RAFAEL PACHA

"Aes Sidhe" refers to a race of elf like somewhat moody creatures from Celtic mythology, and self taught Cordoban multi instrumentalist RAFAEL PACHA here expounds upon his musical interests in that region, not to give the nearer Galicia or Brittany short shrift. I have only begun listening to Pacha's solo work and detect an evolution from largely instrumental traditional and traditional sounding work in the vein of ALAN STIVELL, early CLANNAD, MIKE OLDFIELD's pastoral explorations and cross countryman HEVIA, towards more of an art rock approach that might appeal to NICK MAGNUS fans while still retaining ties to his roots. More about that on another page soon, hopefully.

I admit to listening to the 2020 remaster of this 2000 release, and am thrilled with the clarity of the production, which I find so critical to quickly dispelling my fears around yet another album of jigs, airs and reels that somehow slipped into PA via some alchemic time travel exercise, in this case perhaps the work of these same "aes". But no, this is prog enough for some and those credentials are thankfully boosted over the next 20 years.

The opening number seems to be Pacha's signature tune, an elegant arrangement of acoustic guitars, whistles, and guest uilleann pipes, the easiest on the ears of the Celtic pipes, which alternate in reflectivity and urgency. "Winter Song" is atypical, the only one with vocals, guested by Eugenia Navío, with an ambient arrangement somewhere where vocal floaters like ENYA, TRIONA NI DOMHNAIL, CONNIE DOVER and ELAINE MORGAN all escape to shed their earthly encumbrances. The second half becomes more engaging and not unlike the previous track. The album really gains momentum with "Bean Sidhe" (or Banshee if you prefer), "Broceliande", and "Ossian (fawn) by the Door", which feature more sparkling performances on guitars and winds, and just enough shifts to give the dancers a rest and the sitters their turn upon the warm damp ground. The lead guitar appears later in a couple of these and is expertly integrated. A later highlight is "Musli Clone". On the downside, this is still a tad more trad than I prefer, and I think even in 2000 I would have been aching not to hear any more versions of "Carrickfergus".

It's hard to hear a guy who would eventually form Finnish prog musical partnerships on this debut, but for its style this is a commendable work that hopefully mesmerizes the lively if unpredictable spirits to which it plays homage.

Having enjoyed such fruitful collaboration with the Spanish musician Rafael Pacha (both in The Guildmaster project and albums under Kimmo's own PA artist page, plus within The Samurai Of Prog), Kimmo Pörsti insisted they should make a CD consisting of revisited material from Pacha's solo output. The fact that it all has been released in Pacha's Bandcamp page only (with a possibility for an individual listener to order a CD-R version, if I understood) makes it extra rewarding. Add to that the lovely multi-fold cover design by Kimmo Heikkilä!

As Rafael says in his liner notes, there have been two major paths he has followed and combined as a musician, those of Folk (e.g. the Celtic tradition) and of progressive rock. Upon my rather limited amount of listening to his discography, it seems this CD doesn't really attempt to work as a prog-minded "Best of" compilation, even less as a guide to Pacha's album output. The source albums are mentioned - without their release years though - but the liner notes concern his thoughts of the individual tracks and their recordings then and now, with a fondness for various occasional collaborations. Although I'd warmly welcome some overall guideline to his discography as well in this set, this is a fine approach. You really can feel the labour of love attitude of this gifted multi- instrumental musician and composer.

The general atmosphere of this 13 -track set is fairly peaceful and organic, with a modernly clean production similar to above mentioned projects. There ate lots of folk ingredients, especially whistles, recorders and pipes are heard a lot. As a guitarist Pacha uses both acoustic and electric ones.

Stylistic references might include Alan Stivell, Malicorne, early Clannad, the most folk oriented stuff of Mike Oldfield, etc. Warmly recommended, beautiful CD package for any folk-enjoying listener.

Before reviewing Rafael Pacha's retrospective-natured recent album A Bunch of Forest Songs that was released on CD by his close collaborator and my countryman Kimmo Pörsti (whereas Pacha's other solo works are digital albums on Bandcamp) I wanted to have a closer look at one of his earlier recordings. La Tierra Permanece is, according to the Spanish composer and multi-instrumentalist himself, "a transitional album between the old and the new". I understood that his earliest works, starting from the threshold of the turn of the century, are more clearly folk- dominated and that the prog aspect increases: Going Ahead (2009) he sees as prog, not folk.

In a nutshell, this is organic instrumental music mixing folk and prog. Pacha's gifts as a multi-instrumentalist are truly remarkable. The acoustic-electric instrumentation is delightfully varied and fresh-sounding. On acoustic guitar he rivals big prog figures such as Anthony Phillips, and as the electric guitarist his style is sometimes reminiscent of Steve Hackett or Mike Oldfield. Pacha's use of various flutes is much folkier than of Ian Anderson or Camel's Andy Latimer, and his old love for Celtic music is felt here.

Some notes on individual tracks. The opener 'Absent' is gorgeous as it starts with a Phillips-reminding jingling guitar sound and grows bigger. And what's most important, also the melody is emotionally powerful. In a way this is better than Steve Hackett's 'The Steppes'. On 'Carpe Diem' the arrangement evolves very beautifully from a moody ac.guitar, piano and synth interplay to the dominance of electric guitar and flutes. I'd like to think there's a mystic fairytale-like spirit in this music. On 'Folía para una Dama' that spirit has a Medieval hint due to recorders. If you're familiar with the multi-national THE GUILDMASTER project, you know how Pacha likes to mix sonic elements of Old and New.

The only guest appearance on this album is Manoel Macía playing Ovation acoustic guitar on 'Hiroshi's Picks / Hiroshi Speaks'. A nice tune but not among my favourites here. Perhaps the album slightly loses its steam towards the end. I don't like the heaviness in 'The Hammer', and also 'Earth Abides' is a bit weak composition compared to many others. The brief closing track 'El viejo en el puente' is an earthy, moody, small-scale piece mainly for stringed instruments, percussion and recorder.

I was charmed by this album for its airy and fascinating atmospheres, the heartfelt melodies and the nuanced, dynamic instrumentation. Warmly recommended if you enjoy folk-oriented instrumental prog of e.g. Mike Oldfield, Tom Newman, Anthony Phillips, Jade Warrior, and Breton artists such as Alan Stivell. I'm glad and proud of having brought this wonderful artist to ProgArchives.