Lose yourself in a textured and rhythmic playlist from Ale Hop

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

Under her Ale Hop moniker, Alejandra Cárdenas employs an experimental approach, informed by her background as an interdisciplinary researcher. The Peruvian experimental multi-instrumentalist holds an impressive academic resumé, with a Master’s in sound studies, postgraduate degree in history of science and technology and BA in art history. Not to mention her current PhD at Berlin University of Arts.

This profound curiosity that fuels her studies also forms the foundations of Cárdenas’ music. Via intricately textured and complex soundscapes, the Berlin-based artist – who is also a co-founder of the festival Radical Sounds Latin America – explores decolonial perspectives on sound and listening. Something which also manifests in her work as editor of the publication Border-Listening/Escucha-Liminal.

Where previous albums have examined the perception of music linked to specific geographical space and time, on her most recent release Why Is It They Say A City Like Any City? the Berlin-based artist explores digital space. This fourth record also sees Cárdenas collaborate with a host of other experimental musicians including KMRU, Ana Quiroga and Concepción Huerga.

Ahead of her appearance at Sonic Acts Biennial this Sunday, Cárdenas curates a Selections playlist featuring tracks by artists from Latin America’s underground, electronic and avant-garde scenes.

The sounds on offer also reflect the visceral, immersive nature of Cárdenas’ own music. “Here is a selection of songs to get lost in the physical qualities of electronics,” she told us over email, “through transcendental rhythms, abstract landscapes and psychedelia.”