FLOR DE LOTO

I have a saying I use quite often when discussing reviews with friends, and that is "so much music so little time". I mention it here as that is the excuse I am going to use for not previously coming across a band who are often stated to be the finest progressive act from Peru, and having heard their eighth studio album (they only released their debut in 2005 ? puts plenty of other bands to shame) I can only wonder how I have never come across them before this. Here we have a progressive band who have obviously been influenced heavily by Jethro Tull, yet also bring in South American influences. The team that voted them onto PA as a prog folk act obviously never expected them to hear them blast through "Locomotive Breath" (which here segues from a delicate take on "El Cóndor Pasa"). They use a traditional quena as opposed to flute, but it is obvious from what I have read that these guys have moved on a long way in terms of style since their early albums.

I was very taken with the sound on the album, as the guitar contains a harsh edge not normally found on a prog album, so I looked to see who had been involved in the recording and was amazed to see it had been produced and mixed by none other than Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Halford, Judas Priest, Driver, Sebastian Bach, Helloween, W.A.S.P, etc) who also undertook the pre-production so knew exactly what the band were about and how he could drive them. And drive them he did, as while they are never truly prog metal there is certainly a great deal of metal in their approach, mixing the attack of the guitars in with the quena and keyboards to create something that is in your face and also containing a great deal of beauty. If Horslips had been Peruvian instead of Irish (yes, we all know Charles O'Connor was actually from Middlesborough, but if any musician should be counted as Irish it should be him), and had arrived in the 21st century instead of the Seventies, then I am sure they would have sounded like this. The folk elements are front and centre at times, such as on the title song, whereas at others they are a little more subdued, but the overall mix is always a delight. My version contains an additional song, namely a live version of "El Cóndor Pasa/Locomotive Breath", which bookends the album nicely. This is a wonderful album, one I have enjoyed playing immensely. Just have to find the time to start on the back catalogue and see what I have been missing!

"Good news from Peru"

As a huge fan of prog blended with folk or ethnic music (from Los Jaivas and Triana to Flairck and Kitaro) I am delighted about the development of Peruvian formation Flor De Loto, rooted in the late Nineties. In 2005 Flor De Loto released their eponymous debut album, followed by 7 studio-albums between 2007 and 2018, and one live album in 2015 entitled Medusa: En Vivo En Buenos Aires. This review is about their latest effort Eclipse, two years after their previous album Arbol De La Vida (2016).

Looking at the recent line-up only Alonso Herrera (vocals and guitar) and Alejandro Jarrin (bass) are members from the start, Gabriel Iwasaki has turned from a guest musician into fifth member of the band, and producer Roy Z plays a guitar solo on Locomotive and Elvira Zhamaletdinova violin on Almas Perdidas. In comparison with the 'keyboard-less' album Mundos Bizarros (I am only familiar with their first three albums) I notice that this latest effort contains a pleasant amount of keyboards. But in general the focus is on heavy guitars and a powerful rhythm section, often tastefully blended with Andean flutes (zampona and quena), an exciting combination that is rooted in the music of the legendary Los Jaivas.

The album starts with a wonderful rendition of the known Latin-American traditional El Cóndor Pasa, featuring very moving play on the distinctive quena. Halfway the music turns into a strong version of Locomotive Breath (Jethro Tull), wow, what an exciting blend of heavy prog and ethnic music: from propulsive guitar riffs and a biting wah-wah drenched guitar solo to powerful flute, a swirling Hammond organ solo and strong vocals, in Spanish, I love that.

Tempestad sounds like a Latin-American answer to the spanish Heavy Prog band Medina Azahara, not with flamenco guitars but Andean flutes, in combination with thunderous drums and excellent heavy guitar work, Flor De Loto rocks, in an unique way!

The intro of Animal strongly brings early Rush to my mind, due to the raw and propulsive guitar riffs, again tastefully blended with Andean flutes, a powerful rhythm-section and fiery guitar. Halfway a sensational synthesizer solo, evoking Japanese keyboard wizard Toshio Egawa. From prog metal to Andean folk, this is trademark Flor De Loto and I am in the mood.

The titletrack is an up-tempo song, between harder-edged prog and prog metal featuring strong Spanish vocals, Andean flutes and again a spectacular synthesizer solo in the vein of Toshio Egawa.

Esclavitud De Tu Ser starts wonderful with soaring keyboards, twanging guitars, warm flute and tender vocals. Then rock guitar, sparkling flute and a tight and powerful rhythm-section, what a pleasant bridge between rock, prog and ethnic music, very melodic and harmonic, not very elaborate but tastefully arranged.

Támesis (instrumental) has a strong classical undertone with the flute and electric guitar, supported by a dynamic rhythm- section, halfway embellished with another sensational pitchbend driven synthesizer solo. At some moments Hungarian prog band Solaris come to my mind.

The intro of Paraíso delivers soaring keyboards, then heavy guitar riffs and drums and sparkling Andean flute in a mid-tempo with pleasant Spanish vocals, pretty straightforward rock meets folk. Halfway a blistering guitar solo, culminating in a prog metal atmosphere.

The first part in Almas Perdidas is melodic rock with delicate flute and rock guitar, fuelled by a powerful rhythm-section. In the second part we can enjoy another exciting harder-edged guitar solo, blended with violin and thunderous drums.

Eterna Proyección starts with spectacular synthesizer work and sparkling flute traverse, again evoking Solaris, but harder- edged. Then a more heavy atmosphere, culminating in a fiery guitar solo and a spectacular synthesizer solo. After a short break with tender piano the song is concluded pretty rocky.

Líneas de Nazca is the second instrumental on this album, it begins with soaring Andean flute, then rock guitar and a catchy mid-tempo beat with propulsive guitar riffs and Andean flute. The keyboard part sounds a bit too soft in the mix. The blend of Andean flute and thunderous drums is exciting, the Flor De Loto trademark sound. The second part delivers a dreamy sound, wonderful.

The final track El Cóndor Pasa / Locomotive is a live version of the first track, recorded in 2018 during the Rosfest (Florida, USA, along other prog like Brand X, PFM, Threshold and Barockproject) with the announcement "Now it's time to introduce to you the last Inca, the Ian Anderson of Peru, the master of the quena, 'Checho' Cuadros!" It sounds a bit more sparkling and dynamic than the studio version and showcases the skills and interesting ideas of this awesome band. And I like the final part with the mighty Hammond organ!

Highly recommended to fans of prog folk who are into rock guitars and heavy atmospheres.

By the way 1: Flor De Loto will also perform on Rosfest 2019, with bands like Riverside, Phideaux and Martin Barre's 50 Years Of Jethro Tull, I am sure they will make fans!

By the way 2: I am fed up with making all those corrections after publishing a review ('kapcha' or something like that) so dear progrock bands, sorry for some hocus pocus words.

This Peruvian formation was founded in the late Nineties, in 2005 Flor De Loto released their eponymous debut album, two years later followed by Madre Tierra and in 2009 the band released their third studio album entitled Mundos Bizarros. I have listened to all their three albums and in my opinion this is their best and most mature effort. What a captivating and often exiting progressive blend of prog and ethnic music from Peru.

The 13 tracks (total running time more than 1 hour) contain a lot of dynamics, due to the frequent shifting moods, accelerations and breaks: from dreamy and hypnotizing with soaring flute (like the ethnic quena) and twanging acoustic guitars to powerful and heavy rock with fiery guitar run, swirling flute traverse and a propulsive rhythm- section, This is topped by excellent Spanish vocals, both male as female. The one moment the music evokes the Chilean Los Jaivas or Dutch prog folk band Flairck. The other moment it reminds me of Jethro Tull, Biglietto Per L'Inferno or Rush (the final part of Volver A Nacer sounds very close to 2112).

In my opinion this third Flor De Loto album is a strong example of adventurous and interesting progrock music. I don't hear keyboards, neither these are mentioned on the album. But the guitar play is very good in the strong rock tradition, the interplay with the other instruments (lots of ethnic sounds) is great and the compositions are very tasteful arranged. Especially the epic title track in which we can enjoy Flor De Loto in its full splendour, what a thrilling atmosphere, what a great dynamics. And I love the duo vocals, a big hand for this wonderful Peruvian formation!

Meanwhile Flor De Loto have produced another four studio albums and one live record, all well received album looking at the ratings. Their latest entitled Arbol De La Vida is from 2016, so hopefully Flor De Loto is working on a new album ' My rating: 3,5 star.

Peruvian band FLOR DE LOTO has been an active and vital part of the progressive rock scene in Peru for a good number of years, and since they started to release their music on CD just over ten years ago, a new production by the band has hit the shelves just about every other year. "Medusa", their first live production ever, was jointly released by Azafran Records and Musea Records in the fall of 2015.

The main charm of this live CD and DVD package is to see and hear a tight, seasoned live band in action, where what appears to have been a really good performance has been captured more or less exactly as it was. If it is a case of me as a listener getting used to the sound as this concert unfolds or whether it's an actual case of the sound and mix getting improved as the concert unfolds, I don't truly know, but the impression I'm left with is that the sound and balancing is a bit off at the start, and then improves in quality along the way, which may well be something of a detrimental feature for those not familiar with this band from previous occasions. Due to that I'd first and foremost recommend this production mainly to those already familiar with the band. Those with a fascination for live productions that strive to be as authentic as possible might also want to check this one out, as the impression I have is that this concert has been captured pretty much exactly how it was, without all that much tinkering done to the audio afterwards.

I learn that this band is a notable Peruvian Prog-Folk group with six studio albums since 2005; when I received the CD/DVD to be reviewed (elsewhere), I thought FLOR DE LOTO to be a relatively new hard rock act from Argentina, as I tried to read the texts in Spanish... Medusa offers a 71-minute concert from Buenos Aires, dating from November 2014.

The music heard here is mainly hard rock with some slight folk nuances and even slighter prog elements. I'm not much into hard rock myself, so the whole set sounds pretty much the same from start to end into my ears. The song-oriented compositions are averagely rather fast and heavy with the usual wall of electric guitar. There's also a female [background] vocalist on stage, but her role is amazingly minimal. Even in the one and only track ('Desapareciendo') to feature her "voz principal", the totally unspectacular voice of frontman Alonso Herrera pushes forward.

The sonic quality is quite good while the visual side of the DVD is somewhat modest, concerning both the lights and other stage settings and the camera work. The six bonus videos feature the same songs, either as regular, amateurish gig clips or being more or less ruined by clumsy editing with colour and mirror image effects. I bet the studio albums reveal the band's progressive and folk music leanings much better. The flutes and charango guitar played by one member are colouring the sound very nicely here and there while the songs themselves are basically all too commonplace Western hard rock. 2½ stars rounded up for good digipak design.

Peruvian band FLOR DE LOTO has been an active part on the music scene in their native Peru for more than 15 years, although they didn't have any releases until 2005. Since then they have released an album just about every other year and at this stage have half a dozen studio outings to their name. "Nuevo Mesias" is their most recent production, and was released through Azafran Media and Musea Records in 2014.

"Nuevo Mesias" comes across as a solid production on most level, with a few subtle weaknesses in the mix and production department just about the only features that have a slight detrimental effect. Otherwise, this is a well made and well executed album of music that hovers on the edge between symphonic progressive rock and progressive metal, and while perhaps not the most challenging stuff around, it is a solid production, and one that should appeal quite nicely to those who enjoy their symphonic progressive rock just as much as their vintage-style progressive metal, in particular those amongst that crowd with an affection for powerful female vocals. Existing fans should go with the version featuring the bonus DVD, if possible, as this hour-long DVD is of a kind I suspect will appeal first and foremost to existing fans.

With their self-titled debut making some noise in the prog community, Flor de Loto would gather again for the making of a new album, which would develop further the style of their first work.Guitarist Alonso Herrera started working on his voice, while all members were given full freedom to compose their own songs, leading to a collection of tracks, from which the numbers of the so-named ''Madre tierra''would be chosen.The album was released in 2007 on Mylodon Records.

While there are plenty of similarities with the debut, ''Madre tierra'' is actually a different beast compared to its precursor.The loose jams from two years ago have been replaced by normal compositions with regular structures.Herrera displays his voice in some tracks for somesort of lyrical depth.The heavy moods have been a tad reduced, especially the first half of the album is a good example Andean Prog Folk with no particular electric explosions.Johnny Perez, who also offers some vocal parts, comes up with an exhibition of traditional instruments from the Peruvian land, wind instruments are always in evidence in different forms, like the zamponas or the pututo, and the background is an electric atmosphere of solos or decent leads.Other tracks offer a more rhythmic flute-based Rock Music with strong JETHRO TULL references, while the soft parts with the calm electric themes still obtain a nice psychedelic atmosphere.Second part follows a more heavy Folk/Fusion vein with good breaks and tempo changes and some furious guitar parts, which battle the sound of flutes in a very interesting way.Production is very clean, the mix is also professional and the balance between traditional and proggy/rockin' moods is extremely convincing.

Definitely a satisfying work of Latin-American Prog Rock with a deep sense of folky sensibilities straight out of Andean Music.Great and strongly recommended material...3.5 stars.

The Flor De Loto machinery continues to grow on and on in a never ending spiral of musical enhancement, and this brand new album entitled "Nuevo Mesías" is the unmistakably clear proof of that. For starters, the position of Agustina González has been properly reinforced to guarantee powerful expressions in the sung parts of the new set of tracks; secondly, a brand new drummer entered the ranks to provide the perfect balance between his predecessor's frontal power and the original drummer's groove; and last, but not least, keyboardist Daniel López (formerly of Kharmina Buranna) plays a permanent role as a band member and also provides a couple of compositions that sound very loyal to his personal symphonic essence. So, all in all, what we have here is an expansion on the sort of musical richness and energy that had already been established in the previous efforts "Mundos Bizarros" and "Imperio De Cristal", only taken to an augmented sense of bombast and a more ingenious equilibrium for all the instruments involved (various woodwinds, keyboards and the dual guitars). The namesake opener is a solid reminder of the sort of hook you can expect to enjoy in FDL'S catchier songs, while the intriguingly colorful 'Espejo Del Alma' and the emotional semi-power-ballad 'En Otro Lugar' bring us new examples of the band's versatility, carefully nurtured from their debut album onwards, clearly defined in their 2009 and 2011's studio efforts. It's been a few years since Herrera has become a fully matured song writer for heavy and folk-rock music, and these aforementioned tracks only confirm that he hasn't lost a particle of his touch: another song that is exemplary of his voice is 'Hipnotízame', whose main moods and ambiences stand somewhere between 'Nuevo Mesías' and 'Espejo Del Alma'. The first instrumental in the album is 'La Tabla Esmeralda', penned by bassist Alejandro Jarrín: it is a lovely mixture of Andean and Asian folk flavors recycled within a dynamic framework of jazz-oriented metal (a-la Gordian Knot). Again, we have some standards going on, and again, we have refreshing airs breathing new life into those standards. The real new thing comes first in López-penned 'Cumbemayo': it states a beautiful melodic development that reminds us candidly of Yes and Genesis' traditions, and it also gives Pacora a good opportunity to show his chops on the tenor saxophone. This kind of captivating musicality - as well as Pacora's tenor sax - will return later on, in a more pompous fashion, in the band's last instrumental, 'Creados Del Fuego', penned by Jarrín and involving intensive keyboard arrangements by López. The main theme is signaled by a fluid mixture of heavy prog and jazz-rock grooves, wrapped in stylish symphonic embellishments. The interlude is a voyage into the softer realms of art-rock, mostly Floydian, with the grand piano paving the way for an eerie (yet energetic) manifestation of reflective moods. The most introspective number in the album, though, is the other López-penned instrumental 'Caleidoscopio', where the grand piano takes center stage in the installment and development of the ongoing melodic focus: López displays his taste for Baroque and Romanticism in a perfect way. The closing track is 'Rumbo A La Eternidad', whose constant 3/4 tempo is handled in a folksy approach: the final result sounds like a heavy-oriented reconstruction of Los Jaivas, but of course, in pure FD style. Like I said in the first sentence of this review, Flor De Loto has continued to grow as a musical entity, which means that thanks to them, Peru's progressive scene remains an interesting point of reference regarding the healthy state of the affairs for current progressive rock around the globe. This album is one not to be missed! (Make sure you purchase the CD+DVD item - the DVD includes two songs played live).

3.5 stars. FLOR DE LOTO are from Peru and have released three studio albums so far.This is their latest from 2009. I gave their debut a spin before I gave this album one last listen for the review and thoroughly enjoyed it (the debut). Problem was by the time I was half way through "Mundos Bizarros" I was wishing it was over. It's because they use the same style on all three of their albums I suppose. Mostly instrumental and flute led with some guitar outburts and heaviness.

"Intro" is just that,a short mellow opener. "La Fortaleza" kicks in right away and hard with flute over the top. It settles after 1 1/2 minutes with acoustic guitar before kicking back in. "Volver A Nacer" is an uptempo rocker and vocals arrive a minute in. A calm with flute 3 minutes in and it sounds great. It picks back up before 4 minutes and ripping guitar follows. "Shamballa" is bass, drums, strummed guitar and flute. Electric guitar comes in and solos over top. A change before 3 minutes then the electric guitar returns after 4 1/2 minutes. "Amnesia" is mellow with vocals and we get some female vocals helping out.The electric guitar before 3 1/2 minutes is a nice touch.

"Danza Celta (Parte II)" is an uptempo rocker with guitar and flute taking turns leading.The tempo picks up after 2 minutes. "Habitante De Un Mundo Imagiario" is mostly flute with heaviness.The guitar lights it up after 3 minutes. "Nubes Obscuras" is laid back but it does pick up some 2 minutes in and vocals follow. "Atlantis" is uptempo with flute over the top.Guitar before 3 1/2 minutes.

"Noche Azul" is a pastoral track. "La Puerta Dorada" is good with the flute and a beat leading the way. Guitar 1 1/2 minutes in then the flute starts to lead again.Guitar ends it. "Mundos Bizarros" is a vocal track and the highlight for me is the guitar before 3 minutes.

It's cool to see the leader of the band wearing an IRON MAIDEN t-shirt in the liner notes picture. If you want to check these guys out pick any one of their three albums because they are all good. Conversly i'm quite pleased to keep only their debut in my rotation.

FLOR DE LOTO are an all-instrumental band from Peru, in fact i'd say they are without a doubt one of the best bands from that country. Listed as Folk, I guess because there is plenty of flute, but this doesn't sound like Folk to me. Lots of aggressive guitar, chunky bass lines and passionate drumming to go along with the flute excursions. No keyboards here but there is some guest synths on one track. This album simply sounds really, really good.

"La Llegada" builds rather slowly until a full sound arrives after 2 minutes with drums, guitar and flute standing out. A change 3 1/2 minutes in as the bass comes in.The flute starts to lead then the guitar as they continue to trade off. "Libelula" opens with drums as the guitar makes some noise. The guitar sounds amazing. Bass joins in.It settles 2 minutes in with flute. What a great sound to this one. Guitar and drums are prominant after 5 minutes. "Negatives De Una Memoria Inexistente" kicks in around 30 seconds with flute and a powerful sound. Love the guitar as the bass throbs. It settles before 2 1/2 minutes as the guitar solos beautifully. It settles with flute after 4 minutes. "Ayshuaska" features some guest mandolin but the flute and bass stand out early.

"El Errante" opens with some flute and such a lush sound.The guitar after 2 minutes starts to solo. Acoustic guitar before 5 minutes. It turns darker 6 1/2 minutes in before kicking back in a minute later. "El Nino Y Puerco" opens with bass, guitar and drums. Flute before a minute.The guitar starts to solo when the flute stops. Love the bass. Flute is back before 3 1/2 minutes but not for long as the guitar returns and proceeds to rip it up. "Y" is a short piece with guitar feedback and distortion throughout. "Ritual" opens with gentle guitar and atmosphere. It changes before 3 1/2 minutes as flute and a full sound take over. It kicks in a minute later as the guitar lights it up. "Flor De Loto" features flute, percussion and laid back guitar throughout. "Suculentas Frutas" gets interesting when the guitar catches fire 2 minutes in. It settles with bass and drums after 3 minutes. A drum solo after 4 minutes. I'm not big on drum solos but this is fantastic. Flute and that earlier sound after 5 1/2 minutes. A fuller sound a minute later.

I have to mention that one of my prog friends came in the store when this was playing and he commented on how great it sounded. He asked for the bands name and album title. A solid 4 star album.