TTW#47 - Gastón Arévalo - Classical Landscapes
Cassette only – limited edition of 150 copies
SOLD OUT AT SOURCE
Track listing:
A1: Luxembourg
A2: Alassio
B1: Landen
B2: Heide
B3: Atlas
Illustration – Geoffrey Winston.
Composed and recorded by Gastón Arévalo, using and processing instruments such as viola, guitar and sampler, alongside field recordings made in Paris.
Biography:
Gastón Arévalo is a multidisciplinary artist. His recordings are based on electro-acoustic soundscapes, abstract textures and found melodies, framed into styles such as ambient experimental. Isolationism and nature have a strong presence in his work and are one of the fundamental elements of his inspiration.
He has presented and exhibited his work at places like: De Unie Theater (Rotterdam), Abraxas Theater (Augsburg), CBK (Dordrecht), Todays Art Festival (Den Hague), Kunstpodium T (Tilburg), Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral (Cork), kuS (Heerlen), School of Art & Design (Limerick), Orquideorama (Antioquia), Paço das Artes (Sao Paulo), Palacio de Correos (Buenos Aires). His works have been aired at radio stations like Resonance FM, BBC Radio 1, RNE Radio 3 and Radio1.cz.
Reviews
Aquarius Records (US):
There's two new tapes from UK tape label the Tapeworm on this week’s list; this one’s from Uruguayan composer/soundscaper Gaston Arevalo, who takes traditional instruments like viola and guitar, along with all manner of abstract samples and field recordings, and somehow melts all of these sounds down into a haunting ethereal brew, the various sounds smeared into warm swirling swells, and deep lush rumbling whirs. The result a stunning series of hushed gauzy softly symphonic soundscapes, definitely reminding us of The Caretaker, or like something you might expect to hear on Type or Miasmah, that same sort of subtly ominous, blissfully bleary ambient drift, a dreamily nocturnal bit of gristly chordal thrum, rife with buried melodies, and constantly shifting layers, there's definitely a new age vibe, but that's blended with a blackened almost pop ambience, and then wreathed in starfields of crackle and hum, and washed out billows of lush shimmer, a practically perfect collection of late night, rainswept, cinematic, dreamdronedrift lullabies.
freiStil (Austria):
Sie kommen wieder, die Cassetten – verdammt nahe an der CD. In England haben sie dafür sogar ein eigenes Cassettenlabel gegründet! Mit dem hübschen Namen Tapeworm, optimistisches Motto des Unternehmens: „The tape will never die“. Glücklich, wer noch einen Rekorder sein eigen nennt. In Uruguay müssen auch noch so Fossilien herumstehen, sonst hätte Gastón Arévalo sein Tonband nicht aus Montevideo(!) schicken können. Arévalo, der uns schon mehrfach mit zartbitter-melodischen Electronica angenehm auffiel, verabreicht hier „klassische Landschaften“, die er nach Orten (Luxemburg, Alassio) und Gegenden (Landen, Heide, Atlas) tauft. Flächige Soundhäufungen generiert der Lateinamerikaner aus Instrumenten wie Viola und Gitarre, aus Samplings und aus field recordings, die er in Paris anfertigte. Schönheit pur, die fast vergessen lässt, dass das Leben nur für die ein ruhiger Fluss ist, die es sich leisten können. Schwere Empfehlung für Fans von Fennesz und Konsorten.
