The Pichimuchina has invented a future pre-Columbian sound by combining ancient instruments from different sites and traditions into a single ensemble. Their performance incorporates voice, movement and digital projections to create a new musical language which is simultaneously ancestral and of the 21st century.
The group was founded by José Pérez de Arce and Claudio Mercado Muñoz in Santiago de Chile in l993. It was born out of their studies and experimentation within the fields of ethnomusicology and archaeo-organoligical research. Both musicians-scholars are based at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago, where they have worked for more than two decades. Other musicians have joined them, and the group is currently composed of five musicians, including Christian Pino, Francisca Gili and Rodolfo Medina.
Their improvisatory performance is based on the sonic aesthetics of pre-Columbian music, that is to say, dissonant sounds that generate other states of consciousness. Their presentation involves the creation of visual scores, which are digitally projected on the stage. The performance often involves the participation of the audience, which joins in the creation of a collective ritual of dance and music. For this purpose, and through their collection activity and the creation of archaeological replicas and new instruments, the Pichimuchina has amassed an array of indigenous instruments from all over the Americas and beyond.
The group often collaborates with other artists. In the early 90's they created the musical score for "Paracas" a film by Cecilia Vicuña.
They also present workshops and seminars on music production and other ethnomusicological and archaeo-musicological subjects. They have also participated in many international conferences, such as: The 6th Symposium of the International Study Group pn Music Arachaeology, Berlin, 2008, and at the 7th Symposium Of The International Study Group On Music Archaeology, 20th - 25th September , 2010, Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Tianjin, China.
José Pérez de Arce and Claudio Mercado are as well prolific authors.
For a complete list of their records, see the pdf below.
