An orbit entails a fine balance between two objects—one trying to pull in another that in turn is trying to escape that pull with forward motion. Through the tension between these invisible opposing forces an equilibrium is struck.
The play of invisible forces between two orbiting bodies provides the conceptual background for José Guillén’s Órbitas, a concise collection of six electronic pieces. Each composition is made of a base recording to which a second track is improvised and overlaid. The layered drones, chords and tones approach and recede from each other, seemingly moving in and out of proximity; this, combined with the rising and falling dynamics, evokes changes in an orbiting body’s altitude. Guillén’s choices of sounds and textures reflect the workings of a subtle sensibility.
Daniel Barbiero
Avant Music News 