OUT NOW! "JABAL," CASSETTE 18 MINUTES WITH CIRCUIT TORÇAT LABEL

(CT01) JUAN MATOS CAPOTE "JABAL" C18

It comes in an edition of 50, full color both-sides J-card +1 panel, and white case and CrO2 cassette. Total time 18 minutes.

PRICE: 7 Euros plus shipping & handling.

Play List:

Side A
1. Goat Scape
2.Jabal
Side B
1. Tide
2. Star Dust

More info at Circuit Torçat.

To buy contact CIRCUITTORCAT@GMAIL.COM

REVIEWS

—Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly 670 (3/17/09)

"...Capote's love goes out to circuit bending, which he uses here on this eighteen minute cassette, most notably the 'pink oscillator', modified electronic gear, some field recordings, contact microphones and prerecorded software synth phrases. Four pieces in total. 'Goat Escape' is quite a noisy piece of waving electric circuits, being touched, whereas the title track is a bit more spacious, like cosmic dust or SETI like signals. The best pieces are on the b-side, with the loop based 'Tide' and the more complex noise based composition 'Star Dust', which includes a lot of the things he credits himself for, and contact microphones play an important role. Its a nice release, a bit short, but surely to the point."


—Auxiliary Out (5/11/09)

"Jabal is the debut release from Circuit Torçat, a new label out of Barcelona. This tape is quite good, if a bit too short.

The first piece “Goat Scape” begins with a strong but not harsh hi-pitched sine tone, which is modulated by other frequencies. Though there are brief flashes of melody, the track mostly focuses on textures brought about by combining various frequencies. By the end there’s a loop of a vocal-esque melody through I can’t tell if its from a human source or not. The title track also starts off with a loop of a manipulated sine tone. There’s another loop, reminiscent of turning a tape recorder on and off, that provides a percussive base as sustained, harmonized sine waves take over and the side ends.

The other side contains two pieces as well. “Tide” features sine tones also but over a shuddering bed of lower pitches. Over that base, various other fragments of other sounds are structured. They are probably all of electronic origin but some sound quite percussive causing the piece to scrape along capably. The finale, and my favorite, “Star Dust” reminds me a bit of the lo-fi new age thing going on now a la Dolphins into the Future. Despite a rough patch of distortion in between, the beginning is mellow waves of synthesizer and later brings out a pieced together, seasick melody before getting noisy again with oscillators and metal objects.

Capote’s work isn’t exactly minimal but that influence is present. He focuses on constructing pieces from small fragments of sound. Though the two work from very different source material, Capote’s work might possibly sound like an isolated strand of Tomutonttu’s sound clutter. Sound placed into odd but clearly defined structures. A real pleasant jam.

Edition of 50 and packaged very cleanly, check it out."


—Mangoon, Tiny Mix Tapes, (May 2009)

"Across the pond, interest in the electronic underground has been spreading virally throughout Europe since the late 90s; its tendrils weaving itself throughout England and Scotland, the Scandinavian north lands, and of course Austria and Germany (where electronic music was invented). Finally, Spain is saying “me too.” Circuit Torcat is a new Spanish imprint run out of Barcelona by visual and sonic artist Juan Matos Capote, and its first release is one of Capote’s own.

Jabal is a contemplative work that sees Capote testing the limits of his centerpiece instrument, a four oscillator pink and grey tone box that buzzes, squeaks, and squeals sanctimoniously throughout. Juan’s expertise in hardware-hacking comes from studying under circuit-bending progenitor Reed Ghazala. Since then, Juan has become an expert in the field ripping through and rerouting consumer electronics much like a hungry bear would rip through pieces of wolf flesh. Jabal is a made-up word for Juan’s secret spot of solace, a mountaintop overlooking Barcelona’s booming metropolis that has for him become a sacred place where he communes with nature. There is a meditative aspect of this cassette that undoubtedly stems from those fleeting moments of peace experienced on the mountaintop. In addition to the oscillator, Jabal is peppered with Capote’s own personal field recordings (much taken from atop the mountain), weaving bits of his own personal auditory nostalgia with gently oscillating sine waves to converge in on some serious prospects of nirvana, though tinged with a sense of foreboding paranoia.

The tape comes in a miniscule edition of 50 and boasts full-color card stock and beautifully printed tape labels, all courtesy of Capote himself."