Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

RAIMUNDO RODULFO

Symphonic Prog • Venezuela


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Raimundo Rodulfo picture
Raimundo Rodulfo biography
RAIMUNDO RODULFO is a Venezuelan multi instrumentalist born in Maracay in 1970, since the age of 7 joined the Children Symphonic Orchestra as a violin player, at the age of 12 started to study by himself classical guitar and at the age of 14 moves to electric guitar.

From 1986 to 1992 he joins several bands where he starts to blend classical elements with Rock music and a strong touch of ethnic sounds from his country but in 1992 he decides to pursue a career as soloist.

His influences are pretty clear, the listener can easily notice strong elements from STEVE HACKETT (Mainly) but also from KING CRIMSON; ELP and EKSEPTION but with an absolutely characteristic approach that makes his music so unique.

It's not until the dawning of the new century that he self produces his debut called "Dreams", a conceptual sci fi album very interesting for the Symphonic fan, soon in 2001 he releases his second album called "The Dream Concerto" for Guitar, band and Chamber Oprchestra in 3 movements, for this ambitious project he works with 15 musicians like the well known Andrés Briceño, Carlos Rodriguez and Pedro Briceño.

I honestly thought that his career suddenly stopped in this point, but checking his official website found "To Live a Dream - Official Bootleg" (2003) and "To Live a Dream 2 - Official Bootleg" full downloadable albums from his performances in Baja Prog among others, this two virtual releases are for free only for the persons who bought his two first releases.


Iván Melgar Morey - Perú

RAIMUNDO RODULFO Videos (YouTube and more)


Showing only random 3 | Search and add more videos to RAIMUNDO RODULFO

Buy RAIMUNDO RODULFO Music


RAIMUNDO RODULFO discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

RAIMUNDO RODULFO top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.02 | 11 ratings
Dreams
2000
3.25 | 16 ratings
Mare Et Terra
2009
3.83 | 18 ratings
Open Mind
2013

RAIMUNDO RODULFO Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.54 | 12 ratings
The Dreams Concerto
2002

RAIMUNDO RODULFO Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

RAIMUNDO RODULFO Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

RAIMUNDO RODULFO Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
Suite Dantesca
2014

RAIMUNDO RODULFO Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Mare Et Terra by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.25 | 16 ratings

BUY
Mare Et Terra
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by TenYearsAfter

3 stars Raimundo Rodulfo was born in Venezuela (1970), he pursued musical studies since 1977 until 1978 at the Escuela Sinf'nica Infantil. There he started to study violin and also began autodidactic studies of classic guitar at the age of 12, and electric guitar at the age of 14. Between 1986 and 1992 Raimundo joined several groups in which he started to compose music, blending classic and contemporary elements. He performed at several festivals and shows in his country and in some professional recordings. Since 1992 Raimundo has been dedicated to his musical projects as a soloist, composing music for guitar and group.

In 1999 he produced his first album Dreams and in 2002 his second album The Dreams Concerto (a concerto for guitar, group and chamber orchestra in 3 movements, featuring 15 guest artists). This release was played live for the first time at the 6th issue of BajaProg Festival in Baja California Mexico. In 2003 Raimundo released To Live A Dream - Official Bootleg and To Live A Dream 2 - Official Bootleg, two live full downloadable virtual albums, available from his website www.raimundorodulfo.com. And featuring music from several live performances as BajaProg, ProgJazz and concert opening for The Flower Kings. Parallel to his musical career, Raimundo Rodulfo is an Electronics Engineer, specialized in Digital Systems and Telecommunications and he has dedicated several years to Research and Development both in the academical and industrial fields.

Well, listening to this third solo album entitled Mare Et Terra (2008), I am impressed by his virtuosity on all guitars. To me Raimundo sounds like 'The Latin-American Steve Howe', what an outstanding guitarwork. The CD starts with the epic, very alternating and melodic composition Naufrago (almost 37 minutes!): the intro delivers an excellent piece of solo classical guitar that alternates between classical, Spanish and flamenco, what a jawdropping technique but it also sounds very pleasant, not clinical or as 'scale-acrobatics'. When the music blends with flute, Dutch progfolk Flairck comes to my mind. Then we can enjoy cascades of shifting moods and breaks. From a slow rhythm with sensitive electric guitar and piano, a string-section, a blend of classical and Howe-inspired electric guitar with Grand piano to a swinging rhythm with saxophone. From a compelling part with electric guitar and choir-Mellotron to a Seventies Yes oriented bombastic grand finale with jawdropping classical guitar runs, accompanied by castagnettes and lush choir-Mellotron, great! The other four tracks also showcase Raimundo his guitar skills and his pleasant and varied way of composing. I am delighted about the violin-Mellotron and warm clasical guitar in Libertad and the Santana-inspired atmosphere (guitar sound and conga's) with trumpet, flute and synthesizers in Blue. And about the Minimoog flights in Thoughts Part One and variety in the final track Thoughts Part Two: from a swinging rhythm with conga's and flute to bombastic Hammond and Minimoog with delicate steel-guitar work (evoking Yes) and a beautiful final part with tender classical guitar and violin.

If you are up to a varied, very tastefully arranged guitar driven album with a nice vintage keyboard sound, this one is yours! On his abovementioned excellent website you can read about the albums Raimundo Rudolfo releases (and re-releases, compilations and collaborations) between this third album and his most recent effort entitled Suite Dantesca from 2014. My rating: 3,5 star.

 Mare Et Terra by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.25 | 16 ratings

BUY
Mare Et Terra
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars There is a six-year long gap between Raimundo Rodulfo's second and third official works, but the man was far from inactive during this period.Besides two live bootlegs surfacing and related to his ambitious work on ''The dreams concerto'', he worked for some 3-4 years on his next effort ''Mare et Terra'', which was mainly recorded at his own studio in Miami, Florida, where he had settled for good, but several parts of guest musicians were recorded also in Spain and Venezuela.In the meantime he was discovered by Musea Records and got involved in the Dante series of multi-artist projects.In 2008 Musea was also the label to eventually release his third album.

The album is divided in two sections, ''Marre'' and ''Terra'', the first of which contains Rodulfo's more intricate effort thus far, the 36-min. suite ''Naufrago''.An excellent attempt on Brazilian-like Prog ala BACAMARTE and RECORDANDO O VALE DAS MACAS meet PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI with a more convincing and cohesive style compared to Rodulfo's previous compositions.Besides his long runs on folky, jazzy and Classical tastes, this piece offers also a beautiful atmospheric diversity, passing through several dreamy, romantic, dramatic and optimistic segments.A nice combination of Symphonic and Folk Rock with lots of Spanish guitar thrown in and some superb guitar/keyboard interplays in a GENESIS/P.F.M. vein, highlighted by symphonic grandieur and electroacoustic majesty.There are some vocals to be found also, but these are the less interesting parts of this epic, as the music is impressive to say the least.Most keyboards are analog and the flute parts along with the wind instruments are excellent, inspired additions.''Libertad'' is the other piece of ''Marre'', 9 minutes of dreamy Symph/Folk with some Neo Prog-like synths added for good measure and lots of violin, piano and acoustic explorations.

''Terra'' opens with the 11-min. ''Blue'', propably the most jazzy cut on the album, featuring also some Fusion, bluesy and symphonic orientations, but performed rather in a soft Prog/Jazz Rock manner with a slight Canterbury feel, plenty of sax and synths in this one with Rodulfo's smooth electric guitar shining through.Second part is another long epic composition, the 19-min. ''Thoughts'', which sees Rodulfo revisiting the qualities of the opening piece.Additionally this is the more modern-sounding part of ''Marre et terra'', focusing more on the contemporary Symphonic Rock stylings and featuring English lyrics.This is pretty weird of a listening experience, when you are get used to Rodulfo's rural and Classical soundscapes.Even so, this is a convincing effort on Progressive Rock with dominant symphonic arrangements and light jazzy interludes, great keyboard work, mostly on Hammond organ and synthesizers, lovely flute lines and Rodulfo's alternating electric and acoustic textures offering a variety of moods.

At this point I would compare Rodulfo with Brazilians BACAMARTE or the more recent POCOS E NUVENS.Great folky Symphonic Rock, intricate, captivating with lots of instrumental interactions and stylistical variety.He seems to have abandoned these odd moments of Chamber-Folk pastiche and the sound here is definitely more focused on the progressive fundamentals.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

 The Dreams Concerto by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Live, 2002
3.54 | 12 ratings

BUY
The Dreams Concerto
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars In 2002 Raimundo Rodulfo released his second album in an even more ambitious manner than his debut.''The dreams concerto'' features no less than 15 musicians on acoustic and modern, electric instruments, while Rodulfo plays all kind of guitars plus mandolin, bass and percussions.The album was yet another self-released production by the Venezuelean musician and composer.

''The dreams concerto'' is split in three very long movements, each serving a specific scope regarding the needs of Rodulfo and company.The first one, which is also the closest to Classic Progressive Rock, clocks at 28 minutes and comes in a Symphonic Rock vein with very delicate musicianship and lovely female vocals.Comparisons with PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI and Argentinians M.I.A. are unquestionable.A long suite, that often passes through forms of Classical and Folk Music, and offers a romantic Progressive Rock with rich orchestrations.Beautiful guitar work by Rodulfo to go along with melancholic string sections and pastoral flute lines, while there are also quite a few breaks into acoustic themes with a rural aura.The second movenent is about 17 minutes long and presents Rodulfo's more experimental and artistic style, not because of the complexity of the music, but mainly because Rodulfo tries to combine mathematical models into music forms.The music here is somewhere between Symphonic Rock and Fusion with some vibes from Swedish act ISILDURS BANE, where virtuosic and complicated ideas meet jazzier elements through the use of saxes and more technical bass and drum parts.KING CRIMSON is another good reference point.This piece is all instrumental, musically very intricate but not entirely convincing.The third and last movement, which is also the longest one (about 33 minutes long) shows Rodulfo's impressive musical background and deep music knowledge, but on the other hand it tends to be close to an academic performance.This is a mellow suite conducted for Chamber orchestra and classical guitar with strong Folk and Jazz elements along with Classical-influenced string lines, that offer a superb musicianship at moments.Its second part eventually introduces again the electric instruments and present a somewhat Neo-Classical Rock with impressive orchestrations and a convincing combination of string instruments with rock elements around.Rodulfo's playing remains deeply virtuosic yet always sensitive, with a soft guitar touch and long, melodic solos.

Very talented musician.His works are not everybody's cup of tea.As a result ''The dreams concerto'' is yet another R.Rodulfo album, which requires plenty of your time to be fully appreciated.But the result is trully satisfying.Warmly recommended.

 Dreams by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Studio Album, 2000
3.02 | 11 ratings

BUY
Dreams
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars A talented guitarist from Maracay,Venezuela, Raimundo Rodulfo was born in 1970 and before becoming an adult he had already took lessons for violin, classical and electric guitar.After being part of several groups he focused on composing hiw own material.By the dawn of the new millenium Rodulfo manages to release his first ambitious and indepedently released album ''Dreams'', where he was joined by several session musicians on bass, drums, violin, keyboards and sax.

Containing six long instrumental tracks along with a 21-min. grand suite,the album kicks off with a pair of great compositions, based on the changing sections between delicate flutes, classical-influenced violin parts and Rodulfo's virtuosic guitar playing as well as careful interplays obviously in a classic Symphonic Rock style, not unlike mid-70's PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI.The PFM resemblance continues with the next ''New Horizons'', this time Rodulfo focuses on his elegant classical guitar and this is a Symphonic/Folk Rock piece with plenty of violins and flutes to be heard.''Brainstorm'' sees the album's hero exploring the Fusion territory with complex guitar playing along with dominant keyboards and violins and lots of complicated interplaying.Rodulfo returns on his Folk-influenced side with ''Hard Times'',an all acoustic track scanning Classical Music,Folk and Jazz in a decent mix with fine results.''Math & Arts'' is the jazzier composition in here,Rodulfo's guitar work reminds a bit of early SANTANA with some dissonant parts to be found,still he throws in some Classical-influenced breaks and melodies here and there.The ultra-long closing Symphonic Rock/Fusion suite ''Universal Codes'' holds all of this album's flaws and remarkable moments: Virtuosic electric guitar work, acoustic textures with echoes of mandolin added, a touch of Fusion towards the end, warm folkish flutes, even some nice spacey synthesizers at the opening part,but also a bit of stretched ideas to push the composition to overindulgence at some point.

Rodulfo's debut is a nice discovery for all fans of Progressive Rock in general, being influenced by Classical Music, Jazz-Fusion and Folk at almost equal doses and interpretating them into long symphonic orchestrations.Despite sounding a bit excessive at moments,his album comes as warmly recommend at the end.

 Dreams by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Studio Album, 2000
3.02 | 11 ratings

BUY
Dreams
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by Dan Yaron

3 stars Raimundo Rodulfo's album is an instrumental piece of seven tracks. Raimundo is a good guitar player, but his album becomes a dissapointment after the first two songs IMO. These first two tracks are a combination of folk prog and symphonic prog. However, after these two fine tracks the album becomes actually boring. Some of the tracks are cheesier, some of them have good are played well, but they are really boring. One of the tracks is jazzy, but I cannot consider it interesting. I'll sum this review by saying that Raimundo Rodulfo is a talented guy, but he should stick to (in my opinion once again!) symphonic prog and folk prog like he does in the first two tracks.
 Dreams by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Studio Album, 2000
3.02 | 11 ratings

BUY
Dreams
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by fuegolunar

3 stars This is a very good album, with very interesting guitars melodies and solos. In fact, I don't give it more stars because I think its saturated with the guitar. Don't get me wrong, Raimundo is a very talented and excelent guitar player but I think, this album should have a little more space for other instruments like the flute.

Anyway, I think the songs are qite good and the music is very original, I recommend it to anybody (I've got it).

 The Dreams Concerto by RODULFO, RAIMUNDO album cover Live, 2002
3.54 | 12 ratings

BUY
The Dreams Concerto
Raimundo Rodulfo Symphonic Prog

Review by Marcelo
Prog Reviewer

4 stars A complex album from Venezuela, mixturing classical music, jazz, South American folk and rock with rich instrumentation. A lot of musicians playing cohesively but, even when music is essentially melodic, maybe this album needs more than one listening to fully enjoy it, due his complexity. A sort of a KC, Vivaldi and a jazz band cross. Very interesting!
Thanks to Ivan_Melgar_M for the artist addition. and to for the last updates

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.