MAQUINARIAS

MEDIABANDA has won numerous awards in its native Chile for best artist ever since this band was formed by ex-Fulano members Arlette Jequier (vocals, keyboards, clarinet) and Cristian Crisosto (saxophone, flute, bass, clarinet) all the way back in 2004. They immediately made a huge splash on the music scene and even won a FONART, a government fund to promote the arts which they have benefited from immensely. Since this wild and energetic jazz-fusion meets avant-prog band got its introduction to the Spanish speaking world at large, it has remained a bit off the radar in the world of Anglos but yet here we are in the year 2021 and MEDIABANDA is releasing its fifth album MAQUINARIAS and all i can say is, WOW, we gringos have certainly been missing out on one of Chile's best kept musical secret!

While European jazz-rock can get a little heady and abstract, the Latin musical styles are inviting and offer an immediate emotional connection that is fun for the whole family! MEDIABANDA is an absolute giant of the world of jazz-rock by taking the infectious grooves of funk, rumba, cumbia and reggae and throwing it into the blender with ample doses of progressive rock, moments of angular avant-prog, jazz-fusion and even good old fashioned pop music. The result of this visionary recipe of experimentalism is a playful blend of progressive rock complexities, danceable Latin rhythms, outrageous vocal antics and soft sensuous tones and timbres that even venture into moments of Canterbury Scene splendor.

This is one of those larger than life sounding bands with eight official band members and six guest musicians as well. In the mix are no less than five brass instruments including alto, soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, traversa flute, trumpet and trombone. The horn section can be chaotically bombastic or sensually fluid and seemingly a single instrument playing in tandem. The tracks can range from flirtatious such as the opening "Perro Chico Malo" with Florencia Novoa's wild and uninhibited vocal style shifts to the more instrumentally inclined such as the title track which ventures into complex time signature shifts that oft remind of classic 70s acts such as Il Balletto Di Bronzo or early Return To Forever.

The track "Fulano" is a dedication to the band that began in 1984 which was the predecessor along with another band Congreso that led to the wealth of sounds on board the MEDIABANDA bandwagon. The track deftly showcases MEDIABANDA's uncanny ability to merge funk grooves, Canterbury jazz, Latin musical styles and the angular side of progressive rock into an amorphous flow of continuity that these skilled musicians make sound ridiculously easy in the process! "Suita Recoleta" really showcases Novoa's vocals in full regalia with a scatting technique reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald only on hyperdrive and in the much higher registers. Her beautiful vocals colorfully punctuate the flawless transitions of jazz-rock slowly drifting by.

Two tracks, "Suite Recoleta" and "El Dar del Cuerpo" extend past the eight minute mark and showcase the band's ability to improvise in intricate jamming sessions. Shorter tracks like "Señor Gorro Capucho" showcase more complex moods and motifs that wouldn't sound quite as good in such an extended fashion but offer the needed diverse elements to make this a really compelling and fascinating album. This is my first exposure to the infectious sounds of MEDIABANDA but i guarantee it won't be my last. The unique mix of swinging jazz, vocal extravaganzas, progressive rock workouts and larger than life band unity has the overall effect of the type of jazz-rock-fusion act that just makes sense to exist yet i can't think of anyone who has taken this playful and seductive avenue. A real treat this one!

What was it Robert Christgau said? "It's not impressive or difficult to rock out in 9/8 - it's impossible"? Well, these guys are sure showing him: not only are they rocking out, they're jumping all around, getting drunk and partying the house down in 9/8 and various time signatures. This album adds a very nice funky Latin element to what is in and of itself quite a rhythmically complex jazz fusion basis, creating a convincing balance between the Apollonian and Dionysian for all of those stuffy music snobs who hear the call of the dancefloor but feel too good for regular 4/4 beats. Something like that. Actually, I am not able to confirm at this moment if this album is at all fit for playing at any party, but even when you're alone and with headphones on it is a hoot to listen to all the same.

All the musicians are given their fair time to shine, with band leader/saxophonist/flautist Cristián Crisosto (who's not shy in adding some cheeky vibrato to his blowing) and drummer Christian Hirth especially giving it their all, but the main star is vocalist Florencia Novoa, whose contributions range from seductive crooning to wordless melodic doublings of the rapid guitar lines. Like I said, the overall atmosphere is one of good fun: the best track is "Godzilla", which has quite an involving main melody and goes through several cool tempo changes near the end but always retains the feeling of looseness and laidbackness, as if it all comes natural to the musicians (I don't quite understand the relevance of the song title, but the king of the monsters would certainly be able to level a major city if he were to try dancing to this tune). Even when the sound gets more edgy and starts vaguely resembling Zeuhl with its synchronized horn blasts and female vocals (as on "Fulano") it sounds hopeful and triumphant.

The whole experience is only soured by the final track, a primitive punk song that lacks an interesting hook and just gets annoying with its shouty vocal delivery and stupid "sieg heil" chants - tongue-in-cheek, undoubtedly, but very tasteless nonetheless; it doesn't fit at all with the rest of the album's jolly carefree tone, so just skip it and you'll have yourself a nice eccentric Latin jazz treat.