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Pablo Naranjo’s ‘Ecos del Frío’ is an expansive and meditative journey

Colombian-Australian composer Pablo Naranjo has just launched his new LP, Ecos del Frío. Contemplative and spacious, it feels like a sonic embrace.

Across his three solo albums, Pablo Naranjo’s work has deeply explored meditative sensations. With the guitar as the central tonal character, he builds soundscapes that evolve and take listeners along for the ride. In his brand new album, Ecos del Frío, he’s continued on that journey.

With nine tracks spread over half an hour, Naranjo spins a narrative that you can become truly immersed in. And with sounds as evocatively crafted as they are in this collection, you’ll eagerly surrender to it.

Pablo Naranjo

That’s not to say that the album isn’t exhilarating. Kicking off with Mount Ulysses’ Secret, a mysterious soundscape emerges from the silence before introducing Naranjo’s signature guitar style.

The opener and second track, Nightmare Shadow, are emblematic of Pablo Naranjo’s music: the juxtaposition of intricate rhythms and slow-moving melodies. This device allows ample time and space for contemplating the lyrical messages of the songs, while the underlying pulse propels you forward with its unrelenting momentum.

Things do slow down, however, in Dissolve — a sombre folk-rock track that looks inward while retaining the album’s feeling of grandeur and expansiveness. In Luna Gris, the songwriter turns to his mother tongue of Spanish for a more intimate incantation. This track — together with Ecos del Bosque and Drifter’s Vision — forms the reflective core of the album: a place where you can get lost in your own thoughts as the music transports you.

The appropriately titled Plains of Aurora has swathes of guitar phrases that melt in long, celestial ambiences while Life Above is a more definitive guitar statement, with blues-folk influenced harmonic material coming to the fore. Mundo Ancestral is the haunting goodbye to Ecos del Frío. It has the most richly layered vocal mix of the record and possesses a uniquely ethereal quality and a fitting farewell.

Ecos del Frío is out now. Dive into this atmospheric new album below: