Mr. Wollogallu

Few albums remain as befuddling in the west as Mr. Wollogallu. Most listeners are drawn to it thanks to the presence of the furtive Portuguese composer Nuno Canavarro, whose lone solo album, 1988’s Plux Quba, remains an ur-text for subsequent generations of electronic musicians, ranging from Jim O’Rourke to Oval to Dan Lopatin. By the cover, it would suggest that Canavarro splits duties with Carlos Maria Trindade, but it’s not quite that simple, as each player contributes to the other’s tracks. Rather than parse out who made what sound, it’s a far more luxurious listen to just let the mystery be. At times like acoustic guitar new age (“Plan”), or a fantastical movie soundtrack (“Ven 5”), there are also stunning vistas like the breathtaking “Blu Terra” that defy any sort of categorization.