vsebina strani
Review by: Guillermo Urdapilleta
Produced by: Salvador Govea
Label: Independent release
Salvador Govea: Keyboards
Luis Arturo Guerrero: Bass
Victor Valdovinos: Drums & Percussion
1. Danza Urbana
2. Continuum
3. Claroscuro
4. Convergentes
5. Falsa dicotomía
6. Intersecciones
7. Concertino. (Arrangement of the First Movement of Concertino for Organ and Orchestra by Miguel Bernal Jiménez).
Excellent prog from Mexico!
It is always a pleasure to me when I review albums from my country because I feel proud of the bands that are willing to create original and good music, and of course, willing to gain recognition here and all over the world. That is why the least I can do to help them is review their music. This time the turn is for Govea, a trio composed by Salvador Govea on keyboards, Luis Arturo Guerrero on bass and Victor Valdovinos on drums (who has sadly left the band). So they gathered together a couple of years ago and created this first album entitled "Danza Urbana".
The first thing that caught my attention was precisely the name of Valdovinos, which is one of the best drummers I have ever known. He is the leader of Iconoclasta, an iconic Mexican prog band. Well, so then I decided to get this album and now I am happy with it. So "Danza Urbana" features seven compositions and a total time of 40 minutes.
It kicks off with "Danza Urbana" - drums and bass first and seconds later keyboards appear and create the mood and the colours; it is worth mentioning that this band does not feature guitars, so go figure. The communication between the instruments is wonderful, they start talking to each other until they create an intimate relationship that can be appreciated almost every moment.
"Continuum" is the shortest composition here. It starts with some bass lines and then keyboards appear, later drums join and the three of them begin to build up a structure. This song has very nice short passages, and the mixture of diverse keyboards makes it good.
"Claroscuro" has a dark sound, atmospheric keyboards and bass for the first minute. Later it changes, the dark feeling is still there but now the keyboards add new elements and textures, so there are different moods and emotions in a single song. Here you can fully appreciate the band's compositional skills that will make the listener enjoy what he/she is listening to. I love that this is an instrumental band, first class symphonic prog with some avant-garde hints.
"Convergentes" is a happy song, full of sympathy that may put a smile on your face. There are classical elements here, but later the band surprises us with a rockier sound, thanks to the appearance of a guest electric guitar, played by Luis Octavio Cervantes. After four minutes there is a new change in the song - keyboards appear but now with a fusion style, bass and drums accompanying it, creating a calm but delicious sound.
"Falsa Dicotomía" follows that fusion style implemented in the previous track a little bit. The track is composed very intelligently. I mean, things are not that easy, but they manage to create a sound in which it seems to be easy, but well, the three of them are trained and talented musicians, so three prodigy minds together can't help but create wonderful things.
"Intersecciones" is like a Salvador Govea solo track. It is a piano-based song with nice figures and textures that will make you have a nice time. Though I honestly prefer the three-piece songs, this solo track has its great moments.
And finally "Concertino", which is an extraordinary arrangement of the "1st movement of concertino for organ and orchestra" composed by Miguel Angel Bernal Jiménez. The sound here reminds me of ELP and also some Italian symphonic bands of the 70s. Govea uses those old elements and translates it to the actual scene, so we can appreciate some kind of new-retro-prog.
What a great debut of Govea, a new reason for me to be proud about Mexican progressive rock. I strongly recommend it especially for those who like symphonic instrumental prog.
My final grade is 8.5 out of 10.
© http://www.therocktologist.com All rights reserved!