Medialab Prado

Coordinated by Daniel González.

That Crooner from Nowhere is a project of the self-taught musician Al Da Tosta. The proposal is based on the vocal sampling technique heavily inspired by the latest beatbox and influenced by artists like Kid Beyond, Kila Kela, Dokaka, Mike Patton or Bjork.

In his performances, he executes voices and transforms them digitally using rhythmic bases created from guttural sounds, mumbling and random syllabic combinations, upon which he creates improvised melodies to produce an authentic sound collage.
In his tireless quest to use the voice as a creative weapon, That Crooner processes his loops making use of the musical information and the support of VST freeware plug-ins, effects which can be downloaded freely from the Internet. The result of this conglomerate denotes the mixed influence of styles such as funk, r&b, electronic, noisism and even vocal jazz.
mastertoastermusic.blogspot.com
www.thatcroonerfromnowhere.blogspot.com

Gonzalo Escarpa holds a degree in Hispanic Philology and is a member of various poetic and visual experimentation groups. He has studied Dramatic Art and worked as an actor and director of film, theatre and television. He directs the virtual group redfosforo.org, the Poetic Dissemination Centre of Madrid and the literary magazine Nayagua published by the José Hierro Poetry Centre, where he works as a coordinator and professor in the Poetic Creation Laboratory.
His work is currently focuses on the study of stage poetics, orality, the visual components of literature and intergeneric experimentation, which approximates his work to the principles of polypoetry, the spoken word and videopoetry.

At AVLAB he will present a preview of two projects: SONICA (new technologies applied to the poetic event) and PALABRA MATERIAL (recovery of neosocial foundations and perfopoetic confrontation).
www.escarpa.net

Ginferno was created in Madrid in 1997 as a live improvisation group with instrumental surf, low-fi rock and garage influences. In 2001, the group set up a recording studio (Estudios Sónica) which became its operating base.

Using the resources available in the studio, the members, Krater, El Nene and Ariman established a working methodology based on “cutting and pasting” that allowed them to explore concepts of structure, harmony, rhythm and texture. In 2002 Murky (Alehop!), Enano Ramone (Beat Generation) and Lolo (Gssh Gssh) encouraged Ginferno to publish a disc with 8 compositions: "Ginferno" (Alehop!, Beat Generation, Gssh Gssh / 2003). In the summer of 2006, GINFERNO recorded their second disc. In September 2006 Kim, a reputable Swedish poet and junk percussionist, joined Ginferno and successfully blended in with the band's composition process.
At the upcoming edition of Encuentros AVLAB in 2007, Ginferno will talk to us about their creative process using new and old technologies and will perform live accompanied by an experimental video made by Kim and some of the group’s other regular collaborators. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=132575434