Rafael Toral - Space Program Traces
Review by Teriann Khargie
Rafael Toral's album Space Program Traces is a mesmerizing journey through the depths of ambient music. The album is a collection of sonic landscapes that transport the listener to an otherworldly realm. The tracks on this album are a blend of experimental sounds, electronic beats, and ethereal melodies that create a unique and captivating listening experience.
The album starts with the track "Space 1.1", which sets the tone for the rest of the album. The track is a slow and dreamy soundscape that builds up to a crescendo of electronic beats and synths. The rest of the album follows a similar pattern, with each track taking the listener on a different journey through the cosmos.
One of the standout tracks on the album is "Space 1.2". This track is a masterful blend of ambient sounds and electronic beats that create a hypnotic rhythm. The track is layered with synths, guitars, and percussion, creating a rich and complex sound.
Table of Contents
Download
Filename: rafael-toral-space-program-traces.rar- MP3 size: 12 mb
- FLAC size: 135.6 mb
Tracks
| Track | Duration | Preview |
|---|---|---|
| MS-2 Metal Cloud Solo | 4:58 | |
| Glove Touch | 3:17 | |
| Coil Interlude Live | 1:29 | |
| Space Elements Vol I.I Outtake | 2:34 |
Images
Labels
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Formats
- 4 × File
- MP3
- 320kbps
Credits
| Role | Credit |
|---|---|
| Performer | Rafael Toral |
Notes
- .Space Elements Vol I.I outtake :
- Track I.I is practically unedited, and this one is what was played just after the closing edit point for the Space Elements Vol. I's opening track.
- .Coil interlude live :
- Often described as sci-fi zapping "laser sounds" of a more or less cheesy nature, this is simply a percussion instrument exploring the properties of vibration in metal. The sound is not processed, just amplified with a piezo disk. As with everything else in the Space Program, it's unrelated to previous styles and meant to be listened to without prejudice.
- .Glove Touch :
- This is a very early recording using the glove-controlled sinewaves, and it has more of a textural quality than the phrasing capabilities i were still to develop later.
- .MS-2 Metal Cloud .
- Recorded in Belfast at Sonic Arts Research Center, this is actually produced as a result of my equipment having been held in Paris from missing a connection flight. I performed that evening with materials found and prepared in that afternoon.
About Rafael Toral
Rafael Toral, born in Lisbon, 1967 has been intrigued by the potential of sound and the functions of music since he was a teenager. As a composer and performer, he has been deeply involved with Rock, Ambient, Contemporary, Electronic and Free Jazz music in different periods of his life.
Working with electric guitar and electronics, in the 1990s he created a blend of Ambient and Rock and recorded acclaimed albums like Wave Field or Violence of Discovery and Calm of Acceptance. By the early 2000s he arrived to a sense of accomplishment about his previous 15 years of work, also realizing the world needed a different creative response. He decided to start something new, as radically different from the previous phase as possible. In a transition to vulnerable action, he launched the alien-sounding Space Program in 2004, using experimental electronic instruments. Its been an ambitious long-term project exploring an approach to electronic music based on silence, through decision making and physical gesture, in a way inspired by post-free Jazz. The resulting music, melodic without notes, rhythmic with no beat, familiar but strange, meticulous but radically free riddled with paradox but full of clarity and space , has been described as a brand of electronic music far more visceral and emotive than that of his cerebral peers .
Since 2003 hes been thinking and practicing an understanding of silence as space , with a clear function in music creation but also as a metaphor for social relationships and a statement on information and sensory overload.
Performing solo or in numerous collaborations (including Jim ORourke, Jim Baker, Sei Miguel, Chris Corsano, John Edwards, Evan Parker, Tatsuya Nakatani, Manuel Mota, Alvin Lucier, Phill Niblock, Christian Marclay, Sonic Youth, Rhys Chatham, Lee Ranaldo, C Spencer Yeh, and many others), he has been touring throughout Europe, Canada, USA, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Also active in visual and spatial arts, Toral has produced video and several installations from 1994 to 2003.
In 2014 he relocated to the mountains in central Portugal for a more sustainable life. In 2017, having concluded the Space Programs recording series, Toral is entering a wider field with multiple directions and possibilities. From his mountain studio, he also offers mastering services.
Real Name
- Rafael Toral
Name Vars
- R. Toral
- RT
- Rafael
- Rafael Toval
- Toral
