Rafael
Toral - Space Solo 1
In 2004, Rafael Toral announced
that he was to embark on a long term project, which was to be
a multi-facetted work in progress representing his new approach
to music. With the release of the first album of the program,
the eponymous "Space" (staubgold 69 cd), he managed
to disrupt the notions of "avantgarde music" even
of those who consider themselves well-versed in this field.
In the past, Toral's work had been
based on the guitar and the myriad possibilities of generating
sounds from it. More often than not, his music exhibited a
tendency towards the concept of the drone. So many people
familiar with his oeuvre were surprised to learn that none
of those elements figured in "Space" (though he
might re-introduce the
guitar at a later stage of the "Space Program" –
but that is what is called "artistic license"...).
In the program, Toral focuses on "single
sound events". The sounds are generated by self-devised
electronic equipment set into action by the performance of
gestures, by bodily action (take a look at the video samples
of the "Space Study 1" on his website, where he
"plays" glove-controlled computer sinewaves). Thus,
the music is created by
individual decisions in real time – just like in Jazz,
as Toral emphasizes. So basically, this is electronic music
played with a jazz sensibility. Toral brings a performative
aspect to electronic music that it often sorely lacked.
The initial album "Space"
is like a roadmap. It is a point of departure for recordings
in the "Space Program". It is accompanied by three
"diversified" series: the performance series "Space
Studies" (which started in 2004), and the record series
"Space Elements" and "Solo Series". The
latter are unaccompanied real-time solo recordings on one
instrument only (as opposed to "Space Elements",
where Toral collaborates with other musicians). The present
CD is the first in that series and the second materialisation
of the program.
Whereas "Space" featured
an orchestral approach to composition (and thus a diversity
of elements), "Space Solo 1" presents the listener
with music which is narrowed down almost to a point. Everything
is concentrated on a single element. The key feature of this
music is that it was performed with a degree of skill, a commitment
and a depth of exploration that could not be found on an orchestral
record like "Space". On this album, Toral appears
as a musician who simply plays an instrument on an individual,
human and physical level.
One cannot help but notice that Toral
is opening up a new dimension in music – and maybe also
in language. When the renowned British music magazine The
Wire recently ran a large feature on Toral's new project,
the last sentence read thus: "It seems that mere words
are far from able to convey everything a human being may wish
to express." Toral's new project is just that: A new
mode of expression.
http://www.rafaeltoral.net
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