Peripheral Spaces: Camilo Mendez Monographic Album

The music of Camilo Méndez is a melting pot where a seeming gallimaufry of disparate influences coalesces into harmonious, cohesive works of monumental proportions. It draws inspiration from literature and the visual arts, from geography and philosophy, and from experiences lived on multiple continents. While Méndez’s soundworld has an unquestionable affinity with that of European composers like Helmut Lachenmann and his mentors Pierluigi Billone and Rebecca Saunders, the conceptual underpinning of his works is filled with allusions to composers, writers, and visual artists from his native Latin America, and with subtle references to his own professional pursuits and artistic collaborations in North America and Southeast Asia. Just as the works meld together myriad influences, they sonically fuse instruments in continually surprising ways, defamiliarizing them through “preparations” and unconventional playing techniques, blurring their boundaries, and combining their sounds to startling and delightful effect.