Doce Fuegos - Quien escucha su nombre oye (2024)

Miguel Palou's career unfolds as a fascinating journey rooted in his native Seville, beginning around the Iberian experimental metal scene, particularly near the project Pylar. His artistic exploration is far-reaching, spanning multiple projects and collaborations that showcase his versatility. Palou has been involved in Dronespell & the Omega Chord, Spagyria, and other noteworthy endeavors. Gradually, he has added his own personal projects, notably Doce fuegos, which has produced several demos, two splits with Run Arbos and Misa tridente, and most prominently, two albums with the group Sentencia. With these albums, El templo de las cuevas (2021) and Vita brevis (2022), Palou has left an indelible mark on the contemporary underground music scene.

Now, with his latest project, Palou offers an explicitly conceptual album titled Quien escucha su nombre oye. This release encapsulates his broad artistic palette and passion for fusing styles. The album stands as a medievalist work, seamlessly blending post-rock, drone, ambient, and metal genres like black and doom metal, while simultaneously drawing from impressionism and baroque music. Palou’s innate sensitivity to folklore and his command of the dark-wave musical language have allowed him to create a deeply atmospheric, introspective experience.

This album is a sonic homage to northern mythology, particularly the landscapes and mythical creatures of Asturias, where Palou currently resides. It transports listeners to a time when myths and monsters were woven into everyday life, when people coexisted with the forces of nature and its mysteries. In this ancestral setting, fears were embodied in mythological beings such as the Black Hunter, the bringer of winter winds, or the Nuberu, the stormmaker. By calling these forces by name, ancient peoples understood and interacted with the natural world around them.

The music of Quien escucha su nombre oye evokes the oral traditions of storytelling by the fire, where villages shared tales of these creatures and forces, blending folklore and reality. These stories helped explain the mysteries of nature, binding communities to their environments. Palou captures this essence by weaving soundscapes that are deeply rooted in our collective perception of reality, where myths, monsters, and nature are interconnected threads of human history and storytelling. Through this album, Palou continues to explore the ancient act of storytelling, reaching beyond the limits of memory to connect with our shared ancestral past.

Tracklist:
1-1. Doce Fuegos - El viento que trae la jauría (16:48)
1-2. Doce Fuegos - Vieya del invierno (03:13)
1-3. Doce Fuegos - Si vais por Brita (04:43)
1-4. Doce Fuegos - No puedes abandonar este lugar (16:57)