"Senogul"
"Senogul"
History
Senogul is an instrumental band born in Asturias in 2002, thanks to the meeting of bass player Pablo Canalís, keyboard player Eduardo García Salueña, drummer Alex Valero "Danda" and guitar players Israel Sánchez and Pedro A. Menchaca. Although they had different musical backgrounds (Heavy Metal, Blues, Folk or Post-rock) they found a common ground related to styles such as progressive rock or jazz fusion, the so-called “Contemporary Instrumental Music”.
The initial repertoire of the band was made up basically of symphonic rock covers from the 70s (from bands such as Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Crucis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and later they approached other bands more related to fusion (Return To Forever, Airto Moreira, Frank Zappa or Hermeto Pascoal). This led to the recording of the Demo CD Cosecha años 70's , in “Dos Mundos” studio in 2003-2004, with Mikhail Goldfarb as the sound engineer. It was precisely in September 2004 when Senogul was semifinalist in the musical contest “Concurso de Rock Ciudad de Oviedo ”, held in the capital of Asturias .
Since then, Senogul focus in their own compositions and style, based in the instrumental fusion of different musical styles: rock, jazz, blues, baroque music, minimalism, electronic music or flamenco, including such compositions in their set-lists. In 2005 Senogul records and self-produces the mini CD entitled Tránsitos , in which the band included six of those new compositions played live in the studio. Such demo recording was widely spread, not only through several concerts in different concert halls in Asturias (Gijón, Oviedo, Navia) or nacional events (such as Lughnassad Festival , held in Tiermes –Soria- in 2005, together with other important asturian artists such as Dani García de la Cuesta, Skontra or Deua Dubra), but also through internet in specialised national and international websites.
Meanwhile, Senogul kept composing new material showing new influences, with a freer, improvised character, tending to ethnic music and tone percussion. In 2006 the band focused in the recording of their first, self-titled, studio album, with Ángel Berdiales as the recording engineer and the collaboration of many renowned asturian musicians (such as multi-instrumentist Guzmán Argüello, who has played with Nuberu, Los Locos, Mü, Acullá or Edwin Moses). Such recording was edited in May 2007 by Mylodon Records, the Chilean record label specialised in progressive and avant-garde music, with French Musea Records acting as distributor in Europe. This recording was later released as a double LP under Kankana Records in the beginning of 2009 . The record was warmly received by prog-rock fans as well as critics, as it has been very positively reviewed in media (radio and press) as well as web pages devoted to progressive music and Spanish music releases. The replacement of drummer Álex Valero by Eva Díaz Toca, the nomination of Pablo Canalis as best bass player in Asturias (AMAS Awards 07) and live performances in Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León and Madrid increased the band workload during 2007-2008.
Such activity was particularly intensified in 2008, with several media appearances on radio ( El intercambiador or Latitud Norte in RTPA), television (cultural magazine Con3sentidos in TPA ) and press (newspaper “Les Noticies” and Musicom section in newspaper “El Comercio”). The band also performed live more regularly, sharing stage with other Spanish progressive rock bands (Insigne, Kotebel or Neverness). It all led to the participation of Senogul in the first edition of Madrid Art Music Festival (MamFest), held in Nicolás Salmerón theatre (Madrid, April 2008), together with bands of brilliant international careers such as Baraka, Guillermo Cides & Jerry Marotta or Trettioariga Kirget. The event was covered in media such as Radio Nacional de España 3 (in programs such as Discópolis ) and the music magazine This is Rock , as well as on-line through many specialised web pages.
The inclusion of Senogul as one of the bands under study in the book Radiografía del rock experimental II: del underground artístico al progresivo innovador , by Sergio Guillén and Andrés Puente (Castellarte Ed., December 2008), as well as in The Progressive Rock Handbook , by Jerry Lucky (Collector's Guide Publishing, July 2008), meant an important promotion for the band. Also the publication of reviews in specialised magazines such as the two volumes of the Spanish Sinfomusic: Nuevos Horizontes Progresivos, the French Bing Bang, the Dutch iO Pages or the belgian Prog-résiste. Senogul's second recording entitled Concierto de evocación sonora para conjunto instrumental (Aural Impressions Concert for Instrumental Ensemble) was released in February 2009 under margen Records. It is an ambitious project conceived as a single composition divided in 9 movements. This effort deals with sound itself without any aesthetic restriction and emphasises on what Senogul members denominate the “process of aural impression”: to represent different concepts, realities or emotional states through music. Keyboard player Eduardo García Salueña has set up an audio-presentation introducing the aural impression concept which he has given in the Aesthetics and Semiotics Seminar in Oviedo University , March 2009. The new album was premiered at the Art & Avant-garde Week, in Villanueva de la Cañada ( Madrid ), May 2009.
Music from Senogul's albums is used as the musical background to the photographic exhibition El viaje en tres dimensiones. Fotografía estereoscópica del transporte en Asturias (1900-2008) (A 3D trip. Stereoscopic photographsof transportation in Asturias (1900-2008) , shown in Pueblo d'Asturies Museum , Gijón ( Spain ), from 25 th June 2009 until 14 th March 2010 .
During 2009 Senogul has been involved in Orfeo: a Ba-Rock Opera . It is an ambitious adaptation of Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo: favola in musica, one of the earliest operas to remain in the standard repertoire. This work, in which baroque music and rock coexist, has been arranged and conducted by Italian maestro Massimiliano Toni. He built a solid career as an organ and harpsichord player (currently leads the ensemble La Terza Prattica) and has been assistant of great conductors such as Alberto Zedda, Jesús López-Cobos, Víctor Pablo and René Jacob. Deda Cristina Colonna is the stage director of the project. Orfeo: a Ba-rock Opera relied on several musical ensembles from Asturias apart from Senogul, such as the string section of the JOSPA (Youth Symphonic Orchestra from Asturias ), the saxophone ensemble Sax Antiqua and teachers and musicians from the Festival's antique instruments workshops. The opera was premiered 26 th of July 2009 in the church of LABoral Ciudad de la Cultura, as the closing concert of the XII Antique Music Festival in Gijón , Spain .
During 2009 Senogul creates the record label "Disconsonancia", to support musical projects close to Senogul's style and featuring some of their members and usual guest players. The first bands to release a CD under the label were Cuac! (onomatopop quartet featuring Pedro A. Menchaca and Eduardo G. Salueña) and Melange (instrumental fusion duet featuring Pablo Canalis). Recently, the first solo work of a Senogul member has been released: "Arco iris de lluvia ácida" (Pedro A. Menchaca). "Lughnassad" piece (from "Aural Impressions Concert for Instrumental Ensemble") was selected to be included in the "Anuariu Sonoru'09", edited by Web Portal F'nast. In addition, Pablo Canalís and Eduardo G. Salueña were nominated as best bass player and best keyboard player in Asturias, at AMAS Awards 2010.
2010 will be a very important year for Senogul. They have started recording their third studio album, featuring some prominent fusion and prog-rock guest musicians. This new album will be released during the first half of 2011, meaning a another step forward for the band, as it will show a unique sound (combining influences from their previous releases with some new musical experiences); on the other hand, Senogul collaborates in two collective albums with "Colossus Projects", a Finnish association interested in Progressive Rock: "Cani Arrabbiati: opening themes… a tribute" (based on italian movie scores from the 60s-70s) and "The tales of Edgar Allan Poe: a synphonic collection" (inspired by the literature of this Romanthic author). Senogul recorded "Magari Ancora Medley" for the former, an arrangement of four melodies from the original soundtracks of "For a few dollars more" (Ennio Morricone), "Casanova" (Nino Rota), "Toni Ligabue" (Armando Trovajoli) and "The cat o'nine tails" (Ennio Morricone); the latter release will include Senogul's epic composition "The black cat", divided in 12 sections, structured in a similar way as Poe's tale. In addition, Eduardo G. Salueña collaborates with two solo piano pieces in "Iliad: progressive duels on grand piano", another Colossus Project based on Homero's Poem. The piano pieces were recorded at Casa de Cultura, Mieres (Asturias), using a real grand piano. All these albums are being released under Musea Label. Along with their studio sessions, Senogul has continued its live performances. It is important to mention its contribution at "Music of the 20th Century" program, both in Oviedo and Gijon, commissioned by Financial Institution cajAstur. Senogul incorporates new arrangements in its pieces, with a new role for percussion instruments and Minimoog synthesizer. In October, the band plays at the second edition of Go Prog Fest, in the portuguese town of Gouveia.
Senogul's third album, Senogul III, was released in 2011. In this occasion the band was joined by kaval player Theodossi Spassov (The Glimpse, Billy Cobham, David Peña Dorantes, Riverdance), guitar player Luis Cobo “Manglis” (Guadalquivir, Arrajatabla, Triana), flute and saxophone player Pedro Ontiveros (Guadalquivir, Daniel Vega, Enrique Morente), keyboard player Marcos Mantero (Imán Califato Independiente, Gualberto, Alaska y Dinarama) and bassoon player John Falcone (co-principal bassonist of the Symphonic Orchestra of Asturias, who often joins Senogul on-stage). The album was released by Musea Records and Disconsonancia and distributed in Latin America by Azafrán Media. It was a great success in terms of critics and sales, which led to a reprint in just a few months. Senogul III was premiered in Gijón (Noches de Jazz, Soul y R&B series) and Avilés (Avilés Arte Sonoro series), with renowned drummer Rafa Yugueros as a new member of the band.
Bibliographical studies Navia Caótica: 30 años de rock en el noroccidente asturiano (David Von Rivers) and Discos para inquietos: obras discográficas para melómanos empedernidos (Sergio Guillén & Andrés Puente) included information on Senogul and its members. During this year 2011, Pablo Canalís is nominated once again as the best bass player in Asturias (AMAS Awards).
In 2012 Senogul gets three nominations in the AMAS Awards: best album other scenes (Senogul III), best keyboard player (Eduardo G. Salueña) and best bass player (Pablo Canalís, who won the award). The band received another nomination in the OH! Awards for Asturian Performing Arts for the best original score, as music from Senogul was included in the play De locos, payasos y poetas, from Paraninfo 58 theatre company. That same year, Pablo Canalís, Eduardo G. Salueña and Israel Sánchez accompany several Asturian poets and singers (Adolfo Cueto, Laura Casielles, Rodrigo Olay, Carlos Rodríguez and Rafa Lorenzo) in Poemúsica, organised by Fundación Contigo, coordinated by John Falcone and held in the Casa de Cultura Severo Ochoa (Noreña).
http://www.senogul.com
