrayal of how one can approach the creation of a captivating and serene work without dying in the attempt.