arctween: plane of existence
Francisco Espregueira
For some time I had hoped to release a full body of work from Tito. Ever since I heard him at Mr. Bean's Music Club, and revisited records that started appearing around 2018, it felt clear that there was a particular sensitivity behind the music - curious, rhythmic, spacious, unpredictable. Mostly in the sense that his references and musical background naturally pull from many places at once. When the idea of releasing Plane Of Existence on vinyl started becoming real, it immediately made sense for O Sótão Records.
Based in Porto, Tito Romão first built his path as a drummer, later expanding into composition and production through different instruments and collaborations. While drums are his main instrument, he also studied cello and taught piano for a short period. Later he developed his Arctween project, DJing, and gradually shaping his own language under a new moniker. From Forbidden Cuts in 2018 to Dance Of The Spheres via Discotexas in 2020, his catalogue has slowly traced a path between groove-based experimentation and more immersive sound design.
The years that followed brought even more movement. Together with Gazpa, a longtime friend from skateboarding days, he released Gaztween's I through Jazzego Records in 2020, later followed by II in 2025. Around the same period he was also producing Ping Pong, eventually released in 2024 through Jorge Caiado's Mad Luv Records. For a couple of years he has held a Saturday residency at the iconic Mr. Bean's, still playing regularly with the house band and moving freely between instruments.
A lot of that openness leaks into Plane Of Existence. Tito started producing the album during 2024, often late after work, without looking for a clear destination. By 2025 the concept slowly revealed itself. The record became an ode to Karlheinz Stockhausen, Manuel Göttsching, and to the modern ambient scene, while carrying traces of jazz, hip-hop and dub throughout its structure.
The album feels minimalistic and experimental, sometimes less harmonic, intentionally leaving room for texture, repetition and movement. His tight and vintage sounding percussion work mixes perfectly with spatial sounds and subtle vibrations drift through ambient, downtempo and dub territories, creating something immersive but still warm and human. It's music that allows space. For meditation, for focus, for getting slightly lost in the sequence of sounds. Saturated at times, sparse at others, but carefully balanced.
Plane Of Existence unfolds slowly, sometimes sounding like a beattape, carrying the feeling of someone patiently shaping ideas over time, trusting atmosphere as much as rhythm. For me, it's also one of the clearest representations yet of Tito's musical identity. The record is available on vinyl via O Sótão Records.