Ningú by Balago
Press release
Immersed in a process of constant learning and challenge, David Crespo delves deeper, pushes further, and refines in Ningú, Balago’s eighth album, the sonic and creative rupture first introduced in its predecessor, Els altres (2020).If at that point the group had already made a clear break from conventional structures, from the standard song format, and from concepts tied to the traditional canon in favor of a collage-like approach, five years later we now witness—surprisingly and astonishingly—a non-negotiable radicalization of that turning point.
Much of the blame lies with the dominant, authoritarian, and ruthless role that the sampler plays in the musical architecture of Ningú. Its presence is decisive in shaping the rhythmic ambition (the beat has never had such prominence before), as well as the atmospheric, structural, and conceptual depth of the album’s two tracks (24 and 22 minutes, respectively), which from the very first moments set out unabashedly to overwhelm the listener. In an era of excess, information overload, and overstimulation, Balago embraces the challenge and subjects us to a stunning succession of layers, textures, references, ideas, and subliminal flashes. It's as if The Bomb Squad, The Caretaker, William Basinski, Burial, and Brian Eno all found themselves in the same recording studio, armed to the teeth with their best samples, and decided to bring order and meaning to the chaos.
The best thing about Ningú is that things are constantly happening. You never fully grasp it. The sense is that Crespo has aimed to imbue his collage with greater density, depth, and richness—and this translates into his most absorbing project to date, but also his most emotional and visceral. Built around the passage of time and the fragility of memory, Ningúmasterfully deploys its arsenal of sounds and nuances across a rollercoaster of influences and sensations, oscillating between industrial electronics and dystopian soundtracks, dark ambient and neoclassical, cryptic abstraction and devastating emotion—as evidenced in that final eight-minute sequence we could listen to on loop until the end of our days.
David Broc
Credits
Produced, recorded and mixed by Balago
Mastered by Guim Serradesanferm
Artwork by 11Invisibles
Foehn Records, 2025
