Marc Capel (keyboards), Benja Abad (guitar), Alfonso Muñoz (sax), Vasco Trilla (drums), The-hien Trinh (trombone), Dimitris Bikos (Bass), Francesc Vidal (sax), Jordi Casadevall (Sound enginer).
Influences
King Crimson,Frank Zappa,Pat Metheny,Nucleus,Soft Machine,John Coltrane,Anekdoten,Aka moon,Avishai Cohen,Van der Graaf Generator,Kenny Werner,Steve Coleman,John Zorn, Frederic Mompou, Gabriel Faure, Area, Hatfeild at the North, National Health, Deus ex Machina, etc, etc...
The band Planeta Imaginario (Imaginary Planet) is an extraordinary eight piece Spanish jazz-rock/fusion group that plays creative, genre bending electric fusions. Founded in Barcelona in 1999, the band is named after a radically creative children's TV show from the early 1980s. In its music, Planeta Imaginario takes listeners on a magical, sonic journey to a musical Utopia, touching like a time capsule on three decades of jazz and rock and creating unique, new musical fusions of psychedelia and progressive rock. On *BIOMASA*, Planeta Imaginario blends geographically and temporally disparate musical influences, from the English Canterbury School (National Health, Gilgamesh, Hatfield and the North) of progressive rock, Chick Corea’s Spanish fusions, American guitar rock (a la The Allman Brothers Band), West African and Mediterranean rhythms into a fantastically creative, imaginative, evocative and uplifting musical brew.
A studio recording, *BIOMASA* is Planeta Imaginario’s second album and its first release outside Spain, on Cuneiform. More mature and elaborate than the band’s previous compositions, *BIOMASA*’s songs include a world of musical references – everything from A to Z, Allman Brothers to Zappa, and influences from continents ranging from Africa to North America, Europe and beyond. Fans of instrumental music (especially various fusions, jazz-rock, progressive rock and related musics) are encouraged to explore the work of this remarkable Spanish band, whose music should appeal to listeners of such diverse artists as: Anekdoten, AKA moon, Area, John Coltrane, King Crimson, Avishai Cohen, Steve Coleman, Deus ex Machina, Gabriel Faure, Gilgamesh, Hatfield at the North, Pat Metheny, Nucleus, Soft Machine, Van der Graaf Generator, Frederic Mompou, National Health, Weather Report, Kenny Werner, Frank Zappa, and John Zorn.
(about me)
PLANETA IMAGINARIO
“Biomasa”
Cuneiform Records produce such comprehensive histories and appreciations of their artists that it makes the reviews much easier. However, you still have to listen and listen well because there is so much great music contained within an hour or more and so it proves once again with Planeta Imaginaro.
First of all, the band is an 8 piece from Barcelona that plays (as it says in the press release) ‘genre busting electric fusions’ and ‘take the listeners on a magical, sonic journey to a musical Utopia, touching like a time capsule on three decades of jazz and rock and creating unique, new musical fusions, interlacing jazz rock fusion with psychedelia and progressive rock’. There, that’s the review done and I can get on now and just lie back and appreciate the music! But no, not quite, there is still a lot to say!
An interesting fact to begin with: the band take their name from a Catalonian cult TV show which had Claude Debussy’s ‘Arabesque n.1’ as its theme, played by Isao Tomita (Remember him?) The band were founded in 1999 but didn’t cut their debut CD until 2004 (‘Que Me Dices?’) ‘Biomasa’ is their second release so they do take their time with studio recordings.
The leader, keyboard layer Marc Capel Nadal speaks of composers like Debussy and Satie in an interview with ‘Nucleus’ webzine and you can certainly hear this on his composition ‘L’estiu’. Pat Metheny is an obvious influence on guitarist Eneko Alberdi Laskurian and you can hear this on this track and elsewhere throughout the album. Capel also says the band tries to stay close to the Canterbury sound although I must admit I didn’t hear a great deal of that on this particular album.
I realise I am starting at the end but that is where I am in my current listening and I turn next to the 9 minute long Laskurain composition ‘Trastornos opticos del oso bipolar’ which has a VDGG intensity in its opening then some Fripp inspired guitar which gives some indication of just how diverse the influences are (nd the interplay between piano and guitar are most enjoyable). Other evolutionary roots might be Brand X or Bruford on ‘Washington Sniper’ and even early Blood, Sweat and Tears on ‘Capture’. The reference to a band like BS &T is important for this is a tight, disciplined outfit who stay on the safe side of experimentation with a sweet brass section of trumpet, flugel horn, tenor and alto sax and trombone.
The reflective title track is 11 minutes and another Laskurian composition- this suggests influences like Miles Davis in the trumpet phrasing and of the birth of jazz fusion in general. The groove becomes more suggestion of Santana’s ‘Caravanserai’ as the track progresses. ‘Black Box’ is even longer, starting as a heavier piece but defined by a delicate, soaring melody line shockingly punctuated by the air disaster.
The music is very impressionistic, a perfect example of this being the clever layering of instruments following a piano (morphing into synth) and acoustic guitar leading a on a simple theme to evoke ‘Farandulero’s Theatre’.
In fact, sound bytes and dialogue are used to good effect throughout this recording sometimes in a humorous way such as in the ‘helium’ voice on ‘Capture’ and in the two ‘cosmic speeches’ which is perhaps why Gong has also been cited as an influence.
Beautifully recorded ‘Biomasa’ is an important release in the world of progressive jazz rock fusion, the convocation of musicians blending superbly in a highly accomplished recording.
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gràcies per passejar-vos per la meva pàgina. Sempre és enriquidor trobar a gent que no es conforma amb el " xumpa-xumpa " que tant està de moda darrerament pel mon. Enhorabona per la vostra música, vaig poder disfrutar-la en directe al Luz de Gas fa un temps. Aprofito per convidar-vos el 19 de juliol al GREC, plaça del Rei, presentant l..ultim CD del Jaume Vilaseca Quartet, titolat " Jazznesis ",basat en temes dels primers Genesis versionats a lo jazzero, i alguns cantats pel Gerard Quintana. Benvinguts, salut i sort,
Este miércoles en Quimeras estaremos presentando una entrevista al dueto de rock de cámara La perra, así como algo de Painkiller, John Madoff y más quimeras mentales para despertar tus neuronas.
Thankyou for adding Sonic World Festival, 4/5th September 2009. Tickets are available from www.sonicworldfestival.co.uk and www.myspace.com/harveybainbridgemusic as well as our own myspace site. £30 for the whole weekend, indoor toilets, free showers, free camping, bars, bar meals and restaurant, indoor venue.
Gràcies per l'add! Al final tocarem nosaltres demà al BocaNord... ens hagués encantat compartir escenari amb vosaltres, mestres!!! Salutacions cordials, -the Augmentine trio-
