TRÁNSITOS

Senogul is a band from the Northern part of Spain and is rooted in 2002. They have released a demo with covers from bands like ELP, Yes, Liquid Tension Experiment, Genesis and Frank Zappa. This CD contains five own compositions, the running time is only 37 minutes. But the musical level is high for a new band, I enjoyed listening to this new band very much, what a crafty musicians and what an abundance of musical ideas!

1. Dr. Gull / Racionalidad: Wonderful interplay between sparking piano and flowing, very sensitive electric guitar (with echoes from Steve Hackett) and a catchy break featuring a swinging piano and jazzy electric guitar. The interplay between the musicians is amazing!

2. Tango Mango: The band manages to capture the typical Latin-American atmosphere of the Argentine tango (I even hear the sound of the bandenon), very exciting and compelling. This long composition (at about 10 minutes) delivers many strong and surprising breaks and shifting moods and excellent work on guitar and keyboards.

3. Microcosmos Blues: It starts with an early, a bit dark and propulsive King Crimson climate, then mellow featuring twanging electric guitars and soaring keyboards. This is followed by a slow build-up, a sensitive electric guitar solo and finally quite experimental/avant-garde-like musical explorations, again very surprising and adventurous.

4. Travesía De Las Gaviotas: This is a short piece with a fine electric guitar solo.

5. La Mulata Eléctrica: Fasten your seatbelts, this long track (almost ten minutes) will take you away to an exotic progheaven! The exciting catchy and propulsive rhythm and sultry climate reminds me of Rock Andalus legend Guidalquivir and jazzrock giant Al DiMeola (like on Race With The Devil On Spanish Highway), what a splendid music! Halfway lots of fine musical ideas: a short but powerful bass solo, 'palmas' (handclapping), a beautiful electric guitar solo and some very swinging and virtuosic piano work, again the interplay between the musicians is outstanding.

This year Senogul will release a new CD, I'm looking forward to it, I keep my 4 or perhaps 5 star rating ready! THIS BAND IS GREAT PROGROCK NEWS FROM SPAIN!!

I knew Senogul through a friend (the guitar player Israel) this last year. When I see them in progarchives, I listened this album again and I discovered various elements that I didn't see before. This album contains five great symphonic songs. I really liked the first song (in two parts): Dr. Gull and Racionalidad. Mellancolic keyboards in the beggining going to solo guitar, drums, bass, more keyboards... So the song is becoming faster and very very exciting. I love keyboards sound between other instruments! "Tango Mango" begins slowly too, but soon becomes a kind of tango-rock (I think they made accordion effects with keyboards!!). "Microcosmos Blues" gives a spacial atmosphere to album, a fusion contribuition (but you can hear other fusion passages in other songs). "Travessa de las Gaivotas" opens to "La Mulata Elétrica" (maybe the best song of album). Between guitar, keyboards, a great progressive climate. Stop to claps and voices, more strong rock and the song ends remembering its beggining. All this album is very good. Long compositions, strong passions.. these guys play with real feeling! I hope they release more and more albums. Tránsitos is not a proto-prog, it's not art-rock or prog-related. Indubitability, it is a true symphonic progressive like seventy ages. Four stars with honour!!!

I'm from north of Spain, and, although I don't know about a lot of proggressive groups, I'd be a cynic if I tell my relationship with them is not a factor of influence for my valuation. However, and from musical ignorance, I have to tell I've enjoyed very much listening this album, a good entertainment for profanes, and a very interesting work for experts.

Released in 2004,'Transitos' is the first 'proper' cd by Spanish five piece Senogul.The album consists of five purely instrumental pieces which exhibit a well integrated band style allied to a high level of musicianship. First track 'Dr Gull/Racionalidad' sets the tone for the album with its nicely paced piano introduction, overlaid by soaring guitar very much in the Steve Hackett mould.The guitar then takes on the main tune, before the piano once more sets the pace for a faster second section, backed by a military beat from the percussion.This is all accompanied by some good jazz-like guitar. 'Tango Mango' is again introduced by the piano,( this album contains much good piano playing!!),the Hackett-like guitar soars and the bass is very much to the fore, lending a distinctly jazz feel.Dual guitars take over, one soars whilst the other provides an arpeggio backdrop.The pace increases, with good guitar and keyboard interchanges and eventually the Tango emerges from almost Accordion-like keyboards giving a more folk sound.This gives way to a more classical section, with a Harpsichord-like sound very reminiscent of Bachs Goldberg Variations!! 'Microcosmos blues' starts with very dark, brooding (Fripp-like) guitar, supported by good bass and background keyboards.That previous haunting guitar sound returns over picked guitar,before the Frippertronics re-appear with jazzy/bluesy keyboards in the background. 'Travesia de las gaviotas' is the shortest track on the album, a Latin jazz-like piece, very redolent of Santana! The final track,'La mulata electrica' , has a fast, frenetic opening featuring keyboards and percussion before the guitar enters and takes turns with the melody.This is probably the rockiest number on the cd, as well as introducing elements of both Celtic and Flamenco music.The pace eventually settles down, the soaring guitar returns and the track plays out with a nice guitar melody overlaying a background organ sound. This is an encouraging debut from Senogul which clearly shows their influences, whilst still creating a sound all of their own which is very egalitarian and doesn't allow one instrument to dominate.I look forward to the next Senogul cd (due at the end of 2006, i believe)!!