Tensal

Spanish techno artist Tensal, real name Hector Sandoval, first rose to prominence as one half of the duo Exium. He started his solo career in 2014, pursuing a harder-edged and more utilitarian style than his earlier work, and issued his first full-length album, Graphical, via Soma in 2018.

Sandoval and Valentín Corujo, who records as Kessell, formed Exium during the mid-'90s in Asturias, northwest Spain. Their debut 12" came out in 1999, and five years later they established the Nheoma imprint, which became the main home for their output. They were among the earliest acts to appear on Oscar Mulero's PoleGroup; alongside Christian Wunsch, Reeko, and Mulero himself, they quickly formed a core part of that roster, issuing multiple singles plus the 2013 album A Sensible Alternative to Emotion. Additional material surfaced regularly on Planet Rhythm. Across this span their productions kept a melodic character and a clear connection to the '90s ambient techno that had first shaped them.

In 2014 Sandoval introduced the Tensal alias with the 12" titled "A," the opening release on his self-named label whose subsequent singles have all carried single-letter titles. Built on vintage analog equipment, the new project adopted a more up-to-date, direct, and purpose-driven sound. A consistent series of records followed, highlighted by the 2017 double-EP Disco Negro together with 12"s on Ownlife, PoleGroup, and Soma—the latter imprint releasing his proper debut album Graphical in 2018, an effort that broadened his palette with ambient and IDM touches.