ka§par: gestures of release
Francisco Espregueira
Ka§par is a name that naturally comes in any conversation about Lisbon’s nightclub culture. He’s been DJ’ing since he was 15, having shared countless nights with some of the city’s biggest names within the culture and some of the world’s most renowned producers and DJ’s. He’s still a young guy, but Ka§par actually carries more than 20 years of experience in his bag. No joke. Gestures of Release is his latest project, released via Percebes Música, the label he has been heading for a few years - committed to release brave new club music on vinyl. This new record shows Ka§par still growing and evolving, creating a very personal soundscape that approaches a diversity of influences towards one coherent output.
Gestures of Release is composed by ten tracks, reflecting on the producer’s most treasured aesthetics. It’s a deep affair; strong in its grooves, experimental in its details, emotional in its ethos. The productions are extremely well polished, demonstrating Kaspar’s deep knowledge of the craft, but, more importantly, it reinterprets in his own way, the myriad of inputs that he has been getting for more than two decades. Deeper abstract jazz-house on “Rectify” and “Miles Away”; discoid funk vibes on “Head Down” and “Feelin’ Something”; dreamy downtempo and dub textures on “Suave” and “Maritime Myriad”; plenty of irresistible bumping dance floor action on “Gestures Of Release”, “Clone Forge”, “Time Apart” and “Membrana”. Gestures Of Release works equally well at the club, at dim-lighted calmer rooms, or at getting life ‘forward’.
Almost entirely produced, mixed and mastered by Ka§par, Gestures Of Release invites contributors from the artist’s inner circle. Hélder Russo, Andrew “Change Request” Emil, Portuguese electronic funk-soul band Thunder & Co and the revered drum’n’bass producer AL:X of Cooltrain Crew join in. All in all this can be Ka§par’s best work to date, adding up to his impressive discography. Available on vinyl and digital formats, via Percebes Música, Gestures Of Release is an album to listen, appreciate and revisit frequently.