Fresh off the piece about Rusticles and Hooverphonic, I stumbled across Blue Capricorn via Earmilk. His newest single “MAKE ME BELIEVE” felt like a perfect follow-up. It’s atmospheric and layered minimalist, almost ambient trip-hop, and the soaring vocal by Adieu Anais is absorbing, almost hymn-like:
It’s the second single of the year from Blue Capricorn, aka Rodrigo Caraballo-Marin, and it’s very indicative of his style. Here’s his prior single from July, titled “Fantôme, Je Ne Ressentirai Rien” (my high school french says, “Spirit, I don’t feel anything”) featured Jacks Haupt on vocals, whose unique voice brings another layer of atmosphere to the track. It’s similar to “MAKE ME BELIEVE”, with a little more structure, but the same soothing moodiness.
At first Blue Capricorn’s songs felt kind of ephemeral – fantastic and immersive but fleeting. But hours after listening to them I was thinking about them, so I went to hear more. And there’s a lote more to Blue Capricorn once you dig in.
His only full-length album, ¡Ayúdame! (Help Me!) is intensely quiet, minimal and immersive. There aren’t a lot of beats, and the lyrics are often hard to discern. It’s often even hard to tell if it’s the voice of Caraballo-Marin or another collaborator, but it doesn’t matter much. There is mood for days.
Like with Rusticles, the attention to detail and layering of elements on the record create textures that drew me back in. The lead single from the record, “Palo Santo”, has a darker, sinister sound than the two songs above, but the same brooding intensity and building tension. Check it out:
No idea whether to expect another album or EP in the near future, but the two recent collaborations are a compelling new sound for him. Can’t wait to hear more.
Photo by @____raiin/
Have something to share?
Something you wrote or made? Something you just think more people should see?