La Manzana Mágica by Federico Durand

 

La Manzana Mágica is probably the first full length album by Argentinian artist Federico Durand I have listened since his 2024 album Té de flores silvestres. 

Federico has been working with subtle electronics and field recorded sources for quite a while now and it is only fair to say that he has an easily recognizable style of harmonics and tonalities which greatly fits into the idiom of 12k label that has published this new album that is coming out today – 22nd of May 2026.

A sought-after collectors postage stamp collection Cinderellas which is in Federico’s personal collection is an inspiration for this album.

A folk heroine, a spoken, oral tradition that this character was shaped by – all this and more is a thing of a past that moves back in our modern, digitalised times. 

How an artefact can influence some compositions is evident even just by looking at the compositions. They convey ethereal, haunting quality of something as disposable and fragile such as a stamp collection.

Synth sounds, field recordings, tape manipulations as well as Federico’s daughter voice bring us to the point of no return – you have to stop and focus here, unless you want to miss what’s important. The aspect of the scale is important – postage stamps are small works of art – there is so much you can learn even from this size of an art artefact. And definitely puts you in a situation to make an effort. 

It’s a soulful piece of music. An album that manoeuvres between fragile movements and tonalities. An ambience that feels familiar and yet distant. Obvious, yet dream-like. But it is done with such a passion and skill, that you can’t miss it. 

 

One of 12k’s most endearing artists is back with a new album. From Argentina, Federico Durand presents La Manzana Mágica, an album in signature Federico style inspired by his collection of Cinderlla stamps, in a way only Federico could do.

Named after the folk-tale heroine, Cinderellas, throughout the last century, were considered inferior to official postage stamps, but became a sought-after collector’s item. There are some pieces whose origin, circulation context, or illustrator’s name are unknown. Many Cinderellas have designs that seem taken from oral tradition and are often beautifully crafted; even those that were made to promote products, like books. They are echoes of a world gone by.

One of his most gentle, open and fragile albums to date, La Manzana Mágica is for sure an exercise in restraint, in letting the listener’s imagination wander around the space in between his sounds. His pure synthesizer tones and tape machine manipulations take on an ethereal, almost haunting quality, perhaps feeling a bit darker than some of his other work. The inspiration and relation to the often-mysterious nature of the Cinderlla stamps is apt.

In Federico’s words:

The initial ideas for this album date back at least seven years. I always wanted to translate the simple magic of these very special stamps through sound. I know of musical works dedicated to great paintings, magnificent works of abstract art. In my case, I always felt close to the humble, almost unknown beauty of these stamps that I’ve been collecting. To create this album, I used a very limited palette of sounds, few sonic elements, seeking to capture the small and precious character of the Cinderellas and their quiet, small stories. Few instruments, carefully chosen. Small sounds. A path to the essential. Like a stone polished by the flow of a river. Like the sung verses of a children’s song. 

credits

released May 22, 2026

This album was made with a Crumar Performer, mtl.asm CT5, Electro Harmonix 22500, Roland Space Echo RE-201, ARP Odyssey, Sony TCM 200DV, cassette tapes, music box, Zoom H1, Microcosm, toy steel drum, feedback looper, Korg MS-20 and Fostex X-18.

 

My daughter María Luisa sings in the track “Jul 1948.” “Jólin 1960” is a redux version of a piece recorded 10 years ago. It was found in a box full of cassette tapes while moving out of my old house.

license

all rights reserved

https://federicodurand.bandcamp.com/album/la-manzana-m-gica