MOTIVOS PARA PERDERSE

4.5 stars. I consider this album to be a gift from above, but please let me explain. I deal with several vendors for my Prog music, but one of them also sells music from every genre imaginable.They have never made a mistake in all the years i've dealt with them until now. They sent me this cd that I did not order, and to be honest i've never heard of Fernandez Ledesma. So i'm thinking I have to phone them and send it back, i'm not too happy. I mean for all I know this guy plays polka music. Then I noticed on the back of the cd cover the Musea label, and I was suddenly interested. So I looked him up to see if he was on our site, and there he was ! No rating for this one yet, but on another site this was his highest rated record, so I decided to keep it. As soon as I started to listen to it I had to smile and give a thankyou skywards. This is freaking amazing ! I still can't believe it, yet I can believe it if you know what I mean. Haha.

"El Acueducto" is my favourite track one here. It's so dreamy, it's absolutely gorgeous. Synths and acoustic guitar lead the way early. Just beautiful. It changes 2 1/2 minutes in when piano and flute take over. This is different but so heavenly. Another change 2 minutes later as the piano becomes more prominant, as mandolin and flute join in. Synths come and go. It ends with the second theme returning. "La Montana De Los Enchentros" opens with a pulsating rhythm as sax, flute and piano come in. Synths lead the way for a while. Sounds come and go until we get a calm 3 minutes in to the end. "Ottla" opens with acoustic guitar and synths. Beautifully pastoral. Some angular guitar 1 1/2 minutes in as drums come in and the tempo picks up. Synths and organ lead the way until a calm 3 minutes in. Angular guitar is back before 4 minutes. "La Ciudad Di Las Mil Columnas" is ethnic sounding and it becomes uptempo quickly. "La Espiral" opens with male chanting with female chants joining in. Cool hypnotic sound. Again this has an ethnic flavour to it. "Remanso" is a one minute pastoral interlude. "El Arbol De Indigo" is the longest song at almost 11 minutes. It continues to be pastoral from the previous track. It changes 1 1/2 minutes in as vibes- like sounds come in with synths and bass also standing out. Pulsating synths also make an appearance on this one. A calm 6 minutes in. It slowly builds to a full sound 8 1/2 minutes in with synths leading the way. It's spacey to end it.

"La Huida" opens with sounds that build. Lots of intricate sounds that come and go until a full sound with sax and organ 2 minutes in. Some nice drumming and bass as well. "Relatos Del Agua" means "Tale of the water" so we get some water sounds and background synths to open. Percussion and those vibes-like sounds take over. Very otherworldly sounding. Great atmosphere. The intensity builds after 4 1/2 minutes. It calms back down and ends as it began. "Motivos Para Perderse" is of course the title track, it means "Motifs to go astray". This is the almost 9 minute closing track. Piano to open as percussion joins in and then female vocals. Lots of intricate sounds early. It changes after a minute with lots of synths. She's back 2 minutes in. A great sound follows. Sax comes in and it's dissonant as she sings away. Check out the guitar and percussion 5 minutes in ! Themes are repeated. This is amazing ! She's back 6 minutes in right to the end with more dissonant sax.

I will be checking out more of Fernandez Ledesma's music, but I will order it on purpose this time. A must have. Cool cover art as well. P.S. I went back to the company that sent me this, and they don't even have this cd listed in their catalogue ! Just his three latest ones.

This is another one of those neglected jewels in a too large collection that deserves recognition and gets only silence. It took a little nudge from my friend sinkadotentree to get this into my player and seek penance for my misdeed. Muchas gracias, John! While technically a solo album from senor Fernandez-Ledesma, the invitees behave as if in a group setting whilst creating a rich tapestry of sultry sounds and invigorating music.

The multi-instrumentalist leader infuses a vast array of settings and moods into mostly voiceless romps, where his omnipresent keyboards conduct the train, occasionally freeing up a ramp for some sinewy flute pastorals such as on the precious "El Acueducto", a thrilling and fresh opener. The second track gets a tad more explorative but still in breezy style. "Ottla" is a fine track, serene acoustic guitar and whistling synths are a superlative setting in general but here is elevated to a restrained effusion of class, teased by a complex but discreet guitar lead and some cool contrasts. A series of mini 2 to 3 minute segments kick in, weaving almost Saharan winds on moment and smoky electronics the next, the case in point being the mesmerizing "El Espiral" , a magnificent sonic opium with vocals from legendary Mexican female vocalist Alquimia . "El Arbol de Indigo" is the 10 minute whopper , a serene pastoral locale set in musical form where bubbling electronics, tangly guitar webs and some inspired vibraphone work really sling this one forward. A long synthesizer solo only contributes to the sheer glee. Toss in some funky bass and you can see the hot sun scorching through the haze. Entrance stage left, lead guitar outburst that energizes the proceedings even more, turning calm into excited turbulence. Then, a little refreshing ambient pause before reigniting the flame. Very cool track, in so many ways. "La Huida" slowly appears out of nowhere, a sweeping organ ditty, playful recorder work spicing things up, very near canterbury territory but with a slight latino tinge on the lead guitar, sounding almost like a soundtrack to bullfight (Corrida!), with wild swerves and escapes. "Relatos del Agua" has a distinctive marine feel, oceanic in scope with huge wisps of electronica that would make the trancers red with envy, perhaps my favorite track here. Blue effects color the mellotron tides and assorted percussives shaking in the vortex, this is simply brilliant stuff when the Frippian guitar rattles through the haze! Wow! Or should I say 'Caramba'! The title track tucks this puppy in, a near 9 minute joyride that reinvites Alquimia to the mike in a quirky arrangement that is loaded with dissonance, experimentation, counterpoint and creativity. Mucho progressivo! A definite surprise. I will start searching for more! Thanks John for sending me copy that i already had!

4 tequilas

José Luis Fernández Ledesma is a Mexican keyboardist and composer, also the founder of the 80's Progressive Rock band Nirgal Vallis.After the demise of the group Ledesma focused on composing his personal ideas in a solo project.For his first album he collaborated with female singer Alquimia and four more musicians on bass, guitars and saxes, while he handled all keyboard, percussion and ethnic instruments.The material was written in 94'-95', eventually released on Musea Records in 1996 as ''Motivos Para Perderse'', around the time the French label published the 80's works of Nirgal Vallis.

Having a strong Folk background already from his time with Nirgal Vallis, Ledesma proposed in his first work a somewhat cinematic mix of Ethnic Music, light Progressive Rock and Fusion, very intricate though at moments a bit too soft yet always attractive.In ''Motivos Para Perderse'' the listener will face the two different faces of Ledesma.The first is deeply rooted in Mexican Folk and interpretated in the album through mellow acoustic textures blended with traditional folky tunes (offered by the performance on sax, ocarinas and mandolin) and lush keyboard sounds in the background.Very atmospheric and highly esoteric musicianship.The second one comes straight from his days with Nirgal Vallis.Intricate Progressive Rock, very much driven by the work of Ledesma on synthesizers, and containing plenty of shifting climates with light solos and interplays, reminding a bit of PABLO EL ENTERRADOR.Guitars are used sporadically and the arrangements are strongly based on piano passages, fiery synth solos and lush orchestrations.

The whole listening brings to mind the diverse works of HOSTSONATEN.A great mix of challenging Progressive/Symphonic Rock with Ambient Folk textures surrounding the most demanding material.Beautiful stuff and highly recommended.