Eduardo Polonio - Obras Electroacústicas 1969-1998 5 x cd (Edición Antológica, 1998)

Over the three decades worth of material presented here, Spanish composer Eduardo Polonio gathers his varied explorations of tape and synthesis, to which he has been devoted since 1969 when he all but abandoned acoustic instruments. Previously, Polonio studied composition and counterpoint at Madrid's Royal Conservatory of Music. He soon immersed himself deeply in electronic composition, working closely with the Phonos Laboratory and the Alea Laboratory, becoming a member of the Alea Música Electrónica Libre. Although his associations with the Esplendor Geometrico camp and Horacio Vaggione might pepper one's expectations, these works are unmistakably of Polonio's singular style and approach. Easily misunderstood as haphazard, his synth and tape constructions operate under a rapidly shifting logic, only settling briefly into stasis before another series of twists and turns.

Each of the five discs are devoted to eras of Polonio's career. The two pieces dated to 1969 on the first disc, "Para Una Pequeña Margarita Ronca" and "Oficio", showcase his early forays into tape work, both built around frenetic, bobbing waveforms. Two longer Polonio works from the 1970s appear, built on alternately frantic and lush sequenced synth splat courtesy of a gang of early mass market keys, serving as a prominent reference point for the remainder of Polonio's output. Though he never stays the same course for long, the manic, shifting figures and dense swarms of tones remain integral components throughout his catalog. Impressive is the guitar piece "Valverde" (1981) for its ability to conjure cascading figures not unlike those on his synth pieces with just José-Manuel Berenguer's arpeggiated phrases and a delay system. Throughout these five discs, we find the constantly evolving vision of an unsung visionary.

Obras 1 - 3
Obras 4 - 5