Didac P. Lagarriga, the man behind Un Caddie Renvers? dans l?Herbe is getting better from release to release. I wish this 3? CD was more than 22 minutes long. On last year?s already excellent full length CD ?Like a Packed Cupboard, but Quite?? Lagarriga examined the meditative effects of repetiton. On this follow-up EP a lot more is happening.

Lagarriga combines ancient African percussive instruments like the Mbira or the Kalimba with guitars, flutes, harmonium, subtle digital effects and field recordings. The EP starts with a soft melodica background, a beat that sounds like footsteps and a repetitive Kalimba melody on top of it. The melodica takes over until a flute part breaks in that sounds like a boling tea pot. Track 2, entitled ?Time?, is held together by rain. The middle of the tune is dominated by what sounds like banjo (the banjo is not listed on the CD as an instrument that Lagarriga used, so I don?t know what it actually is) and a humming voice. Also ?Miss? uses a rain field recording. It?s the most percussive track on the EP and the Kalimba and Mbira sound like raindrops falling down themselves.

Despite being the shortest tune (one and a half minutes), ?Liar? is my absolute favourite on ?Atlas SaltA?. Didac P. Lagarriga originally comes from Sao Paulo (he lives in Barcelona) and the guitar on ?Liar? does bear resemblance to 60s Bossa Nova music. It?s arranged in a way though that reminded me of the ?Psycho? movie theme. ?Liar? is exemplary for all of Lagarriga?s art. Even though he?s mostly a solo performer, having guests only on two songs, his music sounds like animals communicating through the forest. Similarly, Lagarriga does not only express himself through this CD, he communicates with himself. The result is very three-dimensional. I wonder what?s next. 8/10 -- Stephan Bauer (31 October, 2005)