Aute's multi-disciplinary "animal" resurfaces. (Living in Mexico).

Animal uno

Luis Eduardo Aute

Allegro

Luis Eduardo Aute can be comparatively thought of as the Spanish language's answer to what Leonard Cohen is to the English-speaking world. The artist has become a celebrity in recent years, but little known until now was his rare 1994 book-CD entitled "Animal"--an experiment of music, literature and painting, which has just been reissued for mass consumption.

The original, a book with a CD attached, was first introduced to Mexico in 1996 by the artist, who presented it to a couple of Mexican journalists.

Aute was amazed by the number of people devotedly following his songs on this side of the Atlantic, so he created the work of art that contained his songs, poems and paintings.

Word of the book was out quickly and it became a kind of legend until the new edition began appearing in stores. Although smaller in size, the new edition contains the same recordings, as well as the same collection of texts and paintings.

Each track comes with one or more page references to poems, and at the end a series of paintings illustrates the meanings.

It is not the Aute most people know--one of his songs was used as a soap opera theme--but a more experimental one, full of humor and pointed views on a variety of issues, including world politics. This Aute is one who dares to joke and whisper in several languages and various forms of art.

Moreover, Aute is helped by the superb production of Suso Saiz, one of Spain's musical wizards. He accompanies the recording with sophisticated guitar sounds, synthesizers and other auditory delights.

Affirming himself as a complete artist, Aute achieved something others only dream of: developing a personal style. The album is the closest one can get to "Salvo el Crepusculo," the legendary book by Latin America's literary giant Julio Cortazar.

The decision to resurface this jewel was definitely a good one.