JAPAN TOUR 2019

2019 saw Spanish multi-instrumentalist Tomás Fernández Girón travelling through Takayama, Japan, recording a selection of his thoughtful prog-electronic pieces at various stops. The resulting disc, `Japan Tour 2019' offers a tasteful stroll through Girón's most intimate compositions, and it perfectly complements the three superb studio discs (four if you count his superb 2019 Zytospace collaboration with Miguel A. Ruiz) the intelligent and subtle artist has delivered so far.

For those yet to explore Girón's deeply personal and reserved take on Berlin School atmospheres, each alters the approach. The 2014 debut `Forest' is his most melancholic and fragile work, `Stones' a year later introduced lighter and melodic touches, while 2017's `Clouds' perfectly balanced vintage and modern electronic sensibilities, and all are represented on this live outing.

Hailing from Girón's debut, `Cross the Line' is highlighted by lonely piano, reverberating hums and weeping synth cries, and fleeting spacey swirls and bubbling effects that flit around the backdrop softly call to mind Jean-Michel Jarre. A thrumming pulse and weeping Mellotron theme in `From Outer Space' turns defiant and determined, and the minimalistic and graceful `Ode to a Suiseki' aches with longing, embracing similar atmospheres to Steve Roach's 1984 classic `Structures from Silence'.

`To the Inner Temple' is dramatic with bleeding electronic melts. It's then back to Girón's first disc for `Inside the Forest', where introspective electric piano shards and the most subtle of shivering Mellotron veils that form a darkly cinematic backing rise up around an incessant programmed tick laced with unease that morphs into a pulsing, trance-like beat.

Most impressive of all, however, is album closer `Nachi', a new piece that's exclusive to this set. An eerie drone grows in stature before teeming with jangling sequencer-driven life, and it reveals a triumphant and life-affirming joy. Everything Tomas does so well is held within this one piece...

While Tomas doesn't stray too far from the original arrangements of the studio compositions, the live selections here present a very fine overview of the various moods that listeners can expect to find in his low-key approach to Berlin School/prog-electronic music. It would actually also make a perfect introduction for newcomers to his music. For now, while we wait for his next studio work, it's a welcome reminder of everything Girón does so beautifully, and progressive-electronic fans should investigate this artist immediately.

Four stars.