Reviews of new Argentinean Progressive music items

Mardel-X Contraluz : Americanos (1973)***°° -click picture for color version-

Contraluz made a great album in 1973 with a nice progrock but mostly heavy rock sound, heavily influenced by Jethro Tull, especially the flute. The singing is Argentine rock, with emotional vocals. Some songs have really raw heavy part, with enough space in the songs for quieter instrumental passages. Good album !

“We started off as a kind of imitation of Jethro Tull (see picture) but throughout the years we have evolved to a symphonic rock influenced by local folk music such as the "Carnavalito" (which in fact comes from Bolivia) with a touch of "milonga" or "tango" every now and then.

A couple of years ago we played as opening band in a theatre in Buenos Aires where Steve Hacket performed and we keep playing regularly in local concerts. Our instruments include drums, electric bass, electric and Spanish guitar, keyboards, "charango", "legüero" drum, "papus" (a kind of mini-guitar bought in the USA) and traverse flute.”

Private

Contraluz : Ramos Generales (2003)***'

The new album has a more “sophisticated” & well recorded sound with some folkloristic, tango, jazzy piano, and other elements used here and there as varied instrumental themes in between the songs. The flute sound is still there too, at various moments. The instrumental ideas melodically are mostly built around the songs. This widely worked out variation gives the song orientation an unusual approach, making it interesting enough for the progressive music listener. And most songs really work that way very well. One or two tracks emphasize a bit more on the song itself, even when they are more than 7 minutes in length. In general we have pretty long tracks, most of them are over 7 minutes, with 2 counting over 10 minutes, showing a variety of arrangements like I described before. Here and there it becomes even more a kind of symphonic progressive, like in “Llevo..a mi padre” (11 minutes). Most clear "progressive rock" elements are perhaps shown in the accompanying instrumentation of “El despertar de la bestia” (7’39”). I don’t understand enough Spanish to understand the complete score.

Homepage : http://www.contraluzrock.com.ar/ Contact group : Alfredo Prochnik

More info on Contraluz :

http://www.viajeroinmovil.com/view.asp?lang=...(in English)

http://www.progresiva70s.com/rep_contraluz.htm (in Spanish)

http://www.dospotencias.com.ar/rebelde/contraluz.htm (in Spanish)

http://www.rock.com.ar/bios/0/325.shtml (in Spanish)

http://www.fortunecity.es/salsa/cumbia/294/bandasc9.html (in Spanish)

http://www.puertorock.com.ar/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=208 (in Spanish)

review of first album : http://www.gnosis2000.net/reviews/contraluz.htm (in English)

CONTRALUZ DISCOGRAPHY:

AMERICANOS (1973) - Vynil LP (45') EMI

QUE TU VOZ SE ESCUCHE (1974) - Vynil single (7') EMI

EL PASAJE (2000) - CD

RAMOS GENERALES (2003) - CD

next album reviewed here

private pressing Contraluz : Novis Orbis (ARG,rec.2008-2011)**°°

The old band Contraluz still exists and shows evolution since their 70s prog album. Also their previous release still revealed some attractive elements. This new album starts song based with nice vocal harmonies. Here the style is good but it would be a bit more difficult to sell abroad. The drumming sounded also a bit too straightforward following the most logic grooves, changes and rhythms without additional imagination. Here there are little electric guitar and flute solos the singing itself remains attractive, saving the tracks well. But then, after just a few tracks the arrangements become more symphonic and these progressions makes it for us also more interesting. The keyboards themselves often are texturing, when there’s enough electric guitar, flute and piano arrangements this gives a beautiful sophisticated sound. There also mixtures of acoustic and electric guitar, a small hint to folklore and folkloristic guitars and flute is used occasionally and some small touch of bandeon. “Oidos en el alma” cleverly directs towards a marching version of the sad second movement of the Seventh symphony of Beethoven, incorporated well into the track. A good (over 71 minute) album but it needs an effort to come into it on the first tracks. Once the symphonic / prog edge is more part of the sound this keeps a certain attraction that surely will be liked internationally as well.

Available from http://www.mellotronweb.com.ar/discovertapas17.htm

Contact band : Alfredo Prochnik

Spanish review : http://www.sinfomusic.net/...

German review : http://www.babyblaue-seiten.de/album_11545.html

Other review : http://www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=34396

PrivateDuo Fernandez-Torres :

"Encrucijada en busqueda de la corchea perdida" (2000)***

Description from radioshow : A guitarist duo from a 70's Fusion music qualitative level. We hear acoustic guitar and flamenco guitar open up an Argentian kind of warm flamenco (-if Spanish flamenco is like fire, Argentinian flamenco is more like warmth-), with some other additional influences, to get a beautiful & spontaneous mix. It was very difficult for me picking out tracks for airplay. The music contains a rare balance between mood, talent, adventure, mastering and also, modesty. Although it's odd that in studio off and on some natural sounds, synthesiser, and some synthetic drums are added, the overall effect of the music is as fluent as a live concert. Some of the effects might even give it an extra images/"fantasy"-provoking touch (see cover).

Received airplay : Tr.1, «Caballos alados en la noche(Gustavo Torres)» 4 min, Tr.2, «Encrucijad» 6 min, Tr.5, « Setiembre (Hugo Fernández)» 9 min, Tr.6,"Rumba de la amistad (Hugo Fernández)" 5 min, Tr.7,"La danza de henia (Gustavo Torres)" 8 min

Tr.8, " Canción de cuna para Oriente (Gustavo Torres)" 5 min

Website at http://www.duofernandeztorres.com.ar/

privateFughu : Absence (ARG,2009)***°

The voice of the lead singer that has something of the early Judas Priest singer on the early tracks, where Fughu's lead singer tends to scream more directly from the sinuses, but this luckily happened not too often or with a dominating effect. The music itself on these tracks is very well composed, which is progressive music, lead by electric guitars mixed with some keyboards, with a technical metal influence or capability and mixed with a heavy rock effect. There are many heavier parts with interesting evolutions and some quieter parts, making the album nice to listen too because of the constant evolution stronger than the song dependence. This approach makes them recommended to the new progressive rock lovers. Some of the occurring surprises are for instance on “Tilt” where the piano takes a lead execution on a flamenco-like theme. One example of their compositional strength can be heard for instance on “Slow” which starts like a tango led by accordion, then changes into a softer song with an arranged collage of sounds and theatrical rock arrangements, then evolves to the heavier progressive partly composed partly improvised side of the band, changing a few more times completely in heaviness within the song, rhythmically driven and with thoughtful changes.

The band was recently chosen by Dream Theater to accompany them for their South American tour.

Info & audio : http://www.myspace.com/fughuweb & http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/Fughu

Homepage : http://www.fughuweb.com.ar/

Other review : http://metalreview.com/Reviews/5187/Fughu-Absence.aspx

Private Habitat : Puente (ARG,2006)***°

I listened many times to this album, and appreciation grows with each listen but I still found it difficult to describe. The nice voice and some vocal harmonies with drums, acoustic/electric guitars with keyboards makes some of the tracks sound a bit like an Argentine version of Le Orme. This seemed at first an easy to listen to version ; the complexity and surprises are so carefully mixed into it, there is in fact much more behind the niceness of the surface. One track is an occasionally recorded medieval dance acoustic guitar mix with bass strings and percussion. The original “Theme for Universo Limbo” has some heavier guitar, combines this with folk driven acoustic guitars, keyboard leads, and as I said you will notice even much more progressive moves after repeated listens.

Homepage : http://www.habitatmusic.com.ar/

Review : http://www.tunecore.com/music/habitat

Aldo Pinelli's solo release is reviewed on http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/guitar13.html ; next cd->

Lizard Hábitat : Tarando de respirar en la furia (ARG,2010)****

With this third and most perfect Habitat album the band can be placed next to some of the better 70s Italian post-Genesis prog-symphonic bands, like Le Orme for its acoustic foundation with some electric elements and warm-subtle voice, or early PFM for instance especially when the acoustic guitar show its arrangements amongst other instruments like flute. The guitar shows a variety ranging from acoustic to fuzz electric, the keyboards even more, but even the percussion shared its different accents to the arrangements, from which a part is instrumental but also songs are part of the concept. A highly enjoyable release which is not really distinctive from the 70s period of inspirations, which is meant as a compliment to the band. Recommended to those who love that period.

Homepage : http://www.habitatmusic.com.ar/

No other links known yet around the time of the review

Viajero Inmovil Rec.M.I.A. : Archivos MIA (1974-1985) -2CD box- (ARG,re.2009)***°

M.I.A. was a huge art group with a large diversity of expressions, musically but also with other cooperative disciplines. They were a truly unique, essential group and its results spread over 3 LP’s and a triple live LP is worth tracing, varying from more acoustic to more progressive / symphonic approaches. This impressive looking double CD box with a little book of rare photographs and explanations of the tracks (in Spanish) covers the whole period of their existence but shows a bit more often the symphonic and often keyboard dominated part of the group (Lito Vitale’s responsibility mostly). There is also impressive choir parts, reminiscent of the essence of ‘Atom Heart Mother’, when Pink Floyd as a rock band embraced classical music ideas, and where they showed attractive vocal group arrangements, comparable to these ones. Just a few tracks show different, still well fitting together approaches on acoustic guitars for instance.

As a bonus track a 21 documentary was added shot on a Super 8 camera. It's nice to see the group perform, but the sound and music hardly fits in time, giving a rather surreal aspect to this visual archive material.

This double album still gives the impression of some historical importance, and of course the band also was important musically. For me a welcome and very enjoyable release which will give me repeated pleasure. For those who already tried and loved the M.I.A. releases this will be a more than welcome addition.

Spanish review with audio : http://www.clarin.com/diario/2009/03/11/um/m-01874404.htm

Label : http://www.viajeroinmovil.com

Info on MIA : http://www.viajeroinmovil.com/...

& http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/waterloo/728/magicland/m.html

& http://gnosis2000.net/reviews/mia.htm

Italian review : http://www.arlequins.it/pagine/articoli/alfa/corpo.asp?ch=4148

Short description of first albums on http://psychedelicfolk.com/Latin2.html

Altrock Prod.Factor Burzaco : II (ARG,2011)****

This is very unusual music, having some elements of contemporary music inspiration (not in composition) performed like an improvisational theatrical piece with use of electric instruments besides accordion and individual brass elements used “in a contemporary way”. This is more like a musical story which unfolds with spoken word and singing and improvised arrangements with open evolutions where the rock guitar adds some answers and different accents. This very much shows the expression of a theatre stage with visualisations put into music, more 'visual' than story-like, more descriptive than pattern based. A very rewarding piece of new music inspirations between contemporary classical and art rock. Very good !!

Group info : http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3753

Info & audio : http://www.myspace.com/factorburzaco

Info : http://production.altrock.it/prod2.asp?lang=eng_&id=142&id2=146

First album on http://www.viajeroinmovil.com/...

Review of first album : http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=7402