Nuno Torres / Hugo Antunes / Nuno Morão / Rafael Toral

September 17, 2021

Directions

Clean Feed CF 568 CD

Distinctively displaying his original perceptions, Portuguese feedback and electronics instigator Rafael Toral leads a trio of his countrymen through group improvisations that unite inner and outer space. Evolving from a guitarist who blended Free Jazz and Rock with voltage expression in groups like Sei Miguel’s, Toral has refined his approach during the past three decades.

Although he’s abandoned the guitar, some textures vibrate during Directions which resemble those of an electric six-string. However subtle expressions from bassist Hugo Antunes are also there. Meanwhile, the program is filled out with the tough and focused drumming of Nuno Morão plus Nuno Torres’s canny use of the alto saxophone and electronics. While the stridency of arena Rock is evoked in some sequences, the ebullient blend avoids monotony. More generic to the Space Quartet’s sonic progressiveness are tropes expressed on the title and concluding tracks which indicate the quartet’s unique path. On “Directions” the outer space feel promulgated by electronic wave forms is quickly matched with a terrestrial cymbal claps and snare patterns, grounded by double bass thumps. Eventually Toral’s guitar-like whizzes establish the theme alongside Torres’s reed bites. Completing the sentence begun six tracks previously “Other directions” judders forward with a combination of cavernous echoes from Antunes and Toral’s stretched oscillations. As the saxophonist fragments the exposition chromatic into split tones and honks, the electronic overlay follows with almost identical noise tinctures. Resolution and anchoring is expressed with bass string hammering and hollow drum pops. Tracks between the two include variants of electronic flanges and droning feedback; bell and gong smacking from the percussionist; surges spanning the double bass’ highest-pitched notes and warm middle ranges; and reed splays and burbles that evolve at dot matrix-printer speeds. Not neglected are tropes during which reed whistles and electronic unspooling connect, or similar variations among the other players. Toral’s constituting of a particular sonic style is actualized as it’s expressed without division by the Space Quartet.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Directions 2. Photonic Radiation 3. Southern Grooves 4. Such a hungry yearning burning inside of me 5. Moonlight through the pines 6. Other directions

Personnel: Nuno Torres (alto saxophone, electronics); Hugo Antunes (bass); Nuno Morão (drums and percussion) and Rafael Toral (acoustic and electronic feedback)