After a folkie morning listening to Left Arm Tan and Matt Harlan, I switched it up this afternoon and put on a little and turned to the symphonic progressive rock of Kotebel. last week I listened to and enjoyed their 2012 release Concerto For Piano And Electric Ensemble. Today I listened to the band’s 2009 release Ouroboros Of the two I like Ouroboros just a little better.
One thing I’ve learned over the last two years of writing this blog is that I am not good at describing the intricacies of the music, what I can tell you is whether I like it! Now I guess that really doesn’t tell you much since you don’t know me and for all you know my taste might suck! (which is often what my wife and daughter think of my taste) But that’s the reason I always try to include some positive press from others, so the reader can see that most of the time someone else likes the music, too. Or maybe I’ll provide a link to a review that can really tell you about the music. The things that I can tell you about is who the band is, where their from, etc. What I try to be is on one hand a guy who has listened and collected music for about fifty years and I’d like to tell you about some of the musicians that I love, that you may never have heard about. On the other hand, I don’t want my ears and head to be stuck in the sixties and seventies, so I am constantly on the look out for new music that I enjoy! My tastes cover a range of music, folk, blues, bluegrass, jazz, New Age, and recently Prog Rock. What I am not is an expert in any of the genres, especially prog rock. I’m an average guy who may listen to music a little more than the average person and wants to share that music with the reader! Ok so now I’ve used most of this post just blabbing on, but I think it’s been helpful to me and hopefully to the readers! But back to Kotebel!
Kotebel is a band formed in Spain, Madrid to be exact in 1999 by the Venezuelan pianist and composer Carlos Plaza. According to the Prog Archives while most symphonic prog bands start in rock and then add Classical influences Plaza started with Classical music and added a great variety of sounds, influences, atmospheres and flavors. The line-up of musicians on Ouroboros includes:
Carlos Plaza / keyboards
Adriana Plaza / keyboards
Carlos Franco / drums & percussion
Jaime Pascual / bass
César Garcia Forero / guitars
The album has a rating of 3.96 at the ProgArchives and is listed as an Excellent addition to any Prog Rock collection! Here’s the link to ProgArchives page about the album where you can read all the great reviews! So check them out! Oh, by the way Kotebel’s 2012 release Concerto For Piano And Electric Ensemble.was number 24 on the ProgArchives Best of 2012 list and is nominated for Best Instrumental Album in the 12th edition of the Independent Music Awards
Here’s the band performing “Ouroboros” in 2009!