Daniel Ardura’s (Ensaña, Alado sincera, Sonio) work bears little relation to the artist’s previous outings, even though vocals and guitar are practically the only elements that intervene throughout. In any case, his is an unconventional work. Although the songs might be thought of as poetry set to music, they do so from a somewhat experimental perspective. The remarkable part is that the musician’s diction remains serene and his voice strictly adheres to the message, freed of artifice. This in turn softens any formal subversions until they become familiar and even go unnoticed.
It is the contraposition of these two principles –aesthetic risk, on the one hand, and solid interpretation, on the other– that brings a sense of equilibrium. Each composition is subject to these two forces with similar intensity. They act in different directions, yet, somehow, they counter each other as if attempting to come to a rest, freeze, and capture certain moments in time, as if some sort of latent immobility was involved. The result is quite striking.
Ardura knows how to measure the use of semantic revocation. He does that in a way that makes us question the artist’s very references, confessions, and even the motivations behind the chosen topics. All this gives rise to a quasi-hermeneutic seduction. From verse to verse, the seduction of questioning motivations and motifs grows on the listener. It is as if all we have to do is connect the dots, as if the songs were made up of small detonators that activate our sense of discovery. Even after many plays, they always offer something new for us to explore.
