ASTRALOPITHECUS

Another wonderful and promising Mexican band!

Filulas Juz is a band hailing from the city of Quer'taro in Mexico, a band with young and talented musicians who have been making sounds for some years, touching jazz, rock, prog and experimental grounds. In 2015 after a hard work they released Astralopithecus, a truly solid debut album that could be loved by fans of jazz fusion, progressive rock and Canterbury. The album was edited and is distributed by Azafran Media, a Mexican label who supports great Mexican, Latin American and European prog rock bands.

The album features 9 songs that make a total time of 44 minutes that will make you have a gooood time. Moments of radiant energy, passages of cadency, delicious instrumental jams and sweet progressive nuances can be perceived here. 'Mariner (Skit)' is the first track here. Since the first second they give us a flute, so they are like announcing that this will be a prominent instrument during the whole album. The musicians know and perfectly understand each other, that can be noticed due to the constant changes of rhythm and energy, every musician plays on his own but at the same time they are all connected. This was just a short introductory track.

A delicious mood starts with 'Belle Folie', a song that let us know the band takes of course elements of vintage jazz, but they make a wonderful blend of styles, with some Latin sounds (percussion) and a great trumpet. I love the second part of the song when they play completely free, I feel it, I mean, the energy, the flow and the sound make me think they enjoyed what they were playing while recording it.

'Introc' is a nice and relaxing short introduction that leads to 'Troc', a vertiginous journey through jazz fusion made by passionate musicians. I like how the music progresses, it starts slow but it grows until reaching a climax in which my ears felt an eargasm. This is one of my favorite songs here, I love the guitar, the bass, flute, keyboards, drums and percussions. It is important to mention that all the members are equally important, none of them carries a heavier weight on the back, all form crucial pieces on this puzzle named Filulas Juz.

I am not an expert on hip-hop, but I feel 'Green Dolphin Skit' shares some of its sounds, and I say it because of the rhythm, the guitars and the music, not because of the vocals. Actually, here the vocals don't actually sing, just talk, spreading some words that talk about knowledge, art and indifference. The next song is 'Astralopithecus', a beautiful work of art that takes us to a road in which we can find hints from Pat Metheny to Weather Report, contrasted with some experimental moments with distorted bass, some spacey trumpet and keys, making a trippy passage that I like a lot. Evidently, the band has a top-notch quality as composers.

The Latin blood returns a bit with 'Rebambaramba', another short but delicious track that will please your ears, mostly during the last 30 seconds that are full of energy. 'Voyager' is a pretty great track that I believe sums up what Filulas Juz are: delicious instrumental jazz fusion with Canterbury nuances. And finally, 'Xena', the longest composition (almost 9 minutes) of pure freedom, I mean, at least in the first part seems the band is improvising, feeling and enjoying, I don't exactly know where the improv starts and finishes, if there is actually one. Later there is a nice part where bass takes the spot and plays some soft notes that later become chaotic until a kind of electronic music moment reverbs for some seconds. While vanishing, the other instruments enter again softly and start developing new sounds.

I have to say that despite I love this album, I think I have enjoyed Filulas Juz the most while watching them in concert, they transmit passion, energy and love for music, which is why I would like to thank them and wish them the best, because Astralopithecus is just the first step to greatness.

Enjoy it!

Filulas Juz is an impressive instrumental jazz-rock unit featuring drums (Adriano Morales is an impressive drummer all around, guiding the group through a variety of styles), bassist Luigino Mar'n, guitarist Armando Cuevas, with Fender Rhodes and flute player Jos' Javier Rodriguez doubling on both instruments; guest player Pablo Olaya contributes Rhodes on several cuts, trumpeter Alejandro Sierra plays on a number of others as well, along with percussionist Francisco Jim'nez. Most of the time on the nine tracks, the sliding scale tips far closer to the jazz element, with the Fender Rhodes often recalling Chick Corea's playing, but with the rest of the group they truly forge their own identity. While drums and bass create some stunning grooves, one would be remiss to label this fusion, as the overall identity of their sound generally takes on a much lighter feel, without the heaviness. The odd track here is 'Green Dolphin Skit,' with spoken lyrics in Spanish from guest Juan Regueiro, making it the only track on the entire album with any kind of vocals. The guitar and keyboard interplay on the title tracks sets up beautiful and stirring passages for trumpet, guitar and keyboard solos, while drums confidently leads the group through numerous irregular rhythms. The entire group gets a chance to shine on the epic 'Voyager' as the piece builds and morphs into the closer 'Xena,' with a dreamy bass solo followed by some strange effected moves, eventually giving way to some spirited ensemble work that truly makes these two the most adventurous pieces of the nine. Looking forward to their next release.