Simonel’s debut EP bursts like a Big Bang in slow motion, allowing us to appreciate the details that bloom before each loop is completed. These are not simple sound pieces, but intense and cathartic experiences that explore quite personal themes.

Simonel's music makes energy flow inward. The loops that he creates in such a meticulous way by manipulating tapes blend with the body’s blood and airflow, beautifully merging with the listener. It is intimate and complex music (not in a technocratic sense) that demands to be absorbed in an introspective environment. Perhaps it is for this reason, and for his reluctance to follow the trends that are increasingly keeping the Tijuana scene in a stagnant state, that the name Obed Márquez is not listed as one of its main figures, despite having been destroying cassettes for quite a long time now, in order to create his endearing universes of sound. 

Last year, Simonel shared the podium with various artists from the national experimental movement, in an anthology compiled by Unexplained Sounds Group, and this year he was part of the debut compilation for local label Facade Electronics. Segundo Plano serves as his first official release and all the waiting was worth it. If it had been released earlier, we would probably have a quality work, but devoid of something that could really distinguish it from other projects that use similar techniques. Waiting for his personal touch to emerge was the best option, and thanks to this, Segundo Plano feels transcendental and essential in a time flooded with superfluous projects and releases. 

Yes, there is a bit of Dino Spiluttini (especially his work on No Horizon) and a lot of Basinski; the EP even closes with a tribute to the Texan-New York artist, and its premiere was on September 11, a tragic date that was immortalized in one of his most representative works, The Disintegration Loops (although, in Obed's own words, this was a mere coincidence). However, at this point, Simonel's artistic maturity allows him to carry his influences to the surface, without sounding like a copy. 

Segundo Plano moves in circles, as if orbiting around the listener. The level of immersion makes each lap feel different even though it is really just a state of mind; we are the ones who change our expectations and therefore, the stimuli we receive feel different. This is elegantly demonstrated from the opener, "Primera Luz", which bursts like a Big Bang in slow motion, allowing us to appreciate the details that bloom before each lap is completed. The track is discreet and contrasts with the unstable arpeggio of the piece that follows (“Manipulacion”); it stops, picks up its pace, changes its tone and timbre, until it ends abruptly after its tortuous experience.

Much is said about ambient as music to ignore or to listen carefully, but I have always refused to agree with that, even if that statement comes from the very father of the genre. This EP may be titled Segundo Plano, but that is not the case; each track absorbs you with its subtleties and the expectation it creates, which is not driven by a sense of urgency, but quite the opposite. The elegance and subtlety of this work prevent it from going unnoticed, not to mention its impact on an emotional level. Along with Sunnesther, Simonel not only composes pieces, but intense and cathartic experiences that explore quite personal themes, but they do so without giving us the whole script. They leave much to the imagination, inviting us to interact with their creations in a deep listening state.