Side-by-Side: Cønjuntø Vacíø’s January Batch
Cønjuntø Vacíø, one of Barcelona’s premier experimental imprints, recently released their latest batch; four new cassettes, out on January 18th. The label, which has previously played host to the fantastic Fingering Eve and Ascetic House favorites Marshstepper, will release tapes by Denmark’s Grøn and fellow Spaniards Acción Diplomática, Julio Tornero, and Zotal. The tapes weigh heavily on the darker side of the scale while ranging in genre and style, imparting a sense of unity to the slice of Spain’s underground experimental scene represented here. You can listen to samples of each release on Cønjuntø Vacíø’s bandcamp page, but here’s a quick rundown…
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Julio Tornero has taken center stage in Cønjuntø Vacíø’s batch by releasing not one but two tapes; a ten song album under his own name and an additional EP using his Zotal alias. Having released a tape last year on Cønjuntø Vacíø as one half of the experimental duo Polígono Hindú Astral, Julio has delivered an album of astral excursions into electro, techno, and IDM on Una Nueva Perspectiva. The menagerie of ideas and styles sets Julio a healthy space somewhere between the floating, ambient sounds of Polígono and the swaying narcotic rhythms found on Zotal’s self-titled tape, and while Una Nueva Perspectiva seems more focused than Zotal, both are worthy of a listen.
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Grøn, the lone outlander of the batch, successfully marks his territory with Gestures, a haunting four-track of disembodied drones that follows closely on the heels of his fantastic Phinery release. Grøn has taken a more menacing tone on Gestures, shirking the semi-euphoric sensibility of their last release to explore a landscape of anticipation and dread. This feeling is perhaps most notable on “The Emergence and Appearance,” which slowly encroaches until its a claustrophobic throb overtakes the listener. The tape succeeds in taking a style that can at times seem strung out and finding ways to use those strings to slowly strangle its audience, making it a personal highlight of the batch.
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Rounding out the batch is Acción Diplomática, whose Olympia tape delivers four tracks of despondent darkwave that maintains the right amount of space and muscle to keep give it a distant yet dangerous feel. The synthesizer’s tone gives the tracks a rich, meaty weight, while the percussion successfully drives the songs without feeling overly dry. Combined they make the perfect landscape for the ebbs and echoes of his voice, which quickly cuts through the sound like a spotlight.
Purchase the tapes individually or in a batch deal via Bandcamp.
