Dot Tape Dot: Tomavistas

Dot Tape Dot
Tomavistas
Other Electricities
2008-02-26

The term “folktronica” was spawned by the British press around the 2003 release of Four Tet’s Rounds, but Kieran Hebden wasn’t the first and only bedroom producer to marry folk instrumentation and stuttering synthetics. Since the turn of the millennium, Daniel Romero has been quietly filling his Spanish homeland with the sounds of toys, chimes, bells, acoustic guitar, vibraphones, mauled synths, cello, whistles, bird chirps, and anything else he could find to feed through his laptop wood chipper. Tomavistas, his official US debut, is a collection of rarities and favourites spanning the last five years of his career and CDr releases from across the globe, meant to serve his fans and newbies alike.

Noting the similarity of his compositions across time, I’d consider this more ambient glitch or sound collage than anything else. There is nothing in the way of bass to be found on this record. It’s all weird organic sounds spliced, reversed, and purple nurpled rarely featuring any kind of notable progression. Sounds seemingly start and stop of their own accord, while electronica is usually marked by a steady four-four or broken beat as well as peaks and valleys. That said, for what it is, Dot Tape Dot is quaintly enjoyable. Thought often severely random, these songs are as thoroughly relaxing and peaceful as the work of talkingmakesnosense or anything similar in Benbecula’s catalogue. If this guy starts collaborating with Caribou, look out. Until that day, you might want to bring a pillow.

RATING 6 / 10