FLOR DE LOTO

Flor de Loto is a novel Peruvian instrumental act whose young blood is providing an energetic flow of creativity in South American prog scene: they already have a solid cult following in their native country. The material comprised in their eponymous debut album has been written for a 1 ½ year period before the recording sessions took place, and it's fair to say that the sound production does justice to their overall energy on stage. Their prog style is quite punchy, mostly based on the interplaying between guitar and flute and robustly sustained by a versatile rhythm section: main influences range from "Red"-era KC to early 70s JT and hard rock with heavy touches of jazz-fusion and Peruvian folk, and added nuances of contemporary psychedelia. The opener 'La Entrada' kicks off with a languid atmosphere that evokes a sense of mystery before a wild interlude comes in expanding itself right up to the initial motif's final reprise. The mixture of hard-rock oriented prog and folk that is so effectively displayed in the opening number also works quite well in 'Ayahuaska' and 'El Ritual' - in many ways you can tell that these tracks are straightforward statements of Flor de Loto's musical ideology. Tracks 2, 5 & 6 are, IMHO, the album's most accomplished numbers: they epitomize the band's essential energy and comprise some of their most complex musical ideas, which gives the musicians the chance to show their skills as well as their interacting abilities more prominently than in any other parts of the album. 'Libélula' is an awesome showcase for the band's penchant for dense atmospheres in a rock context, creating well-sustained contrasts between ascents and descents all the way toward the sinister coda. Meanwhile, 'El Errante' simultaneously combines the special majesty of baroque and the intensity of blues-rock without falling into the trappings of excessive self-indulgence, but keeping a clear focus on the basic melodic motifs. Finally, 'El Niño y el Puerco' finds the band exploring the realms of jazz-rock with special depth - it includes a splendidly aggressive guitar solo over a African-Peruvian fusionesque rhythm pattern. and it works beautifully! 'Negativos de una Memoria Inexistente' comprises two distinct passages: the first one is an explosive metal-oriented tour-de-force in which the flute surprisingly feels at home, while the second one is an ethereal Andean-based motif. 'El Ritual', which has been metioned before, has a very cosmic feel to it, melting the candid touches of folk and the oppressive moods of post-rcok and psychedlic prog in a very effective manner. 'Flor de Loto' is a bucolic 3- minute acoustic instrumental that shows the band's introspective side, bringing a momentary occasion for easy relaxing. The closing track is basically a pretext for each individual member's soloing: on the basis of a few varying motifs (including a brief reggae passage), the successive guitar, flute, bass and drum solos flow on as a kind of ultimate celebration. A nice ending for a great album: in conclusion, "Flor de Loto" is an excellent debut, and that's why the namesake band gives us Peruvian prog-heads justified hope for the preservation of good prog music in our country.