Audiopile Review: Left Ear Records, the label that brought us reissues of the astral-psych-pop of Twin Cosmos, the minimal ambient drift of Picture Music, and the homespun DIY art-pop of Influenza Prods., now unearth previously unissued recordings from Respuesta Alternativa (née Jesus Mª Catalan), their second release for the obscure Spanish producer. Situated on the Atlantic coast of Spain in the autonomous Asturias province, Catalan recorded these tracks between 1987-90, just after his lone cassette release, 85 / 86, was released, eventually abandoning the work and fading away into relative obscurity. Shifting away from the guitar-centric and rigid synth-pop of his debut, Catalan was in the process of smoothing the rougher edges previously explored, experimenting more with synthesizers and reclined rhythms. Typical of this era’s DIY home producers, Catalan’s interests were all over the place, folding in ambient, prog, fusion/jazz and synth pop into an idiosyncratic vision that was simultaneously playful and experimental. From the joyful digi-quirk of “Old Bass”, the balearic strut of “Asturtxal” and the fantasy-fuelled synth whimsy of “De Puntillas”, Del Silencio is a fascinating insight into what could have been!

For our 35th release we return to the archives of Spanish Musician Jesús Mª Catalán and his project Respuesta Alternativa, or the Alternative Response. Unlike his previous release, the tracks from this compilation were not released at the time and the tapes only found recently, which had been lying dormant in a shoebox since their creation from the period 1987-1990.

When not on the road working as a sound technician, Jesús continued to craft atmospheric tracks in the quiet of his bedroom and later finished productions with the assistance of long-time collaborator Julián C. Pérez. Together, they captured simple themes, with the sound evolving over time. Transitioning from guitars, they incorporated vocal samples to weave enduring musical tapestries.

Given Jesus’ geographic location (Spain) and the atmospheric down-tempo nature of the music, we wondered if the ‘balearic’ sounds had played a part in his productions. Jesus explains that “the distinction in the Balearic and Asturias Islands is marked by the different character of its people and the incidence of the weather, where the sea influences the Mediterranean Sea of the Balearic Islands is a calm sea. The Cantabrico de Asturias Sea is stormier”.

As a proud Asturian, Jesús was influenced by and payed homage to his surroundings, with lush breezy passages echoing calm ocean days and others reflecting sudden turns in conditions, weaving a stormier, more confronting layer into his already distinct sounds.