SANTIAGO LATORRE
Órbita
ALP047
Accretions Records 2009
09 Tracks. 46mins14secs

Buy: MP3 | iTunes

Barcelona born and bred Santiago Latorre began playing the saxophone at eleven, but it is not until he developed an interest for electronic music, some years later, that he became involved in sonic experimentation. Since, he has composed music for various dance, theatre, fashion and videos projects. In 2005, Latorre also began working on his own solo project, which is collected on his debut album, Órbita, released on San Diego, CA, based imprint Accretions Records.

Using both saxophone and electronics as a basis for his compositions, upon which he also adds accordion, piano, and, occasionally, voice, to create delicately layered pieces, Latorre has created with his debut album a highly personal work. Not truly rooted in experimental jazz, yet never veering far from it, Órbita offers moments where Latorre experiments freely, as on album opener Canon, where multiple instances of saxophone swirl around each other to create an increasingly dense and hypnotic theme, or Le Sobrevive, Le Sobrevive A Toda La Frialdad, where Latorre continuously repeats the title of the piece while two, then three distinct saxophone motifs flourish in the backdrop. On Despedida, Latorre plays with loops sequences and repetition, progressively gathering layers as the track progresses, rising from nothing but specs of noise to dense clusters of sax, while treated electronics are left bubbling in the back.

Elsewhere, the experimentation is reigned in to let more straightforward pieces provided breathing spaces. The title track, with its cheap Casiotone backdrop and gentle melody, played first on sax alone, then on both sax and accordion, appears curiously out of touch with pretty much the rest of the record, but later, when Latorre dispenses the peaceful and warm Viajando En Rosa, there is no doubt left that this album can accommodate both trends without causing much contradiction.

While the album was recorded in just a few months, back in the first half of 2006, it has taken until now for Latorre to release it. Órbita occasionally suffers from a slight lack of focus, but it remains a rather lovely record, its creative angles often generating some truly sumptuous moments, well worth giving it more than a passing chance.

3.6/5

Santiago Latorre | Accretions Records
Buy: MP3 | iTunes