There's a place in Spain, where the sun is ardent and the sea is sapphire. A place where history meets with modernity. Where people are joyful and welcoming. There used to live an ancient population, the Turdetans. Descendants of the Tartessos, a mythical culture which thrived on the Guadalquivir's shores. A civilization which has been described in The Captives by Plautus as the most civilized in the Iberian Peninsula. A culture which reverberates in Andalusians people, in their manners and mores. This pre-Romanic people has inspired three men from Alcalá de Guadaira, a town of Seville's suburbs, to start a group with that name. A band inspired by dreams and their meanings. Inception, Eyes Wide Shut and The Wizard of Oz, have had a little role in influencing their ideas, but most of their influences came from the wonderful Pink Floyd, Camel, King Crimson and Jethro Tull.
This Spanish progressive rock band is composed by J.M. Pinto, the lead singer, Francisco Gongora, the guitarist, and J.L. Portillo, who plays bass, drums and keyboards. They aren't a live band yet because right now they're focused on writing and composing music. We could say that they've chosen the right way, by sticking to their passion rather than being a mainstream band who has put passion aside in favor of money. It doesn't mean that you won't be able to appreciate their work, which is showcased in The Owl's Eyes Music section and their YouTube channel.
Besides being infleunced by the more renowned and mainstream band, Turdetans gets ideas from contemporary groups like Riverside, The Pineapple Thief , Porcupine Tree and especially Opeth, a swedish band. Nonetheless, they're able to craft their own music with their own style. This is an aspect which is pretty relevant for the group's members. Though the budget is limited and the band lacks soe members who can play other instruments, they decided to use virtual sounds generated by a software. Nonetheless their music has natural sounds, as they say "More humane". This dedicaion has brought them to realise a concept album made of 12 tracks and 42 minutes of songs intrised of acustic folk rock and progressive rock. All of it has been recorded by La Tortuga Studios of David Carmona. Something which helped achieve a bit of fame and acknowledgment, which was unexpected. Let's talk about the music of Suite of Dreams.
Prologue is the first track and it's like a warm-up. There's the initial sound of a synth, followed by the piano. The song is particularly slow and soothing, to make you feel a sensation of quiet. The song has warm tones and it reminds of the cozy feeling you get in the first minutes of sleep.
Insomnia is characterized by a lack of lyrics and an intense instrumental act. The overlapping of the bass and the synth is used to underline the uneasiness caused by this sleeping condition. It's particularly relaxing and it reminded me of Tangerine Dream.
Lucid Dream continues on the same level of engagement of the previous tracks, building up its lyrics on Insomnia base. It's used to evokes a sensation of extra bodily experience, which is what happens during a lucid dream. The song's words help us understand how the creators, I think, experienced this kind of cathartic experience.
I Will be There represents where the suite starts to pick up an higher pace. The style evvolves in progressive rock and the bass is used to recreate what could be considered an initial nightmarish feeling which alterns to tender sequences which soften the tone of this track. Here is where there seems to be a bit of Led Zeppelin's influences.
Parasomnia, which is a category of sleep disorders that involve abnormal movements, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, and dreams that occur while falling asleep, is another piece which is only instrumental and function as an interlude between the more dynamic I Will be there and what come after it. This is a piece which starts gently and finish with more verve.
Rapid Eye Movement starts with a pounding sound which slowly evolves in something more comfortable where a flute is used to soften the tone. It's where the folks soul of the band is more noticeable.
Friends I is composed by two parts which are a bit contrasting but complementary. At fisrt the dissonance is heavily marked but slowly them are merged to form a more cohesive melody which is appreciable. I think that it represents how friendship works: the first quarrels followed by the finding of a compromise.
Friends II is another track which is completely instrumental and it's in fact the continuation of the previous track. It's used as a transition, to introduce tones and sounds which will return in the next song.
December 5th is where the suite surprises you because it doesn't follow what came before(I've said that because I'm listening to these songs while I'm writing this post). This song is tender and extremely relaxing. It's like the mirrored version of the first two songs, by being more chilling.
Thousands of Angel is, as the title suggest, the most comfortable and relaxing music of the bunch. I like how it keep up with the rythm and the tone of the previous song, it gives continuity to the suite.
Born Again is a return to the dynamic and haunting sounds of other suite's tracks. I think that the tone choices could represent the traumatic experience of birth.
Wake Me Up, which has a title which is not so different from Born Again and its symbolic meaning. And I think that this is the best song of the band because it's the perfectly balanced product of its two sould: folk and rock. And, as the ending song of this experience, is perfectly fitted because this is exactly what happens after every dream.
This is an interesting indie band which, with humbleness and resourcefulness, is able to craft beautiful songs which are born after a process of communion between the Spanish culture, which resounds in the band's name, and the members passion. They deserve to be acknowledge beyond their country's border. Because everyone should have dreams. Without these we would be nothing.
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