In the last 35 years i’ve been through different phases and gone in different directions. Some of those changes have required a complete reset of the thinking about music and all that ended up rendering my discography increasingly complex. Besides, threads and connections between past and future have been occurring more frequently. So, mentioning only the most important records and their place, here’s my attempt to map it out and hopefully help navigate it.
Ambient period (1987 – 2003)
The earliest existing worthy recordings are in the Early Works CD (released 2002).
These 4-track cassette recordings from 1987 to 1990 are at the rear end of a straight line connecting to probably the best album from this phase, Violence of Discovery and Calm of Acceptance.
My debut release is Sound Mind Sound Body (1994), it also features some of these short pieces, but more importantly the clean guitar drone sound i used for written pieces of generative nature.
AER 7, one of my favorite pieces on the AER series (written in 1992), is included above in a guitar version. AER 7 is not like the other AER pieces, it features plucked notes instead of drones. I always dreamed of recording a chamber version with harp, piano, vibraphone, etc.
I eventually did, 27 years later, on Constellation in Still Time (2019):
Wave Field (1995) has been described as a “classic” and it apparently turned out to have been groundbreaking to some extent. It’s a drone piece with a dirtier sound and the energy of rock music in some liquid form (influenced by MBV ad SY as well as by Alvin Lucier). Drag City reissued LPs for both Wave Field and Sound Mind Sound Body recently.
Aeriola Frequency (1998) followed, a pure electronic resonance loop piece, a very beautiful one. Also recently reissued on LP by Black Truffle.
Violence of Discovery and Calm of Acceptance (2000) took seven years to complete, with the earliest piece recorded in 1993 (even before Wave Field) and released in 2001. A collection of carefully crafted guitar soundscapes. John Frusciante listed it as one of his 40 all-time favorite records. It’s my best recording from this period.
Space Program (2004 – 2017)
After releasing Violence of Discovery and Calm of Acceptance, i felt an urge to do something different, more vulnerable and “out there”, more present and sharp. I had had some improvisation experiences and i had worked with Sei Miguel in his avant-jazz groups. I wanted to work with custom electronic instruments and realized the best way to learn a way forward was through jazz. I called it the “Space Program”, like a research program on performance. Six records came out of it: Space (2006), being the first, is like an electronic orchestra. Space Elements I, II and III (meticulous short pieces with guests, featuring Tatsuya Nakatani, Evan Parker, David Toop and more) and Space Solo 1 and 2 (absolute solo phrasing on several instruments) are the two main series in the program.
Space:
Some of these pieces verge a bit on the quiet side, and some of the most beautiful ones are there. I have recently released a compilation of those, Open Space (2020, digital), which is probably the best introduction to this period and a very beautiful collection in itself.
Some of the finest moments in a spontaneous setting were pristinely captured on Live in Minneapolis (2012) with drummer Davu Seru, an inspired recording which is worth checking.
Third phase (from 2017, ongoing)
In 2017, with the release of Space Solo 2, i concluded the Space Program series. I decided then to continue using what i learned through it but making it in a broader space, with a less strict discipline and i eventually found out that in these times some serenity is needed, so i naturally got in touch with my own background in still music and these forms started to integrate and blend in interesting (and challenging) ways.
The first instance of that happened with Moon Field (2017), with a center part that resembles some of the earlier ambient stuff but in a new perspective. A kind of lunar ambiance with satellite noise but containing melodic passages that one could whistle down the street.
Later on, a new release now re-introducing the guitar, using mostly drones, feedback, gongs and bells (collaboration with João Pais Filipe) further explores this field, Jupiter and Beyond (2020), although this one is more raw and emotional.
A renewed interest in guitar and harmony has produced Music for Film, a soundtrack for a short movie produced in 2022, and further explored in subsequent releases.
Space Quartet
The clearest and sharpest path of continuity from the Space Program is the Space Quartet. The Space Quartet has a more accessible sound with passages from ambient/ experimental to jazz-rock grooves and free jazz. Beyond the debut CD (with a former lineup), self-titled Space Quartet, there are four releases:
Under the Sun (December 1st, 2020, CD, digital) is a live recording including material from two shows. Directions (2021, CD) is a studio recording, followed by Freedom of Tomorrow (2022, LP and CD) and Last Set (2023, digital), both also live.
Directions (2021) is a studio record, with the new lineup.
Noise Precision Library
On another front, i have made a series of digital-only releases under the “Noise Precision Library” umbrella (although a few have physical release, like Under the Sun and Harmonic Series 3). These have a standard design and are exclusively available in the Bandcamp store. Some of these are archival tapes and many others are of live collaborations. Among these, some highlights are:
Electronic Music (with Jim O’Rourke, actually a studio recording).
Live in Lisbon (with Tatsuya Nakatani and John Edwards).
Live in Boston (with Chris Corsano).
Live in London (with Roger Turner).
Live in Porto (with Sei Miguel and David Toop).
Live in Bilbao (with Lee Ranaldo).
Some suggestions of archive material or other releases:
AER 7 • Instruments – companion release to Constellation in Still Time with single-instrument mixes of the piece, made from the same recorded material, and includes a harpsichord version.
AER Series – The full series of these pieces including the unreleased ones and some original tapes of first versions.
Studio tapes (1987 – 2003) – some odd tracks and other tapes from the first period.
For some of the wildest stuff that came out of the Space Program, check the fierce recording of Space Collective 2 (electronics and drums duo) live at All Tomorrow’s Parties and the Space Collective 3 live at Primavera Sound Porto on Space Collectives I. More stuff can be found on the Space Collectives II (quintets).
For a quick overview of what’s available in physical formats, please go here:
https://rafaeltoral.bandcamp.com/merch
Hope this helps making sense of it.
Enjoy and take care!
