RIZOMA

Mexican avant-proggers LUZ DE RIADA have been around in one form or another since 2010 and founded / led by the talented Ramsés Luna who has crafted a unique vision of progressive music that mixes elements of jazz, world music and avant-prog with psychedelia, ethereal atmospheres and bubbly zeuhl rhythms. The band has lit up the Mexican underground and has enjoyed a thorough touring schedule of their parent nation as well as appealing to a larger international audience. Having completed the adventurous three album project of "Cuentos y Fábulas" which found closure in 2016, the LUZ DE RIADA project took an extended 8-year leave of absence but was only regarding the batteries and attracting new talent to conjure up the project's fourth overall release titled RIZOMA.

While the project employed the talents of many guest musicians on the trilogy albums beyond the core members, RIZOMA is more of a return to basics and simply features the talents of four members. While Luna himself dishes out the flute and saxophone airy sound effects, he is joined by Sonus Umbra bassist Luis Nasser as well as Deuol drummer Sergio Aldama. As an extra special bonus King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto as well as Anglagard percussionist lend a hand on the first and last tracks making this a dynamic and versatile album that delivers as much creative spontaneity as it does groovy bass-driven processions that keep everything from spiraling into the world of unhinged experimentalism. Other guests included Enoc Jiménez on guitar and vocal contributions from María Lucía dal Farra, Armando Palomas and Floriano Martins. This is a Spanish language only affair so hopa you speaka the lingo.

Imbibed with an insatiable quest for creative exploration, Luna once again embarks on a unique musical journey that sets this project apart from pretty much any other act out there i've experienced. A somewhat lengthy affair, RIZOMA features 10 tracks that extend to the 55 1/2 minute mark but it's the kind of musical procession that keeps you enthralled in every metronomic cadence and prancing proggy display of unexpected musical insertions that keep you guessing what could possibly come next. A veritable cauldron of jazzy fusion performs unthinkable antics with crazy avant-prog time signatures, psychedelic atmospheric overlaps and a groovy procession that while not in the camp of Magma inspired zeuhl sort of exists in a parallel universe to it. A plethora of textures, timbres and diversity of instrumental interplay, the album features classic prog workouts as well as adding some home grown ethnic resources to spice it all up like a jalapeño infused burrito.

Where the creativity shines the most is in how the varying basic grooves of the instruments interact. Syncopation and contrapuntal contrast is the name of the game here as the bass playing delivers a beefy yet steady groovilicious stability that allows the party to take place over its time signature rich dominance. In addition to the obvious Mexican nods to cultural sounds, tracks like "Todos La Banqueta" incorporate some beautiful African guitar moves as well as a vocalist that offers traditional African vocal contributions as well as another vocalist who delivers a completely different unreleased track that somehow jives quite well with the various grooving of the instruments. Yeah, this is unique. Very. "La Bestia" and other tracks even flirt with what sounds like klezmer only set to avant-prog mode especially in the feisty guitar workouts.

I have been woefully unaware of this band project. While prog bands in Mexico have become more prolific in recent years, for the most part they still lurk in the shadows of their Anglo and European counterparts. That is a shame because some of the most fertile creativity stems from regions of the world that have been smitten with the world of progressive and experimental music in the last few decades. This album is ridiculously creative from beginning to end with a never-ending series of twists and turns that never cease to amaze. One example is the avant-garde classical music intro of "La Danza del Tlacololero" that gurgles around until the track breaks into a sort of danceable Mexican inspired groove accompanied by the klezmer effect of the woodwinds. All in all this is a brilliant album and a band i simply must go back and explore more as the trilogy of albums that preceded seem to be just as adventurously creative. An excellent album but i find the last two tracks a little lackluster and could've been left off.