Natura Sonora

Though British, Robin Perkins emerged out of the Latin American downtempo scene of the early 2010s under the alias of El Búho. From the off his style was clear, this was electronic music not only informed by the sounds and splendour of the natural world, but also in communion with it, and striving to conserve it, an aim which is clearest in the Guide to Birdsong compilations that he has been stewarding. When the pandemic hit, his solution to being holed up was to get creative with the idea of distant flora and fauna, each track on Natura Sonora a soundscape representing a different natural wonder from around the world. At times it touches on ambient, as on the gloriously-unassuming opener ‘Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta’, alive to the sounds of the forest thanks to field recordings; on ‘Manu’ there is a strong element of Andean folk music in the wind instruments and gentle, repetitive vocals; while final track, ‘Great Bear Rainforest’ is close to a Craig Armstrong soundtrack piece thanks to its grandiose string arrangement. Many producers are getting to the point of making electronic music that somehow doesn’t feel ‘electronic’, computer music with personality, and El Búho is top of the class.