BANDHADA

3.5 stars. I really like it but don't love it. BANDHADA has been around since 1983 as they formed that year in Santiago, Chile. What a beautiful city! I had a fascination with adventerous music coming out of this country many years ago, fond memories. I also remember listening to samples of this their followup, released some 15 years later in 2009 called "Open Cage". This is a nice album. A five piece with sax and yes I love to bash sax don't I. Anyway it's actually not bad except for those smooth moments which are a negative for sure. Guitar is really good along with the bass and drums. Keyboardist adds some variety here including synths, piano and electric piano. That closer is so good and different from the rest. It's the only track with vocals and they sound fragile, so this along with the music brings a Canterbury flavour. Anyway I just love this one, wished they'd tried more of this. The rest is all instrumental and pleasant is a word that comes to mind a lot but it's all so well played and they sound great. The keyboardist composed half the tracks on here including the closer called "Timecatcher". Kind of a cool album cover as well. Check them out, classy stuff.

A Chilean band, found in early-80's in Santiago de Chile by guitarist Carlos Chung.The rest of the crew included bassist Philip Clark, drummer Eduardo Correa, wind instrumentalist Carlos Dominguez and keyboardist Alfonso Feeley.Back at the time Bandhada had a great live activity, performing in universities, cafes and theaters, but their self-titled album from mid-80'd wouldn't have escaped obscurity if it wasn't for the Mylodon CD reissue two decades later (with a couple of live bonus tracks).

This is really stunning and airy Prog/Fusion , maybe with a Canterbury edge at moments, evoking the jazzier side of CAMEL or even Dutch legends SUPERSISTER.An all instrumental experience, containing massive breaks and interplays but also a fair dose of melodic parts.The sound is driven by the superb flute parts with a strong Classical inspiration, the jazzy guitar pieces of Chung and the CHICK COREA-like style of playing of keyboardist Feeley, including synthesizers and electric piano.The atmosphere is very optimistic, energetic and pleasant with beautiful, dreamy melodies and an incredible ability by the group to change the sound from rich musicianship to more ethereal soundscapes.They sound like a flute-driven version of TANTOR, while the solos are many but far from the self-indulgent deliveries offered by a huge number of groups performing the style.

Awesome instrumental Prog/Fusion of high calibre, where technique and melody are harmonically placed together.Highly recommended.