MUJER LUNA

Yes , this album can be classified as Folk-prog . This is the only album I heard from them, so I do not know if they always sound like this, but this album was quite enjoyable. Amarok's Mujer Luna (Lady Moon) is a predominantly acoustic album with many mysterious ambiances a proghead is generally looking for. This feeling is reinforced by the regular use of many unusual instruments generally found on world music records (and in some Embryo and agitation free albums of the early 70's).

However we are not in the realm of groups such as Sweden's In The Labyrinth. Amarok stays very much symphonic and if the use of a didgeridoo, darboukas, kalimbas and other is noticeable, the general feel stays close to the western hemisphere of music. Tierra Austral is my fave track but they have another two or three stand out tracks in Arabesca and Sueno Suenos (pig's pig).

A few lesser tracks actually hinders a better rating, such as Donde Esta Mi Amor etc... Definitely worth a spin but this album is hardly essential.

Ah yes, Spain, a center of culture in the dark ages, and Amarok makes us nostalgic for these times, with ancient sounding music borrowing from a variety of sources that have influenced the Spanish, from North African to Middle Eastern to Eastern European. The geographic breadth and superb playing are what make this album so interesting, though at times the musicians' own interests come across as somewhat clinical.

The lovely voice of Marta Segura enhances the music when tapped, but it is unfortunately not employed frequently enough. My favourite track is the beautiful but all too short "Nana Para El Hijo De La Tierra". In "Donde Estas mi Amor 7" her voice is matched to an almost Celtic melody and plays off with what sounds like a hammer dulcimer, which turns out to not be one of the 2 dozen instruments played! The most ambitious works are the longest, but they are only partially successful as cohesive works, the best of these being "Arabesca en 4 Mov" with its blended themes and fine flute playing. The album closes well with a rousing repeat of the "Donde estas..." theme on flute with organ backing, and sensitive piano fading to an almost jazzy close.

"Mujer Luna" certainly whets my appetite for more Amarok, and I hope it won't be a Azul Luna when I next hear an album by them.

With their fifth effort "Mujer Luna", the Spanish-Venezuelan ensemble Amarok consolidated in a most consistent manner their particular prog-folk-fusion style, and also enriched it with a conveniently abundant pallet of musical colors. Given the liberal display of sonic diversity such as the one incarnated in this album's repertoire, we can actually state, without falling into the trap of overreaction, that "Mujer Luna" is a primary highlight of the band led by multi-instrumentalist Robert Santamaría. Marta Segura serves as a well gifted charmer with her versatile singing, alternating the candid and the evocating at ease. The namesake title opens up the album with exquisite piano flourishes on a Mozarabic note, soon to be enhanced through the track's development. 'En el parque' leans closer to the standards of symphonic prog, bearing an ambience of sadness and solemnity; the motif and mood variations that take place in the mid section are accurate extensions of the lyrics' message, focused on the human drama of the nuclear bombing. With 'Arabesca en 4 movimientos', a mesmeric 9 minute long instrumental, Amarok goes headlong toward the reconstruction of exotic folk under a fusinoesque premise; the same goes for both duets for tabla and saz delivered on tracks 5 and 10. The telluric warmth displayed in these tracks serves as a bringer of vivid images from ancient history before the arrival of Modern Age. Less antique and more full of progressive antics is the ambitious piece 'Sueño sueños', an energetic title in which the keyboard interventions portray a solid mixture of Emersonian and Wakemanian hints, while the lead guitar combines the edge of psychedelia and the textures of jazz-rock. Of course, loyal to themselves, the musicians deliver an exotic interlude, full of lyrical magic from the Middle East, before a second jazz-rock-tinged interlude opens the door for the main motif's final reprise. 'Sueño sueños' is a really magnificent gem, a peak in this album. 'Nana para el hijo de la tierra' and 'Dónde estás mi amor' set the ground for further exploration into the band's introspective side - 'Nana' is a delicious bucolic ballad inspired by Renaissance pastoral music, while 'Dónde estás mi amor' assumes a more affimative stance with those recurring Arabic tones (once again). The band's pompous facet returns with flying colors in the 5-part suite 'Tierra austral', yet another highlight. Being a fully instrumental piece, all musicians develop the successive motifs with total fruition, creating a exciting amalgam of symphonic prog, fusion, pastoral and Eastern; the marriage of modern and traditional instruments is incredibly cohesive, sustaining an aura of majesty beyond words. The final section is very dreamy in its almost mysterious serenity. The conclusive reprise of 'Dónde estás, mi amor' is a translation of the main track's motif into the Celtic vibe and swing, which the band ultimately approaches by introducing extra rock tones. So, in short, "Mujer Luna" is an excellent item in the recent history of prog, one of many released by Amarok.

''Mujer Luna'' (or ''Moon Woman'' translated from spanish into english) is the fifth studio of AMAROK,a spanish band formed in early 90's in the region of Catalonia in Spain.The main musical brain of the band is instrumentalist/composer Robert Santamaria-just read the instruments this man can handle.By the first years of their career AMAROK played mostly a weird combination of folk/ethnic-oriented progressive electronic music with few prog rock elements.However,through several line-up changes and the addition of musicians with mostly classical and medieval music influenes the sound of the band had a more prog rock- oriented form with intense celtic,ethnic and mediterrenean music elements.By ''Mujer Luna'' the ''lifting'' of the band was almost over,making AMAROK one of the most original-sounding bands.

Musically speaking,this is one of the most difficult discs to describe.Some moments in this album are straight towards 70's progressive rock,while others aim to an intense folk/ethnic/medieval direction.Generally the longest tracks of the album are more prog rock-oriented,while the shorter ones seem like folk/etnic tributes.The unstoppable use of different instruments non-rock (very strong presence and intense use of piano,flute,sax,tambourine,violin and marimba) lift up this album in terms of progress and complexity.While this would seem like a ''difficult to listen to'' album,strangely it is very accesible to the average prog rock listener.If I had to give this album a label of influences,I would describe it as an amazing combination of GENTLE GIANT,KING CRIMSON and RENNAISANCE (due to the great female vocals of Marta Segura) with spanish,celtic and mediterrenean music!Sounds great and it is!

This bans has matures very much through the years and ''Mujer Luna'' is one of the most inspired and balanced albums I have heard.I think this album deserves at least 4 stars and comes highly recommended to those who search for something different and highly intricate!

This Spanish already released several good albums so far. Three out of four IMHHO. And "Mujer Luna" is probably the most achieved of their albums at the time of release, the most folkish as well.

The Eastern influences are quite noticeable in such a track as "Arabesca?" which is not a surprise: pleasant combination of flute and violin as well as sweet percussion work. The same can be said about "Duo Para Tabla Y Saz" which obviously leans more on Indian music.

This work is a true world music album, sourcing out the folkish influences of several countries from the Middle East or even further as I have already said. The whole being sung in Spanish where vocals are available (which is not too much by the way).

There are even some ELP influences during the long "Tierra Austral" and combines bombastic moments and jazzy parts. This is another good moment of this album which I would rate with three stars.