Oro is a celebration of the transformative journeys of musical instruments through many different contexts and genres. The second instalment in our location-based Portals series, Oro is the result of a creative exploration of the place that half of the MNTRA Team calls home, Bogotá, Colombia. The legend of El Dorado has been told about the territory of Abya Yala (the indigenous Kuna language name for present day Colombia and Panama) for a long time, but this coveted kingdom of precious metals was much more than anyone could have imagined. This instrument is a reinterpretation of the meaning of precious metals in Colombia.

Many metal instruments arrived in Colombia through the Caribbean, were transformed, and became ubiquitous to many genres across the country. Now, as traditional rhythms are reinterpreted today in modern pop and dance music, instruments from neighbouring countries and musical traditions have also assumed the roles of more traditional Colombian instruments. Within Oro we present a deep collection of metal percussion, modern valved brass instruments, and an architecturally acclaimed pipe organ, alongside analog and digitally processed versions of those source samples, and immersive nature ambiences. With this inspiring set of metal instruments and the transformative power of our acoustic synthesis engine, MNDALA 2, we offer you the next generation of tools for the transmutation of these musical traditions.

Stemming from the military band tradition, brass instruments now play a pivotal role in styles such as Chirimía from the Northern Pacific Region, Porro and Fandango in the Magdalena river basin, and in Salsa, a genre that found a cradle in the western branch of the Andes. This intersects with the history of church organs in the continent, whose repertoire was first played by brass ensembles before the organs were locally available. The collected sounds within Oro have been expertly played by local artists who perform music styles from around the country. Each musician brought their unique perspectives, incorporating favourite techniques, arrangements, rhythms, and sounds, to create the unique fusion of Oro.

We introduce to you Oro, our token to a land where the music is as diverse as the natural landscape (or perhaps thanks to it!) We lovingly crafted it as a revisionist take on the legend of the golden kingdom, not a mythical land of riches to be exploited, but a dynamic, ever changing, and generous hub of creativity and diversity. Oro is our invitation to keep creating and transforming music and tradition, rooted in the respect we extend to those who invest time in learning and sharing. The animated Perform View artwork, reflecting this, stems from the true appearance of what precious means in this land: woven textiles, bright colours, water, and syncretism.

Brass

• Trumpet (Long, Short, Fall, Glissando Down, Glissando Up, Vibrato, Frulatto, Shake)
  Brass trumpet in Bb. The trumpet is fundamental to the development and establishment of Salsa as a shared Caribbean expression. In Cali, Colombia, the development of a singular musical and dance culture around it is at the core of the city’s identity.
  Played by: Andrés Castrillón ‘Tumaco’
• Trombone (Medium, Short, Pullm Fall, Glissando Up, ‘Goat’, Bend Up, Grupetto, Frulatto, Fast Scoop)
  Tenor trombone made with a copper alloy. The trombone is part of the regular salsa ensemble, next to the trumpet and saxophone. Willie Colón, one of the most relevant figures in this genre, was a trombonist himself. The possibilities of expressivity and glissandos in the trombone have become characteristic in its melodies and riffs.
  Played by: Luis Miguel Montiel
• Sousaphone (Medium, Short, Staccato, Frulatto, Percussive Shot, ‘Thump’, ‘Scream’, Multiphonic, Flutter)
  Brass Sousaphone. Sousaphones were created at the end of the 19th century modifying a tuba to be more portable and project towards the front. Sousaphones are part of larger marching bands or brass ensembles and play the lowest register. In Colombia, they have a special participation in bands playing Porro and Fandango.
  Played by: Daniel Rincón Ucrós
• Bombardino (Long, Short, Staccato, Frulatto, Glissando Up and Down, Appogiatura Up, Multiphonic)
  Bombardino is another name for the Euphonium, a lower brass instrument smaller than a tuba that is especially popular in Jazz and marching bands and brass ensembles. It was brought to Colombia through the Caribbean and adopted quickly in military bands, especially around the Sinú river and becoming essential to many ensembles playing Porro.
  Played by: Andrés Jiménez ‘Onofre’

Organ

• Pipe Organ (Bombarda Pedal Long, Bombarda Pedal Short, Trumpet and Viola, Granlleno Long, Granlleno Short, Tutti Long, Tutti Short, Principal Nazardo Long, Muted Flute Long, Muted Flute Short, Keyboard II Long, Keyboard II Short)
  Organ from the Sala de Conciertos Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango in downtown Bogotá, Colombia. The organ is the centerpiece of this oval-shaped concert hall with 33 stops in three different keyboards and a pedal set. The pipes were built with Colombian timber, tin and lead.
  Played by: Keyner Ramírez

Percussion

• Surdo (Woodstick Hit, Flam, Rubber Hit, Woodstock Hit Mute)
  Large-sized drum  with aluminum, body and plastic heads, hit with a rubber-covered stick to produce a flam, they are worn hanging from the back or waist. Originally from the Rio de Janeiro area in Brazil, they have also popularized amongst musicians adopting them for other rhythms around the world.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote
• Repique (Hit, Bounce, Flam)
  Medium-sized drum  with a body made with aluminum or other metal, and plastic heads, hit with a wooden stick. Tuned high to play fast and lead rhythms. Originally from the Rio de Janeiro area in Brazil, they have also popularized amongst musicians adopting them for other rhythms around the world.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote
• Güira (Hit, Drag)
  Steel cylinder with perforations, played with a metal brush with hard bristles that produce a loud sound full of harmonics. Known from coming from the Dominican Republic, this instrument plays essential roles in genres like Merengue and Bachata that are especially important in the Caribbean, and has been adopted in other genres like Vallenato from Colombia.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote
• Cowbell (Hit Low, Hit High)
  Black Brass cowbell hit with a wooden stick. Known sometimes as Cencerro in Latin America, this instrument occupies an important role in Salsa and other genres. Colombian salsa is known for having a particularly strong presence of it.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote
• Hihat (Closed, Mid Open, Pedal Open)
  15-inch hihat played, with bottom and top cymbals closed, and played with a wooden stick.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote
• Ride Cymbal (Hit Sustain, Hit Bell)
  Large, dark cymbal hit with a wooden stick.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote
• Crash Cymbal (Mute, Open)
  20-inch crash played with a wooden stick.
  Played by: Felipe Moscote

Creatively Processed

• 5th Pad
  Ambient harmonized pad created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Blown Sub
  Thunderous synth bass drone created by processing a horn through analog and digital gear.
• Crushed Metal Lead
  Distorted, abrasive synth lead sound created by processing brass through analog and digital gear.
• Dark Lead
  Spacious dark lead created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Degraded Keys
  Highly dynamic Lofi synth pluck created by processing a horn through analog and digital gear.
• Distorted Lead
  Overblown distorted lead created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Doom Organ
  Epic distorted organ pad created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Evolving Pad
  Dynamic synth pad created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Memory Pad
  Echoing ambient pad created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Shimmer Lead
  Bright lead with pitch shifted echoes created by processing a trumpet through analog and digital gear.
• Transistor Organ
  Bright distorted organ lead created by processing a pipe organ through analog and digital gear.
• Wire Transmission
  Lofi and spacious eerie drone created by processing a trombone through analog and digital gear.

Soundscapes

• Caribbean Seaside
  Soundscape captured in a long beach, right by Santa Marta’s city centre,in the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It was captured in the afternoon as the sun slowly receded.
• Jungle Night
  Soundscape captured at night in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountainous complex that rests next to the Caribbean Coast in Colombia. Sounds at night paint a completely different scene, with frogs and insects all around.
• Jungle Sunrise
  Soundscape captured close to sunrise in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountainous complex that rests next to the Caribbean Coast in Colombia. The closeness to river brings in a distinct sound print.
• Stream in the City Forest
  Soundscape captured during a morning walk to one of the multiple mountains surrounding Bogotá, Colombia. A stream flows down bringing recent rainfall toward the plateau where the city is located.
• Tempered Morning Guacharacas
  Soundscape captured in a warm town in the Tolima department in Colombia. These birds, Guacharas (Ortalis ruficauda), are turkey-sized and have a reddish colour in their tails. Its name, an onomatopoeia of the sound it produces, fills up the morning hours of tempered-weather lands in Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Tempered Rain Night
  Soundscape captured in a warm town in the Tolima department in Colombia. It was recorded under a tin roof during heavy rain at midnight during the
  dry season. The arrival of rain temporarily transforms the sounds the nightly-fauna create.
• Tempered River Day
  Soundscape captured in a warm town in the Tolima department in Colombia. In this region, every river flow towards the majestic Magdalena, creating canyons and fertile land. Here, the riverbanks’ sand was black, fine and soft. People can visit this secluded area to enjoy the shallow waters and the current.