CUENTOS Y FÁBULAS

Wonderful!

A new and fresh musical project has just arrived from the heart of Mexico. Luz de Riadaoffers more than only music, their compositions share a concept, which makes the listener create their own images and stories, so while you listen to them, you will surely have what I call 'music totally visual'.

The band is form ed by four trained and talented musicians who have been creating music for different bands and projects, so all their gathered experience give as a result a high- quality material. Rams's Luna (former Cabezas de Cera) on flute, sax, voice and Wx5; Hugo Santos (former Saena) playing stick and bass; Hugo Hern'ndez on drums; and Alejandro Vergara on guitars, are who make this project possible.

Their musical style may be difficult to define and label due to the richness of sounds, however, in Luz de Riada you will listen to a wonderful mixture of jazz elements, experimental music and progressive rock (among others), that create an eclectic and very original sound. Now in this 2011, they have just released via Angelito Editor, their debut album entitled 'Cuentos y F'bulas'.

In the album, you first will find a beautiful and well-crafted package, with a worth reading booklet. Then, you will explore their musical, visual and literary realm formed by fifteen compositions that make a total time of fifty-one minutes. Eight of the songs (the longer ones) are what the band call 'stories' (Cuentos), while the shorter improvisations are the 'fables' (F'bulas).

The intercalation of both narrative styles was a wonderful decision, so the listener's interest will not cease because the band and the music itself will not allow it. Worth mentioning that three of the tracks have lyrics, two of them spoken by Luna's voice, while the other by Mamselle Ruiz. The short tracks have the collaboration of Mexican musicians such as Alejandro Otaola, Ernesto Mendoza and Iv'n Bringas, among others.

The album kicks off with 'El p'jaro y el elefante', a one-minute conversation between sax and flute that leads to 'V'rtices'. This is a wonderful composition with an extraordinary structure; I love the bass sound, the prominent saxophone which in moments put a kind of mid-eastern flavor, the guitars ala Crimson, and the always great and constant drumming.

'Dom'stico depredador' is an addictive piece. Once you start listening to it, your hunger will not cease until it finishes, because it is involving you little by little. Here I like a lot the two guitars adding different nuances, and as usual, Hugo Santos' bass and stick playing is superb.

'El lenguaje del agua' is a very dreamy and tranquilizing short piece. Here you will listen to a couple of electric guitars, one is creating strange but nature-reminiscent sounds, while the other plays some soft notes. 'Comparsa de cronopios' starts slowly but it is gradually progressing, adding a diversity of sounds, textures, nuances and images. Here once can definitely appreciate the musicians' compositional skills, because this is a top-notch song.

'Ohlos de Linda Porter' is a short piece with some far noises and a text spoken in Portuguese by Floriano Martins. This track leads to 'Ritual de fulanos', a song which starts with an explosion of winds and a charming and happy sound; a minute later it slows down, creating a relaxing atmosphere for a couple of minutes, until it suddenly changes and once again morphs into that crazy and accelerated sound of the beginning. The mixture of rock and jazz elements is really good.

'El chango y la rana' is like the first track, but this time the conversation is between violin and saxophone. 'Luna perdida' is the first track with lyrics, as I previously mentioned, sung by Rams's Luna. This is a mid-tempo composition with (once again) a wonderful bass sound, great hypnotizing guitars, adequate drums and exquisite winds.

'La oruga y el conejo' is probably the weirdest fable, with a conversation between a dissonant electric guitar, and an acoustic one. 'Parlamento Saurio' starts heavier and with more power, the vocals appear here once again but with a different language and velocity, that specific moment honestly reminds me a bit of Cabezas de Cera's 'Pretexto a un texto fragmentado'. Returning to the song, the instrumental passages are pretty cool, every instrument is in its own world but at the same time all belong to the same realm.

'Carta jur'sica' is a peculiar track, with a dark, scary and nervous sound created by a theremin, with a stick sound behind, and a typewriter as background. Then, all of a sudden 'Por la puerta trasera' begins with an explosive and addictive saxophone sound for some seconds, then the song changes and creates a body in which several jigsaws are being puzzled, and when it is completed, the song returns to that explosive sax sound and finishes like that.

'Recuerdan a Lucy? Is the longest track of the album, with more than seven minutes in which a beautiful female voice can be heard, creating a soft, relaxing sound, which at the same time is complemented by the band's instruments. The atmosphere is very calm, charming and comfortable. After three minutes the intensity is increasing little by little, until after 4 and a half minutes a guitar riff appears. But guess what, it slows down and fades out, returning to the same beautiful and tranquilizing style of the first minutes. Finally, the album finishes with 'R'quiem' , with a darker atmosphere created by stick and accordion.

What a wonderful debut of Luz de Riada, an example that in Mexico we do have high-quality musicians and projects. I eagerly invite you to listen to them, I bet you will not regret. My final rating will be four solid stars (4.5) actually.

Enjoy it!