Tony Lugo & Frank Rosaly – Pistas CD

Baltimore ↔ Amsterdam remote collab that embraces then dismantles the artists’ roots; plural visions of drums/percussion. Collaborative release from Utech with Molk Records.

From the artists:

"The impetus for this record was to explore the plurality of drums and drumming. Tony and I have Latinx roots, and have individually delved into various anthropological research concerning the whitewashing and repression of traditions and culture of the Caribbean diaspora. Drumming was and is a deeply social and cultural act in these territories, tied to rites of passage and cultural rememory, and embedded in the collective experience. I wanted to co-create something with Tony to revere these things.

I improvised on traditional rhythms of the Caribe and coastlines of Central and South America as core material. Tony and I subsequently dismantled their context to create dense sonic fields and indiscernible rhythmic matrices. For me, it’s an act of resistance and acknowledgement of silenced ancestors. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the masking of my Puerto Rican identity in order to live a relatively safe life in the United States.

My story pales in comparison to many others’ experiences, and I acknowledge that. Glance at the news, witness the illegal abduction, detention, dislocation and murder of our brothers and sisters. Your brothers and sisters. We continue to live in a world of suppression and censure. Of erasure." – Frank Rosaly

"My contributions were also made through drumming, but rather than using microphones like Frank did, I turned to sensors, allowing the physical gestures of playing to trigger both direct and indirect sonic responses. This method gave rise to an uncanny rendering of a familiar principle in Caribbean traditions: the multiplicity of drums and the voices they carry. I wanted that presence to be unmistakable, especially in contrast to the dominant norms of Western music, where percussion is often distilled down to a single drummer, a single kit, a single line of thought.

Much of this work was shaped by my long-standing reflections on the banning of drums in colonial Cuba—a deliberate act of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous violence. Their suppression wasn’t just about silencing music; it was about cutting off a lifeline of communication, protest, and spirit. In many ways, this historical repression echoes the pressures I feel today in these diasporic spaces—spaces that often demand assimilation, legibility, and compliance with hegemonic structures." – Tony Lugo