Daniel Haaksman - Sonido Lava (2023)

Berlin-based Tropical Bass pioneer Daniel Haaksman is back with his new album "Sonido Lava", Spanish for "Lava Sound". This is embodied by the ten tracks of the longplayer and a bubbling, burning-hot mixture of Pan-Latin sounds ranging from Caribbean dembow rhythms to Brazilian guitarada surf sounds, rasteirinha beats from Rio de Janeiro to transglobal rumbas and salsa rave bombs. The album sounds like a blazing lava lake of diverse musical styles from the South and Central American continent, interpreted by Daniel Haaksman.

With his fourth album release (after "Rambazamba" in 2010, "African Fabrics" in 2016 and "With Love From Berlin" in 2019), Daniel Haaksman reflects on "Sonido Lava" in terms of content and visuals the turbulent times we are currently living in. Because as an artist today, you can't just pretend that the world isn't changing drastically. The artwork of the album (and its previous singles) depicts a volcano in various states. Both volcanoes and lava are often used in the arts as symbols of times of crisis, representing the destructive power of natural disasters and the unpredictability of the Earth's geological activity. The explosive eruption of a volcano and the slow, unstoppable flow of lava both symbolize the overwhelming power of nature, capable of wiping out entire communities and changing the landscape forever. At the same time, the creation of new land and the renewal of the earth through volcanic activity also symbolize the potential for rebirth and growth that often follows a crisis. Volcanoes also connect the world through their impact on the environment, economy, geology, culture, and society, reminding us that our planet and all its inhabitants are interconnected. An awareness that is also echoed in the globally oriented music of Daniel Haaksman.

"Sonido Lava" is led by the vocal contributions of Chilean artist MALAGÜERA, who sings on tracks like "La Mujer Dormida," "Bruja," "Takekema" and "Momomotombo." Other guest contributions come from Çantamarta from Andalusia in the song "Supervivencia". Daniel had already collaborated with Çantamarta in 2020 as part of the highly successful single "Lluvia" (streamed +1 million times on Spotify). Other guest artists include Colombia's Los Bulldozer, masters of Zoukous-inspired guitars, with whom Daniel has already collaborated on his album "African Fabrics" on songs like "Sabado" and "Akabongi." And then there's Brazilian guitarist Felipe Cordeiro from Belém, known for his Brazilian interpretation of surf sounds and musical styles from the Amazon forest.

The album begins with "Vidrio," Spanish for "glass." The opening track acts like a lens, providing a glimpse into the album's multi-layered universe of sound. The sounds of bottle necks used as flutes are reminiscent of Hermeto Pascoal's song "Musica Lagoa," but played with a Diwali riddim feel in Daniel Haaksman's interpretation. Live instruments that seamlessly transition into electronic rhythms and heavy bass are a hallmark of the entire album. In addition to the sounds, however, Sonido Lava's primary focus is on the lyrics. In the lyrics of her four vocal contributions on "Sonido Lava," MALAGÜERA sings about women in a state of transformation, with lava and volcanoes as recurring symbols of her metamorphosis, representing the process of change and growth as well as the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth.
"La Mujer Dormida" ("the sleeping woman"), is inspired by the Mexican volcano Iztaccíhuatl, located between the states of Mexico and Puebla. This volcano also received the name "The Sleeping Woman" because its shape resembles that of a woman lying on her back. The lyrics of the song "La Mujer Dormida" are based on the poem "Volcán Osorno" by the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, in which she admires the Osorno volcano. In the lyrics of the song, MALAGÜERA speaks as if she were in love with the flaming mountain, admiring and adoring it, intoxicated by its beauty, its landscape and its immense power. The lyrics of "Bruja" ("Witch") are about a witch who purifies her soul through dance and fire and are accompanied by Los Bulldozer from Colombia on guitar. The often negatively connoted term "witch" is reinterpreted in "Bruja" in a positive, emancipatory way. "Surto De Amor" with Felipe Cordeiro is the soundtrack to a love eruption (Portuguese for "eruption of love") and marked by the characteristic surf guitar sound of the northeast Brazilian musician who has become one of Brazil's most sought-after "guitarrada" players, combining northeastern sounds of the Amazon with those of the Caribbean. "Takekema" is Spanish for "It's About To Burn" and the song is about the fiery atmosphere you feel when you are in a club, everyone is dancing, it's very hot and you feel like something is about to explode, you could also compare it to the eruption of a volcano. MALAGÜERA's lyrics in "Taekekema" are about the same woman we met before, but she is now fully capable, enjoying herself and accepting who she is without any limitations.

"Magma" is the highlight of the album - the name of the track says it all. It's the most eruptive and powerful track with a surprising breakdown in the middle of the track that transitions into a bossa nova rhythm and is soon fueled again by a rolling, club-friendly UK funky beat. When the marathon of passion of "Magma" is over, it's time to cool down, and that's when "Supervivencia" ft. Çantamarta from Andalusia. Another song about passion and love, but this time more melancholic and profound, with lyrics about surviving or starting over a failed love in the hardest of times. "Supervivencia" is followed by "Bronces" with bold brass cascades, and a reggae skank that meets Brazilian rasteirinha. The volcanic is reignited with "Danza De Fuego" ("The Fire Dance"), an accordion-driven piece that revisits the Diwali riddim from the opener, but this time with rolling 808 snares and a neighing cuica break inspired by Gal Costa's "Relanc." Finally, there's "Momotombo" ft. MALAGÜERA, the name of a volcano in Nicaragua. The song feels more like a ritual, driven by the drums, and it's about the gigantic force of nature that this volcano embodies, how it sounds when it's about to erupt, how the ground shakes and how majestic it is. It is the last chapter of the story of "Sonido Lava", which shows humility before the beauty and power of nature.