Niagara - Catedral Gótica (2026)

One sometimes thinks of Niagara as this entity that's always been
there. Their released output is considerable but the recorded and
unreleased output amounts to a vast, sprawling body of work
inscribed with the same personality and pretty much the same
consequence. So a new album by Niagara. Is it new? Or is it
timeless?
Dozens of tracks dating from 7-8 years ago appeared on our inbox
with the generic title "Catedral Gótica". At first it sounds as a
continuation of their celebrated "De Motu" set, declared by the
opening overlapping piano loops and dry techno beat. On to a
neurotic, tense, circular, compact, minimal "maximal" techno
expression, looping your thoughts until strings resolve the matter.
Proceeding, we get the feeling of a careful distillation of much
electronic music from the past, escaped from uncertain origins and
given new identities. A rough, scratched pattern forms a dub
soundscape; suspended, beatless grooves with all the motion implicit
in dance music; stories to tell (to hear) on the edge of the dancefloor;
ambient motion ending in a superimposition of effects that just leave
you there, hanging. And that's the end. An album of feelings,
textures.
For those who know a bit of Lisbon's downtown area, the titles "Rua
do Século" and "Novo Século" may bring visions of an historical
and artistic heritage, but then "Springfield, Ma." and "Estação e
Torres" broaden the geographic scope. Snippets of life that somehow
find their way into the soundscape but the music defines its own
geography, really.