José Javier Castro (1965-2022) was a Peruvian artist and musician who emerged in the 1980s, and is known for being the leader, guitarist, and singer of the experimental rock group El Aire, as well as an emblematic figure of the Lima underground.

He also developed, starting in the early 90s, various projects centered on electronic experimentation, and oriented towards ambient and cosmic music, both for soundtracks, sound installations, as well as for his own rock band, leaving an important archive of recordings unpublished.

Melodía a Gianni Toti en dos partes [Melody for Gianni Toti in two parts] constitutes a first publication that seeks to disclose that other creative side of José Javier Castro, who was also an active promoter of the experimental music scene in Peru.

José Javier Castro encountered the work of the Italian artist Gianni Toti as an active collaborator of the Túpac Amauta project, directed by Toti and produced at the Centro Internacional de Creación de Video [International Center for Video Creation] (CICV).

In 1999, for the second part of the Túpac Amauta project, he was invited as a resident artist at the CICV, establishing a first-hand link with Toti, with whom he shared ideas regarding syntheatronic creation.

The sound piece Melodía a Gianni Toti en dos partes was composed in 2021 and is inspired by Toti's various visions of music and aesthetics.

This project led Castro to a long reflective process in search of a coherent definition of both the process and the aesthetics.

It is a spontaneous and heartfelt evocation as a tribute and thanks to Toti.