DALTONIA

More than a proper band, Daltonia is a musical project led by Keyboardist Christián Céspedes (also in charge of vocal duties) - he doesn't sing but speaks the lyrics (alternatedly written by himself and Leonardo Véjar), in this way reinforcing the idea of Daltonia as a combination of music and poetry. Daltonia's debut album "Observador de un Uni-verso" is a conceptual work based on a critical reflection upon the development of humankind in the cosmos, with a particular emphasis on his destructive side. The Spanish division of the word Universe signals the prefix 'Uni' as an indication of nostalgia for lost unity and lost integrality. The album kicks off with the first 'Observador del Universo': the atmospheric ambiences set by the predominant keyboard layers and sustained slow tempo take the listener through contemplative moods. The WYWH-era Pink Floyd heritage is clear: the compositional ideas focus on atmospheres rather than on melodies, yet remaining powerful and appealing. 'Luz, Asombro, Obscuridad', while starting in a similar vein to the opening track, soon takes a more epic trend when it intorudces some interesting tempo shifts to create an almost Genesian climax. The closing section returns to the Floydian camp, pergaps more related to Ocean-era Eloy. The beautiful acoustic guitar solo instrumental 'Cascada' allows Baigorrotegui display his academic skills and pay homage to Steve Hackett (in fact, this piece quotes a few passages from 'Black Light', one of Hackett's emblematic classical guitar pieces). With its 10 minute span, '¿Es Hora?' is the album's longest number. It is also the most accomplished piece compositionally, demanding a bigger dose of punch from all instrumentalists: the interactions are very well ordained, making the band's overall sound bear a tremendous organic feel. The slower section bring back the cosmic vibe of the first two tracks' spacey trend. Things get more Foydian than ever with 'Retorno a Kadiem', including a heavily Gilmour-esque guitar lead and the most powerful keyboard textures in the album. Arguably, this is the apex of the album's spacey side. 'Kiñe We Mapu Ta Ñi Yalalun' is very peculiar: with lyrics in mapudungun (or mapuche, a native Chilean language), this track starys a bit away from the dominant space-prog tendency and makes a stand on ethno-rock territory. The alternating guitar and synthesizer solos keep things fluid in a progressive point of view, although I may object the fact that the rhythm duo doesn't explore enough the full potential of the track's basic cadences. Maybe a major presence of percussion instruments would have served to make a fuller approach to the piece's basic idea, but well again... maybe it's just me... This track's explicit energy is very pertinent as a prelude to the return to cosmic languid ambiences incarnated in the second 'Observador del Universo', which is the album's epilogue. In comparison, this closing track bears a more powerful vibe than the opening one. This Daltonia album, while not being an essential progressive work, should definitely appeal to avid fans of post- Meddle Pink Floyd and 76-80 Eloy (among others). Just to mention another Chilean band with heavy doses of spacey influences, RU-Kaiser delivers a more interesting musical concept, but this shouldn't deter us from appreciating Observador de un Uni-verso as what it is, a very pleasant item of current prog-rock.