Eduardo Mateo & Jorge Trasante Mateo Y Trasante

Under the dark cloud of an early 1970's dictatorship, most musicians fled Uruguay. Not the nation's best, iconoclast Eduardo Mateo. It was during this dark period that Mateo reached his zenith as a composer and arranger, with a help from famous Afro-folk percussionist Jorge Trasante. On this album, Mateo goes deep into sonic explorations of percussion variations and guitar techniques. Mateo’s voice also underwent a mutation for the album, which many people thought the result of a deep mental illness; Trasante explains that Mateo used modulations drawn from Arabic music to “get into different characters with his voice.” This record is now considered indisputable evidence of Mateo’s genius. “If Eduardo Mateo was a genius, and that fact no one who has heard his music doubts, then ‘Mateo y Trasante’ is his masterpiece. There were some who said that Mateo and Trasante were both crazy, that Mateo could not sing. Mateo and Trasante resisted the vile and ruthless criticism of those skeptics: those who resisted the quality and depth of this record. Mateo and Trasante resisted, immovable, as are those who know that history will have its day of judgment. To paraphrase someone who knew music and much more, for the truth and Mateo, I sign my name here.” —Daniel Figares.