The first thing you notice when you listen to “Conector,” the debut solo album by Aterciopelados bassist/producer Hector Buitrago, is how dreamy and utterly spaced-out the Colombian rocker’s mystically tinged new songs sound.
As it turns out, peyote had something to do with it.
“I tried to recapture something that’s been missing from contemporary rock: the essence of devotional music,” explains the soft-spoken Buitrago, 42, during a break from mixing the new Aterciopelados album in Los Angeles. “There’s a tendency these days to create a moment of fury, to impact listeners as quickly as possible. My record is like water — it’s meant to slowly penetrate your senses, to keep you company.”
About seven years ago, when Aterciopelados (which performs Friday at Green Dolphin Street) had already become one of the most successful outfits in Latin rock, Buitrago started attending peyote ceremonies in his native Bogota. These were inspired by the traditional rituals of the Lakota Indians and included drumming, guided meditation and peyote.
“The taste is strong and bitter — like ashes,” he says. “Your mouth gets dry and you salivate like crazy. Then, contained by the drumming and chanting that is happening around you, you begin to hallucinate. The ritual lasts all night, and it is only at dawn, when you’re finally left alone to reflect, that you realize how powerful the whole experience has been.”
The heart of the music
Buitrago’s spiritual excursions are at the core of “Conector,” which includes chanting in obscure languages, messages of Zen contentment and South American folk instruments such as the gaita — the melancholy-sounding flute that Colombian pop star Carlos Vives popularized through his vallenato rock. Think of “Conector” as a Colombian version of ’80s alternative-rock band Dead Can Dance.
Hints of psychedelia had already been present in Aterciopelados, the duo that Buitrago founded together with chanteuse (and former girlfriend) Andrea Echeverri. “Conector” pushes those elements to the forefront while maintaining Buitrago’s pop instincts — the same talent for concocting addictive hooks that catapulted Aterciopelados from punk-rock obscurity in the early ’90s to sold-out stadiums throughout Latin America.
“This album reflects the different kinds of music that I’ve been listening to during the last couple of years,” adds Buitrago. “I like ambient music because it’s not in your face, and I tried to incorporate those kind of sonics into the record. I have also been influenced by movie soundtracks and devotional music from India.”
The theme of music as a healing force has been a constant presence in Aterciopelados albums such as “La Pipa de la Paz” and “Gozo Poderoso.” Buitrago returns to it on “Musica Somos,” one of the strongest tracks on the new album, which includes guest vocals by Mexican pop-rocker Julieta Venegas.
“I’ve known Andrea and Hector since we toured Spain a long time ago,” Venegas writes by e-mail from the road during an ongoing tour. “I played in Bogota recently, and after the show I went to Hector’s studio, where we recorded my part. Andrea added her vocals, too, and the result is just lovely.”
In fact, Echeverri’s soaring voice graces all but one of the collection’s 11 tracks. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just classify this project under the Aterciopelados moniker?
“Andrea and I had talked about doing our own solo albums,” he says. “Then she had a baby and experienced a surge of creativity, which she expressed through her solo effort [2005’s self-titled `Andrea Echeverri’]. I had a few ideas of my own, so I started to work on an instrumental album inspired by electronica.”
Guest singers
As he delved into recording the new tracks on his home studio, Buitrago found himself pining for the warmth of a human voice. He then decided to have guest singers on the album. Venegas was one of them, as was Spanish pop star Alex Ubago, who sings lead vocals on the wistful “Altisimo.” And Buitrago could not help but invite Echeverri.
“When I was looking for vocalists, Andrea always happened to be close by,” he says with a laugh. “She had offered to help from the beginning and was very supportive of the project.”
It has been a busy year for Buitrago. Aterciopelados (which includes Echeverri) has just engineered a huge comeback with the excellent “Oye,” its first studio album in five years. And Buitrago is quick to point out the elements that separate “Conector” from the Aterciopelados canon.
“Her voice gives an Aterciopelados kind of touch to these songs,” he explains. “But I didn’t write them with her in mind. In the end, the guitar lines on the original instrumentals ended up as voices. Creatively, this different approach to composing opened lots of new doors for me.”
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ctc-arts@tribune.com
Aterciopelados performs 11 p.m. Friday at Green Dolphin Street, 2200 N. Ashland Ave. Tickets, $35; uvmevents.com or 773-395-0066.
