records > engine
 |
Touch |
tracks
| 1. Engine |
Recorded live at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Apr. 3, 2002
reviews
A live recording of a [concert] by
Rafael Toral in Paris, "Engine" is like watching a butterfly
evolve from a cocoon to all his chromatic splendour. Scored for guitar,
bass and a series of devices ranging from feedback circuits to analogue
modular systems, this piece shows once and for all Rafael is not just
a "guitarist"; even the hypnotic character of his music is constantly
developing to leave room to new bursts of sound and intelligent ideas.
Putting a pretty complex mechanism into a forward-motion state, Toral
lets you think while listening, all the while maintaining that "in-your-face"
approach that separates him from the extremely academic and boring mass
of "six string intellectuals" we're so fed up with. And when
the butterfly finally starts his long fly, you've come to the last 15
minutes of the piece: droning guitars resplendent in all their beauty,
hovering around for our amazement.
Massimo Ricci, touchingextremes.org
