about Marea
Print Media
Intensive, in ihrer Intensität auffällig geschmeidige Klanglandschaften
entwirft dieser twenty-something aus Uruguay. Arévalo hat sich,
wenn er nicht gerade visuell arbeitet, eine originelle Ausprägung
von Elektronik angeeignet, die unter der Aufschrift Ambient ihr Publikum
sucht. Das sollte auch relativ easy gelingen, kennzeichnen doch recht
eingängige Melodien, smarte Beats und geschmackvoll in die Runde
geworfene field recordings das Werk des jungen Mannes, der freilich
nix dafürkann, dass sein Vorname mich leider immer an diesen Zeichentrickfilmklassiker
mit Signor Rossi erinnert. Vergleichbaren Meilensteinen dieses Genres,
wie sie etwa die Touch Records im Vierteljahresrhythmus publizieren,
kann „Marea“ freilich nicht das Wasser reichen.
freistil magazine #31
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Digital Press
Musically, Marea presents an impressive set of drone-based music, the
base drones subtly enriched with lots of electronic detail. You may
have to listen closely to unlock the details however. The unobtrusive
rhythms in Hielo Norte, the washes of warm guitar sounds on
Maritim, the environmental field recordings (Delta)
the 'echospace'-like hiss in some of the tracks... all of these details
effectively immersed in electronic layers that are deep but never 'dark'.
Peter van Cooten
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Marea de Gaston Arévalo est un album tourné vers lambiant
music. De bien belle maničre. Sombre et ŕ la fois épaisse, cette
échappée en monde électronique est somptueuse. La profondeur des sons
qui se baladent ici appelle un travail encore plus complet quespéré.
En effet, Gaston Arévalo est également un graphiste qui propose des
visuels en lignes de codes inspirés ou directement produits par les
notes de sa propre musique. On nest pas trčs loin du concept-album
męme si cette pratique est évidemment répandue et connue dans le milieu
contemporain. Les nappes se męlent ŕ une rythmique fainéante et poisseuse.
Langueur et décadence de la musique futuriste et contemplative.
Off & Green
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Z hudby Gastón Arévalo je cítit vune nebeských dálek a láska
k prírode. Celkem 8 ambientních skladeb jako by pricházelo z neznáma,
prináelo sebou zvuky z ruzných vrstev atmosféry a prostorem si hledalo
cestu a do nitra vaeho mozku. Ruchy a umy jsou vzdálené, jednoduché
a presto sloite popsatelné. Geniální.
eskanoiZZe
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Marea is sublime. It is a densely-textured, sonically-interesting
excursion into the realms of electronic ambiance. Arévalo deftly
combines both old and new techniques, and thus it is an album that I
imagine appealing to a wide range of ambient fans. It has the mellow
pads and haunting melodies of the old school, mixed in some of the more
harsh glitches and noises of the new.
CSG
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Marea is a beautifully austere yet deeply calm ambient LP in
a style that harkens back to the golden days of the autoplate
netlabel. hushed pads and occasional distant guitar notes enveloped
by subdued glitches and washes of microsound field recordings evoke
and atmosphere of timelessness and stillness. "perfect for a long
dreamscape diving or in-depth structure research of surrounding matters."
hiddenplaces
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Radio
27.06.2010 - Framework / Resonance FM (London) - Various tracks
from "Marea" included on the playlist on this radio program (min 06:36,
38:30, 50:32)
03.05.2010 - Seance / Radio1.cz - "Latitud" from
Marea was aired at this Prague Radi@1 station program (min 24:10)
15.03.2010 - Sismógrafo / RNE (Radio 3) - "Dive
-3" from Marea was aired at this Spanish National Radio station
program (min 39:40)
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Print Media / Digital Press
Arévalo loves deep, warm textures and searches for inner peace in musical structures equally steeped in repetitive patterns as well as organic improvisations. His tracks may only just touch the five minute mark, but in their floating, formless semi-embryonic state, which always appears to remain nascent, they aspire for eternity, spanning wider galaxies than many aimless jam sessions. Direction is essential to „Ultramar“, which creates the sensation of weightlessness through highly controlled doses of reverb, echo, dreamy acid filter modulations and a dense brushwood of percussions. While the two opening tunes are ambitious chill out visions, the spaceship truly lifts off with the astral fantasy „Verona“: Traces of choral voices, swooshing effects, sunwinds, bleeps and dots rotate like a spiral nebula inside a cosmic mirage, pushing forward as the body is stretched to infinite length at the border of the singularity – words can hardly do this track justice. „Cinema“ then safely lands the craft with crackling and stumbling rhythms and a quest for liniarity. With its bended guitars licks and spontaneous reciprocity between different elements, the EP tends strongly towards a far-out version of Jazz at the outer corner of your mind.
Tokafi Magazine
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Slow ambient sounds are dissected either by the complicated rustling
of noise textures (ultramar, cinema) or by the soft percussion film
slightly spreading the sound in space. Deep and not boring bass-drum
makes the way for the whole audio picture, slow and monotonous movements...
Sound Proector
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Print Media / Digital Press
"...a deep and thought-provoking release from Gaston Arevalo in
"Pez De Piscis".
"328 Pies" lays haunting and distant atmospheres behind a
nice and minimal glitch percussion pattern. An occasional horn bleeds
in to bend a slight twist into the listener's mind. "Aparte"
has a lighter and more relaxing feel, with beautiful strings echoing
through the soundscape. Definitely a more musical piece, this one makes
the listener dream of a breezy day on a crystal white sandy beach."Costabrava"
brings the eeriness back, but a more constant atmospheric stage strikes
inspiration and deep reflection in the listener's mind. This one's a
masterpiece for the thoughtful. Things turn bendy and slightly broken
with "Lumpen", the first track without a strict 4/4 foundation.
Background sounds swarm and melt on top of the interesting rhythmic
structure, and occasional guitar strings bounce through the air to keep
things slightly musical. Dusk settles in on the beach, and an eagerness
builds in anticipation for the nighttime festivities."
Diaxiom Minimalistik Radio