EN EL BUNKER

Well, here it is, one of the most important albums on the chilean music history. This is a very weird production that broke the musical scene of my country at the late 80's.

Fulano's registred mark is a constant game with various genres from classic jazz to some completly avant garde sections thanks to the possesed bass of Jorge Campos, the syncopated drums of Guillermo Valenzuela, the awsome saxo solos by Jaime Vasquez and the pretty-hard voice of Arlette Jecquier one of the most talented vocalist of the world (I'm not joking).

The original version of this album was made for double tape and its running time was 100+. The CD version is a little bit shorter but equaly great. The album stars with "La Historia No Me Convence, Solo Me Atraganta" a 10 minutes piece with acid lyrics and many interesting improvised solos. "Perro Chico Malo" its one of the best songs of the album, really creative and full of rhytmical susprises so as "Nena No Te Vayas A Chimbarongo, No Te Vayas Hoy Andate Mañana".

One of the most hilarious songs of the album is "Adolfo, Benito, Augusto, Toribio" a rhytmical rock that made joke of Hitler, Mussolini and Pinochet. At last, we have a very dark song entitled "Gran Restrictor Ten Piedad De Nosotros" and the beautiful blues "Sentimental Blues" and "El Dar Del Cuerpo".

A masterpiece. I really recommend this album to all jazz/fusion fanatics and prog fans to know a little more about the Latina American prog/fusion music during the las 30 years...

5* and it could be 10*...

A very interesting band from South America. A Chilean sextet with a most likely influence on Henry Cow, but for moments I can hear hints of GG. Their compositions vary from straight rock, to jazz-fusion and into RIO. Very complex at times, and difficult to digest, you will need many spins to get it, but is worth it!!

This "En el Bunker" IMO is their best, Long, mid and short tracks, no guitar but bass with sound expanded by mainly sax. Very demanding at times, not really for the casual prog fan.

Prog-heads should give this, one or two spins. Much of their lyrics are "Protest" or what you would call "Liberal", during the hard fist right wing government of Pinochet; but do not let this to prevent you to give them a chance!! Because their music is a fantastic discovery.

If you are adventurous enough you will be rewarded with FULANO. Pretty much Recommended!!!!!

An excellent work, En El Bunker has many elements of Jazz, and experimental music. Bagins with something like Indean music, I belive, made with sintethizer efects. The contrast between this music and the jazzy music that comes after is excellent, a masterpice of the eclectisism. The album is characterized for the fretless bass solos of Jorge Campos (the best bass player in Chile) with his constants demostrations of his virtuosism and expresion capacity. The screams of Arlette Jequier, something like she have a sobrenatural experience when she is singing, is one of the axis of this work, and all FULANO's works. The contrast is awesome, in some parts is something like jazz, with the sax solos of Cristian Crisosto, or free jazz like in En Este Momento Ud. Se Encuentra En el Medio Del Disco, a free jam of only 9 seconds. And other pices of Jazz in rithm of sincopated pandemonium like Nena no te Vayas a Chimbarongo.... You can discover here pieces like Honor, Decencia, Dignidad, Moral y Patria the title shows you of the ironic spirit of FULANO. But it has pieces of blues (Sentimental Blues), and Sinphonic Music (Gran Restrictor Ten Piedad De Nosotros), and Chopinean Waltz (Buhardillas), but the most rare and experimental piece, I think, is the homonimus theme of the album En el Bunker somethink like the postwar music, I mean, Luciano Berio, that is, the use of tape effects in the music, to make sounds monotones and repetitives, all contrasted by discordinates sounds of sax without structure predefined, that makes an antiesthetic music, that is so experimental to be understood. To finish my comment I have to said that album have the only hit of FULANO Adolfo Y Benito, Agusto Y Toribio the most ironic piece, something to considerate, this piece has a special strength, and political content. An ironic comparasion winth Pinochet and other dictators.

3.5 stars. Of their first three albums this is my least favourite. No Zeuhl flavoured tunes but we still get a lot of adventerous music to feed on.

"La Historia No Me Convence..." is the longest track on here and perhaps the best one as well. Spacey to begin with until vocal melodies arrive 1 1/2 minutes in with a haunting background. A total change a minute later as sax and an uptempo melody takes over with vocals. It calms back down 3 1/2 minutes in as piano and vocals lead the way. Some clapping 7 minutes in and sax leads the way a minute later. "Perro Chico Malo" opens with piano as it turns jazzy with vocals. Nice bass solo after 2 minutes. Sax and vocals end it. Great tune. "Nena,No Te Vayas a Chimbarongo..." features a lot of tempo changes early. Love the drumming 2 minutes in. An ok jazzy section follows. Bass solo 4 minutes in. Sax, bass and piano are all prominant the rest of the way. Vocals 6 1/2 minutes in. "En El Bunker" opens with samples as a repititious sound takes over with other sounds coming and going. This is experimental and one of the better tracks. "Buhardillas" has a Canterbury vibe as piano leads the way. I like it.

"Rap-Rock" is an uptempo,catchy tune. Her best vocal performance so far on this album. Some great sax and guitar. "En Este Momento Ud..." is 9 seconds of instrumental sounds. Why ? "Buscando Peyotl" features slow paced drums throughout as sax comes in tastefully before 3 minutes. This is a laid back number that is so relaxing to listen to. "Gran Restrictor,Ten Piedad" opens with this pulsating sound that builds. Male vocals join in around 1 1/2 minutes. A change 5 minutes in as guitar comes in aggressively. Female vocals a minute later. "A Dolfo Y Benito..." opens with samples of someone speaking. An uptempo melody with fast paced male vocals comes in. Sax before 2 minutes. "Honour,Decencia..." is led by sax as piano and bass come and go. Some nice bass 2 minutes in. Spoken words and a calm 3 minutes in. The tempo picks back up around 5 1/2 minutes. "Sentimental Blues" is a song I just can't get into, not a fan of this style. "El Dar Del Cuerpo" opens with piano, sax and drums. Vocals after 3 1/2 minutes. Guitar before 6 minutes. Great closing tune.

Lots to enjoy here, but it's not as consistant, nor does it reach the heights of their debut or the one that came out after this one.

Fulano became soon extremely popular and the books of Chilean Music include their monumental live show in August 88' in front of 4,000 people at the Stadio Nacional of Santiago.In 1989 another cassete album was released by the group, this time it was a double one, recorded at the Filmocentro Studios between April and June 1989.The same album was re-released in CD format a few years later.

Exaggerated Jazz/Fusion with RIO tendencies is the presented material here with the group delivering again the theatrical aspects of its sound, this time a heavy RETURN TO FOREVER influence comes on surface, as Fulano's style was flexible enough to come through impressive jazzy workouts with constant presence of wind instruments and reach the Latin-influenced Fusion aesthetics with bombastic instrumental battles.However the material is quite long to be fully consistent and there are some uninteresting moments with deep experimentations, solid but long improvisations and needless individual performances like the drum solo of Guillermo Valenzuela.It is pretty incredible the fact that the group could produce some very hard-to-the-ear Chamber/Jazz exercises with dominant use of clarinet and saxes and place them next to groovy, almost fukny ideas or more ethereal, downtempo tunes with a soft atmosphere and decent flute parts.They were putting up a real show back at the time, characterized by the changes in tempos and moods with Arlette Jecquier becoming something like a trademark for the band with her expressive, theatrical voice.The Fusion-oriented tracks are propably the most interesting ones, featuring lots of breaks and great, loose playing by the group, based in one-packaged attacking interplays, psychedelic vibes and theatrical inspirations.

A work to be discovered by all fans of flexible, over-the-top Jazz/Prog Fusion.Maybe too excessive at moments, still containing parts of sheer brilliance.Recommended.