Dífícil Equilíbrio - Símétricanarquía - 2003
“la veu sembla possible: m’han
dit que neix
de les entranyes d’una pluja de nervis blaus
i tenir pell sempre ajudarà una mica
i plorar fragments color de paüra
i riure com un soldat de mel
aniré allà on tu
vulguis amb ales als ulls
i em tallaré la llengua quan no pugui tocar
tot el que veig per damunt dels vents
serà fins i tot viable el so clar d’un
mar de romaní
i pergué no? també una memòria, per a cadescú”
[“Començar” a poem by Paco Fanés]
intro
Dífícil Equilíbrio is the band of drummer Luis
Rodríguez and guitarist Alberto
Díaz. The trio is completed
again thanks to the return on the old nest of bassplayer Joan
Francisco.
After their first LP “Clan” the band released so far three CD’s. “Dífícil Equilíbrio” (1997), “Trayecto” (2000) and this “new” album “Símétricanarquía”. I say “new” album
because the band had to wait very long before Musea released their album.
The band has already composed music for a fifth album! On the first two
CD’s the band is still very much into King
Crimson influenced music.
On my personal favorite of those two (“Dífícil Equilíbrio”)
the band even played an abridged cover of “Fracture”. Needless
to say that only very good musicians can cover King
Crimson in a decent
way!
“Símétricanarquía” is presented in a beautiful digipack.
line-up
Dífícil Equilíbrio is:
Luis Rodríguez – drums, percussion and derbouka; Alberto
Díaz – guitars
and vocals; Joan Francisco – bass
Guests:
Celia Torres – cello; Robert
Cervera – trumpet; Enric Gisbert – Bass; Merche Rosales – drums; Mariano
Vera – guitars & caja ritmos; Luis David Garcia – vocals; Josep
Solà – sax; Khadija Reghay – zakarit; Raquel Piernas – vocals; Biel
Barrera – performance & pista
interactiva.
review
The first track “Vidas son horas” is a kind of bridge between that King Crimson (KC) influenced compositions and the new much broader style the band is presenting with this album. But “Vidas son horas” is a KC track in the best KC tradition. You can put this composition on a real KC album and nobody would notice the difference. It would be described like a new and fresh sounding KC track with some links to their past. For me the second track “El ángel exterminador” is far more interesting. The fresh KC sound is extended with the unique atmospheres of instruments like cello and trumpet. The trumpet plays a very delicate and beautiful melody just before Alberto Díaz plays a long and impressive guitar solo. “Penumbra” is a short experimental piece with cello and rhythm loops. This bridge seamless flow into an up-tempo piece called “Dynamite” with freaky guitar work, saxophone and some vocals which will transport your mind to India. “Al destino devenir” includes heavy KC guitar work. Dífícil Equilíbrio throws the musical styles of different KC periods and their own into a delicious meltingpot. The band slows down a little bit with the ballad “Ruptura3”. It includes nice guitarwork and a melodic saxophone solo. “Jaqueline” is short composition with a jazzy atmosphere. It flows into the track “Zakarit mena al maghreb” which transports you this time to Northern Africa. The vocals and the drums and percussion which are played on authentic instruments provide this atmosphere. They keep this atmosphere also in the next track “Trayecto” but the rhythm is made by a pounding bass. Luis Rodríquez takes care of great swinging drumwork. The guitar of Alberto Díaz is improvising on top of this rhythmic layer. The music of the track “Bypass” has a more experimental tone. In the closing track “Símétricanarquía” the styles of Dífícil Equilíbrio and Robert Fripp are perfectly mixed into something that sounds more fresh and optimistic than the work of KC. This diversified CD ends with a recital of a poem of Paco Fanés.
conclusion
In my opinion this is absolutely the best work of Dífícil Equilíbrio so far. This is a very good progressive album. People who like the musical style of King Crimson must give this band a chance. But I think Dífícil Equilíbrio could reach a much broader audience than only the King Crimson fans. Their music has a kind of freshness and has a brighter atmosphere. But the difference is that everybody knows KC but not many people know Dífícil Equilíbrio. It is easy for a record company to release an album. But the most important job is in fact the promotion. Often the record companies are failing in this aspect. And that’s why we have progVisions.