In the quest to explore and understand his own creativity, Sculptures (aka Jacobo García) turns his sight to the classic world to present an album conceptualised on ancient Hippocratic theories and a meticulous, almost medieval craft. 

This turn to the classic world is something we have been observing in the last few years, to the extent that a new Renaissance (or Renaisane 3.0 as some are calling it) is setting ground in the art spheres. Artists are revisiting ideas, theories, methods and techniques with our post-contemporary lens and new technologies.

Máscara (Eclectic Reactions, 2023), the just-released conceptual debut album of Jacobo García as Sculptures, takes inspiration from the Hippocratic theory of humours while reflecting on artistic exposure. The theory of humours is a system of medicine used by ancient Greek physicians and Philosophers. This system develops along four body fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, which are linked to behavioural patterns. Depending on the delicate balance of bodily fluids, the following behaviours appear: phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine and melancholic. The fluids are catalysts. According to the theory, humours associate with parts of the face, which are the four songs of the record: tongue (Lengua), eyes (Ojos), cheekbones (Pómulo), and mouth (Boca).

Jacobo García, who is an artist, curator, writer, producer and DJ originally from Madrid and now based in Barcelona, tells us that he didn’t think much of the creative process before starting the album: My process is based on adding things until I’m happy with that work block, and it makes sense to me. Then I begin to remove and polish until I’m satisfied with the final result, which is pretty similar to having a block of clay and removing stuff, hence the name Sculptures.

Sonically wise, García shares he employed a patchwork of techniques. From field recordings that he captures in an old microcassette (for this album, he used some old ones from a trip to Greece), to 303s used in an ambient context, layers of synths that create thick sound textures, a couple of pretty patent ASMR voices stolen from Youtube clips, and shhh… secret… there’s even a hidden, not so hidden Led Zeppelin sample. The song titles and the cover enable Sculptures to juxtapose the coldness of the music with the physicality and warmth of the human body.

Η συνέχεια εδώ.