Rafael Toral

Artist

Rafael Toral

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About

Rafael Toral, born in Lisbon, 1967 has been intrigued by the potential of sound and the functions of music since he was a teenager. As a composer and performer, he has been deeply involved with Rock, Ambient, Contemporary, Electronic and Free Jazz music in different periods of his life.
Working with electric guitar and electronics, in the 1990’s he created a blend of Ambient and Rock and recorded acclaimed albums like "Wave Field" or "Violence of Discovery and Calm of Acceptance". In 2004 he changed direction and launched the Space Program, using experimental electronic instruments. It was an ambitious long-term project (2004 to 2017) exploring an approach to electronic music based on silence, through decision making and physical gesture, in a way inspired by post-free Jazz. The resulting music, “melodic without notes, rhythmic with no beat, familiar but strange, meticulous but radically free”, has been described as “a brand of electronic music far more visceral and emotive than that of his cerebral peers”. During this period he directed the Space Quartet.
In 2014 he relocated to the mountains in central Portugal for a more sustainable life. In 2017, having concluded the Space Program, Toral has entered a wider field with multiple directions and possibilities, in fact a "third phase", in which he returns to playing guitar and explores jazz harmonies along with Space Program instruments, as in "Spectral Evolution" (2024).

Data provided by Discogs

Top Tracks

Most popular songs on Last.fm · click ▶ to preview on Spotify

1

Loopability I

Rafael Toral

2

Spectral Evolution

Rafael Toral

3

Glove Touch

Rafael Toral

4

Quiet Mind

Rafael Toral

5

Optical Flow

Rafael Toral

Setlists

20 live performances · data from Setlist.fm

All · 20
2026
2025
2024
2018
2016
2015
2012

Setlist data provided by Setlist.fm

January 21, 2026

Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar

Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal


November 16, 2025

Cafe OTO

London, England, United Kingdom


November 15, 2025

Strange Brew

Bristol, England, United Kingdom


November 14, 2025

Hallé St Peters - Ancoats - Manchester

Manchester, England, United Kingdom


November 13, 2025

Star and Shadow Cinema

Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

Missing a show? Setlists sync automatically every 7 days.

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Rafael Toral's most-played tracks include Loopability I, Spectral Evolution, Glove Touch, Quiet Mind, Optical Flow. Listen to these songs and explore more from their catalog on this page.

Rafael Toral, born in Lisbon, 1967 has been intrigued by the potential of sound and the functions of music since he was a teenager. As a composer and performer, he has been deeply involved with Rock, Ambient, Contemporary, Electronic and Free Jazz mu... Read the full biography on this page.

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