For this Crafting the Field series #06, we feature artists Orieta Chrem and Rawa who together synchronize the vocal richness of Shipibo Icaro and the vibrational spheres of sound healing instruments. Orieta is a versatile musician, DJ, producer and vibrational therapist who through the use of tuning forks, gongs, and crystal sound bowls has teamed together with long time friend Rawa; a Shipibo-Konibo Onaya and keeper of ancestral knowledge, to create a unique soundscape for our series.

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This piece was recorded live at 'Qmulus Sound' in Lima, Peru. Produced and mixed by Orieta Chrem with “Ikara para el alma” sung by Rawa. Mastering by Christian Mun.

Over the years, Chrem and Rawa would collaborate together in meditative sonic sessions that involved the use of quartz bowls, tuning forks, the gong and electronic synthesizers, along with Rawa's magical Icaros. These live improvisations allowed them and the listener(s) to reach very deep states of meditation and transformation. 

In the Shipibo-Konibo tradition, the Icaros are chants interpreted by the elders and wise ones of the community that, complemented with the properties of Amazonian plants, act in favor of the integral healing of the person. The Icaros are connected to the collective consciousness of the Shipibo-Konibo world where special designs called Kene are acquired by visions during shamanic sessions through the ritual use of master plants or in the xinan (thoughts) of the women who then materialize them onto textiles, ceramics, and the body. These designs along with the Icaros represent an entire communication system with plant spirits and the cosmic order, passing from the invisible to the visible world. 

And because the Icaros have the power to gain access to the subconscious in such a way that when combined with the harmonics of quartz bowls and the binaural beats of frequency tuned forks, the brain begins to shift into a different state of consciousness; of non-linear time and space. This intuitive collaboration between Chrem and Rawa offers an aesthetically healing journey guided by the power of sound. 

Crafting the Field by Xapiri Ground is a creative series of musical compositions that express upon the natural and social environments surrounding Indigenous culture and their contemporaries. 

Through collaborations with Indigenous artists, sound designers, and music producers we hope to encourage a diffusion between cultures through creative research and mutual respect. 

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Biography | Orieta Chrem

Orieta is a sound engineer, architect, music producer, DJ and vibrational therapist from Lima, Perú. With over 20 years of experience, she has represented Peru on several occasions; Red Bull Music Academy - Rome in 2004 where she was the first Peruvian to be selected, as well as the first edition of the Boiler Room in Lima in 2017, where she played alongside Loefah, Madame X and Kahn, representing Peru's underground/bass electronic scene. She has also been invited to play on the well-known Dutch radio station Red Light Radio as part of their first ever Peruvian focused event.

She studied architecture at PUCP (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú), and in 2009 moved to Barcelona, Spain to study sound engineering at S.A.E. Institute. Her thesis focused on "Cymatics", the science that studies how sound affects and transforms matter. Here she also created the BASAL label, focused on the deep bass / dubstep movement.  In 2013, Orieta played at the Sonar Festival with her project called Any Shape.

In 2014, Orieta returned to Lima to open QMULUS SOUND, a sound studio where she works on various types of sound design, recording and mixing/ mastering projects, and holds sound healing sessions. Furthermore, she also built a professional sound system by the name of "BQESTIA Soundsystem" along with with other sound system heads from the city, and is also the co-director of the "Club de los Syntes" project. In 2018, she participated in the Boiler Room 'Off Camera' event along with the NÓTT collective in Medellín, Colombia. During this time she was also producing her experimental hip hop / electronic band “Menores”.

In 2019, she released her EP: “Deseo”, together with Mambo Punk, under the Peruvian label Terror Negro Records. That same year, Orieta released the EP “Totems”, on the renowned Peruvian bass label Matraca. Since then, she has been dedicated to managing LA RARA, an online/offline platform and radio that takes place in various cultural spaces in the city of Lima, inviting Latin American DJs, live acts & performances. At the end of that year, she toured Europe and played at venues such as Monom, Funkhaus – Berlin, Plano B – Porto, Kiosk Radio – Brussels, Red Light Radio – Amsterdam, among others.

During 2020 / 2021, Orieta released several more tracks on Latin American compilations such as Behua Icara, In–Correcto, Matraca, Makinmovs and Terror Negro. She is currently researching and working with vibrational therapies under her “ORIQI Soundhealing” project, using quartz bowls, voice and tuning forks. Her sound  training involves courses from “Biosonics”, “the Path of the Gong” with master Jap Prem Singh, and “Biofield Tuning” with Eileen Day Mckusick. 

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Biography| Rawa

Roldán Alcides Muñoz Agustín, 'Rawa', comes from the native community of San Francisco de Yarinacocha, a village located twelve kilometers from Pucallpa, in the province of Coronel Portillo, in Ucayali. Since he was a child he was taught traditional medicine and healing songs by his father, the renowned sage Senen Pani, Antonio Muñoz Burga and by his grandfather Martín Muñoz Pacaya. Rawa is a Master Onaya, a painter, and holds a bachelor's degree in law.

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Check out the full Crafting the Field series on our bandcamp page.

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