Guadalajara-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Zár released his solo debut There Is No Distortion In Heaven this month via Seattle’s Halfshell Records. Part of a vibrant psychedelic scene in Mexico, Benjamin Zarate also plays in the bands Antoine Reverb and Dorotheo. Last month the Seattle Times chronicled how a chance encounter at a bar in Guadalajara back in 2013 between Seattle band Bread & Butter’s Lars Swenson, as well as Ben and fellow musician Vicco Gonzalez, has since led to a fruitful interplay between bands from these seemingly far-away regions. With several trips up the West Coast now under his belt, including playing the Northwest Psych Fest with his band Dorotheo, it seems fitting that the first solo release from this artist would come out on a local label like Halfshell.
There In No Distortion In Heaven premiered this month via Impose, and in a statement about the release, Zár asserted that its’ title references a quote from Iasos, an early pioneer of New Age music. Recorded with the help of sound therapist Carlos Navarro and percussionist Rodrigo Rico, Ben goes on to explain:
“It was inspired by my studies of music therapy and experiences with meditation. In this record, I explore sound textures that help one to enter a meditative state to relieve stress and pain by recognizing, honoring and liberating emotional buildup.”
The musician’s ambient compositions were also recorded using “effected electric guitar,” as well as, “synths, percussion and sound therapy instruments such as tamboura, singing bowls, didgeridoo and overtone singing.” Like exploring the inward states described above, There Is No Distortion In Heaven travels through progressive realms of resistance and release across its seven tracks.
On the album-titled opening, repeated guitar tones are slowly warped into eerie resonances, and throughout this collection, Zár contrasts these looped compositions with open-air panoramas of guitar and synthesizer. A cut like the first one is joined by songs like “Auto Semejanza” and “The Pain Of Awareness,” where ominous, dirge-like tones see-saw and revolve in seemingly negative mental loops. Fascinating in their sonic portrayal of such states, these compositions might be seen as representational of the kinds of emotional resistance met when turning one’s attention inside. “Auto Semejanza” thrashes in dark waves before an alien melody issues forth from the mushroomy weirdness, while “The Pain Of Awareness” wallows in seemingly trapped and bruised tones.
Ultimately, though, those three tracks merely represent “sticking” points on the way to a more lucid awareness, and they are countered by cosmically tuned and galloping songs like “Higher Octaves Of Love,” “Lucidez,” and “Danza De Arraigo.” Interdimensional melodies and understated but propulsive rhythms animate these tracks with clear-sighted energy while they counter the negativity of resistance with a sonic release deep into the Vastness. Like all great psychedelic music, There Is No Distortion In Heaven offers a sonic bridge inward, and while the trip might not always be easy, in the end, this record celebrates the journey with open heart and clear mind.
