Gotic
Escenes

I must confess that the Spanish progressive scene is certainly not one I know well (in fact...) so I approached listening to this "Escènes," the only testimony to the compositional activity of Gotic, with much curiosity and the feeling of beginning a journey into a fascinating and yet-to-be-discovered territory. Let's start by saying that the group is made up of four musicians: Rafael Escote on bass and percussion, Jordi Marti on drums, Jep Nuix on flute, and Jordi Vilaprinyo on piano, Moog, Hammond, and violin. The CD cover, in Roger Dean style, is beautiful and is further enhanced by the gorgeous cardboard edition (a sort of truly spectacular mini LP), the work of Korean M2U Records.

But let's move on to the musical aspects. The 7 tracks, all of fairly short duration (except for the last one, which slightly exceeds 10 minutes), are entirely instrumental and fit perfectly into the symphonic progressive genre. The most immediate comparison that comes to mind is with Camel's "The Snow Goose," although here and there fleeting hints of jazz rock peek through. The keyboards (piano, Moog, organ, and also the ever-beloved Mellotron) and especially an ever-inspiring flute dominate the entire album, weaving delicate and beautiful melodies at times and creating riffs that are never too complex but undoubtedly effective. Occasionally, the guitar makes an appearance, probably played by some guest musician as it is not listed in the credits: the electric guitar performs short solos or intertwines melodies with those played by the flute, while the classical/acoustic guitar performs arpeggios or elegant rhythms.

It’s difficult to highlight a particular track as the album is quite homogeneous and reaches very high artistic levels, barely missing "masterpiece" status; perhaps the final track, the long "Historia d'Una Gota d'Aigua," can be considered the best due to an unforgettable melody that strikes at the heart. As the beginning of my journey into Iberian prog, I must say it could hardly have gone better for me... in any case, you seasoned prog-maniacs, who surely know the progressive produced in sunny España much better than I do, if by chance you don't yet have this album in your collection, you'd better seriously consider it. Very seriously.