Rockaphonica - Fuera de Tiempo (2006)

Artista: Rockaphonica
Álbum: Fuera de Tiempo
Año: 2006
Género: Rock sinfónico
Nacionalidad: Argentina

Lista de Temas:
1. Pasión y Crimen
2. Fat Dreams
3. Fantasmas
4. Balada de los Antartes
5. Catéter
6. Aceitunas
7. Supertwister
8. Rhayader
9. Rhayader Goes to Town

Alineación:
RICARDO LUNA – Flauta, whistler y accesorios
ANDRÉS BONELLI - Teclados
ROBERTO ENCINAS – Bajo eléctrico
GUSTAVO GONZÁLEZ - Batería
Músicos invitados:
GUSTAVO MARI - Guitarra eléctrica
RICARDO MARI – Guitarra acústica
CARLOS RENATI – Guitarra electroacústica

Verdadero y casi desconocido discazo, muy emotivo, muy bien realizado, con toda la onda del mejor Camel pero liderado por una flauta a lo Jethro Tull, parece música moderna basada en música medieval... bellísimo. Absolutamente recomendado de cabo a rabo, nueve grandes temas que no tienen desperdicio, y en este push de resubidas no lo podía dejar afuera. Conozcan esta belleza, les paso un adelanto:

Ultra-recomendado. No se lo pierdan...

Acá vuelvo con otra banda del under argentino. Este es un proyecto de estilo rock sinfónico instrumental liderado por el flautista y compositor Ricardo Luna, quien luego de pasar por diversas agrupaciones de música ciudadana y riopletense decidió incursionar en su propio sonido musical, logrando un progresivo sinfónico muy melodioso, digerible y amable, con instrumentaciones en base a estructuras rítmicas no muy complejas, muy recomendado en particular a aquellos que les agrada Camel (los tres últimos temas son covers de esta banda, son tocados a modo de simple tributo), Solaris, el Lito Vitale de los 90's, Jethro Tull o Focus.

ROCKAPHONICA is a symphonic rock project lead by Argentinean flutist/composer Ricardo Luna. Being as he is an experienced session musician, his major areas of interest in the past were melodic rock and modern Creole fusion. His first solo efforts were in the new-age scene (he has released two independent CDs of that style). With the new millennium came new interests in his mind, always connected to the artsy side of popular music. In order to shape and express his devotion for symphonic rock (especially CAMEL), he summoned keyboardist Andrés BONELLI, bassist Roberto ENCINAS and drummer Gustavo GONZÁLEZ, and so ROCKAPHONICA was born. Released in 2005, "Fuera de Tiempo" is a testimony of the candid, colorful and clean melodic approach to the standards of symphonic prog that the band was headed for. Besides the obvious CAMEL influence (the album actually includes three covers from this band's classic material), you can also hear hints to the calmer side of FOCUS, SOLARIS, as well as affinities to Lito VITALE and other compatriot modern fusion acts. ROCKAPHONICA is especially recommended to all Symphonic Prog lovers who don't mind a bit of bucolic and slight fusionesque elements.

Progarchives El disco consta de temas instrumentales basados en lindas líneas melódicas, a veces bucólico y en otras ocasiones con bastante fuerza, pero siempre con fuerte protagonismo de la flauta, que "traza" las melodías. Si bien es la flauta quien destaca en el álbum, también nos encontraremos ante un buen trabajo de parte de la guitarra y del piano. Son bellas piezas con un buen dinamismo e incluso algunas melodías un tanto pegadizas, mientras que otras marcan sugestivos paisajes sonoros, climas introspectivos y emotivos (por ejemplo "Fat Dreams", con su compás de tres cuartos que deja demás un aire tanguero que se puede encontrar en varios pasajes del álbum) y tampoco faltan las aventuras célticas propias del Jethro de la década del '70.

Si usted es amante de las bellas melodías, y gusta de Camel y de Focus, no lo dude, éste es su disco. Nos referimos al hermoso trabajo debut de la banda argentina Rockaphonica, titulado “Fuera de Tiempo”, editado en mayo de 2006 por Viajero Inmóvil. La banda, está conformada por el eximio flautista Ricardo Luna, Andrés Bonelli en teclados, Roberto Encinas en bajo y Gustavo González en batería; y cuenta con la participación para el disco de Gustavo y Ricardo Mari en guitarras (ambos de la banda Rockestra) además de Carlos Renati en guitarra. El disco consta de seis temas instrumentales basados en hermosas líneas melódicas, con fuerte protagonismo de la flauta que “traza” las melodías cual pincel, sobre los “lienzos” que arman teclados y guitarras, entre los “marcos” de bajo y batería. Así transcurren piezas pletóricas de belleza con gran dinamismo en “Pasión y Crimen”, “Catéter” o el pegadizo “Aceitunas”; otras obras que marcan sugestivos paisajes sonoros, climas introspectivos conmovedores como en el hermoso “Fat Dreams” (uno de los picos creativos dentro de un álbum absolutamente homogéneo en calidad, y que se hace breve), en la suite “Balada de los Antares”, o en el cambiante “Fantasmas”. El cierre, como un guiño a los seguidores progresivos y a las propias influencias del grupo, está dado por tres homenajes a la banda Camel, “Supertwister” (Mirage 1974) y Rhayader - Rhayader Goes to Town (Snow Goose 1975). Edición en formato “mini vinilo” con un hermoso arte de tapa, una pintura pastel de Graciela Bello titulada “Diversiones Nocturnas”. Un trabajo que ya se disfruta la primera vez que se escucha, de principio a fin, y que nos hacen desear mas música de Rockafónica, esperamos ansiosos.

Gustavo Bolasini

Aquí os presento a esta nueva perla del rock sinfónico Rockaphonica. Sorprende que en la actualidad aun haya gente que haga música de este tipo. Sin complejos. Este es un grupo argentino que empezaron tocando canciones de Camel y de hecho incluyen algunas versiones en su album "Fuera del Tiempo" (2006). Creo que aun no han sacado nada nuevo pero ojalá lo hagan pronto. Su música es parecida a la de Camel y a Focus pero más moderna, con más fuerza y con mucho uso de la flauta con la que realizan verdaderas tonadas medievales.

Laure Y pasamos a nuestra sección de comentarios en inglés:

Each time I find an Argentinean Symphonic band, I normally expect a band with clear Italian influence, due to the cultural and ethnic inheritance, usually they have soft melodic passages with great lyrics, well if you get "Fuera de Tiempo by ROCKAPHONICA, don't expect all this. To begin, it's an instrumental album based more in flute rather than in keyboards and with a clear FOCUS influence, even when much more accessible and melodic. The album starts with the beautiful "Pasión y Crimen" (Passion and Crime) which presents an incredible flute performance of "Ricardo Luna" but this time with a mysterious and delicate piano by Andrés Bonelli marking the tempo, and leading the band, it may get a bit repetitive for people not used to FOCUS, but if you take a careful listen, it's more like variations over a central theme, extremely beautiful with a certain Jazzy atmosphere. "Fat Dreams" starts again with a sweet flute melody, in this case closer to CAMEL with a Medieval hint, as the song advances, keyboard and drums join the flute to create a more elaborate sound, faster than the previous, but still with that smooth and relaxing quality. "Fantasmas" (Ghosts) starts as usual with a flute semi-solo with a soft synth company in the background providing an atmospheric and oneiric sound with a bucolic feeling, about the middle of the song you can listen a powerful but moody guitar solo which provides the Rock component, probably the ending is the most spectacular team performance at this point of the album, strong and energetic, excellent track. "Balada de los Antartes" (Ballad of the Antartes), aparently based in a Sci Fi comic book by Héctor Germán Oesterheld starts as a harder track, with Gustavo Gonzales (Drums), Roberto Encinas (Bass) and the guest guitarist Gustavo Maris taking the lead for the first time, even when the song makes a change towards a softer sound, the spirit of this track is closer to Rock than any previous track. Pay special attention to the Synth solo in the middle of the track which reminds clearly of Thijs Van Leer. "Cateter" appears to be the central act, starts with a short and mysterious flute solo which is interrupted by a strong drum section and the band joins into a medieval tune with clear Rock sound, much more faster and adding a violin (probably synthesized). But that isn't all; we have some radical changes and then a Baroque keyboard which leads to a slower section of extreme beauty, just to change again with an impressive bass solo that leads to the medieval tune again. Pure Prog at it's best. If in the previous tracks there was a strong Focus influence, in "Aceitunas" (Olives), we find a much more clear Flemish sound that reminds me clearly of the Dutch masters, more exactly to side two of "Moving Waves" with some subjacent Moorish influences and a touch of Jazz. A bit short but it's better to leave the listener with the taste of honey oin the lips than to bore him, another excellent track. Now it's the moment fot three tributes to CAMEL: Until now the main influence was FOCUS but in "Supertwister" the atmosphere is much closer to CAMEL, starts almost Classical and suddenly when all the band joins turns into a frantic Rock song, the keyboard solos are fabulous, only interrupted by some flute semi-solos. Even shorter than the previous, would had liked them to explore the possibilities more. Whithout any rest "Rhayader" makes the appearance, with another frantic Medieval - Symphonic track "a la" CAMEL. The team work is spectacular, not an extra or a missing note; everything fits in its place. The album ends with "Rhayader Goes to Town" as the conclusion of the previous song, even though it's evident it's a tribute to CAMEL, but IMO is much more, or more exactly how a tribute should be, they start with a reference to the band they dedicate the track but a lot of their own inspiration, strong way to close a strong album. Very rarely I give 5 stars to a debut album, because I believe a band very rarely reaches their peak in the first release, and this will be no exception, if it was possible I would go with 4.5 stars, but will be conservative and stay with a 4 star rating. I'm sure they will release more albums and I'm impatient to listen more of this excellent Argentinean band, hope they don't make us wait too much. A must have for any Symphonic fan, great music inspired in the classic bands but with an evident style that gives them a unique sound. Somebody said in Prog Archives Forum that the future of Prog Rock may be in South America, after listening this guys, I'm starting to believe it.

Iván Melgar

Rockaphonica is an Argentinean instrumental quartet led by flutist Ricardo Luna: the symphonic trend in both composition and delivery is made abundantly clear, preferentially leaning toward the most lyrical and relaxing aspect of the genre. The melodic ideas are well-focused and the rhythmic arrangements show big dynamics and a moderate use of complexity. Main influences are Focus' softer side and classic Camel (without guitar but with lots of Bardens-inspired keyboard inputs); confluences with Solaris and 90s-era Lito Vitale are also worht mentioning as points of reference. With Luna as the main writer and the main soloist performer, it is no wonder that his instrument is heavily featured in the mix; on the other hand, keyboardist Bonelli shares the limelight many times, not only when he solos bit also when the synth orchestrations carry out certain climaxes. This album ws recorded between late 2004 and early 2005, but it was only in mid-2006 that Viajero Inmóvil could eventually release it. The albums kicks off with the captivatingly punchy 'Crimen y Pasión', a really joyful piece in which all instruments create a perfect marriage of melody and mood. 'Fat Dreams', the onely Bonelli-penned piece, takes us to a more relaxing ambience over a slow 3/4 tempo: there is a subtle tango-fusion aura to the piece's global arrangement (this factor relatively reminds me of comaptriot band Tánger), but the symphonic element remains dominant. 'Fantasmas' brings back the punch that had been inflicted to the opener, only this time it is delivered in a more suave manner: the bucolic aspect is easily noticeable, which is probably due to the addition of tango and Celtic details in the main motif's arrangement. There is much Bardens influence in the synth solo that emerges at 1'30, as well as in the stylish ghostly ornaments in the brief interludes. This piece is a particular fave of mine, together with the follower 'Balada de los Antartes'. This one is the longest, during 8+ minutes. The band explores its bombastic side with enthusiasm and elegance, even including a lead guitar performed by a guest musician. Even though I regret that the coda hadn't been solved in a more determined way, I still regard this number as an album's highlight. 'Catéter' is similar in spirit to 'Fantasmas', only with a gentler mood and some soft hints to classic Jethro Tull. 'Aceitunas' is a joyful Celtic adventure with some extra Arabic ornaments: this one wouldnot nahe vbeen out of place in Oldfield's QE2. The album ends with three Camel covers, naturally selected to reinforce Luna's leading role. They are proficiently performed, but they certainly do not add anything new: maybe they should have tried more original material to fill up the album's repertoire. Anyway, this is what it is - "Fuera de Tiempo" is a delicious example of current symphonic prog. While not being essential IMHO, I recommend Rockaphonica's music as part of any good symphonic prog collection.

César Inca

Argentinian band that features flute as a lead instrument through the length of the cd, they are an all-instrumental band that plays a fairly simple form of progressive rock, with more an accent on melody and form rather than hard and complex song structures. The music comes dangerously close to being fuzak at times, and considering that the flute is the main instrument that is featured is the reason why. The songs are mostly moody, leaning more towards the calm and relaxed feel heard by some of Camel's quieter moments (There is a three song sequence dedicated to Camel on the cd). This cd is not so hard to digest, yet at the same time, leaves something to be desired. Even the band's name seems a bit misleading, as the 'rock' element is pretty subdued. As one may imagine, the fact that flute plays such a prominent role in this bands' music, they do have sections where they can sound like Focus or the instrumental sections of Jethro Tull, outside of that, they are not doing anything so unique or groundbreaking. I found the last three songs on the cd very promising though, each being part of the Camel tribute, here they actually get a bit more daring, and take on a more progressive feel, in hearing this part of the cd makes me feel that they have a niche with which to build upon for future releases. It wouldn't hurt to let the guitarist and keyboard be a little more featured as well to contrast all the flute playing.

M. J. Brady

Rockaphonica is the brainchild of flutist/composer Ricardo Luna, and the debut album Fuera de Tiempo on Viajero Inmovil Records is an enjoyable mix of classical music and symphonic prog. All instrumental, and also featuring keyboard player Andres Bonella, bassist Roberto Encinas, drummer Gustavo Gonzalez, plus a few guest guitarists, the album plays like a contemporary tribute to classic bands like Focus, Solaris, Camel, and Jethro Tull. Led at all times by the melodic and gorgeous flute melodies from Luna, Fuera de Tiempo also features the talented keyboard skills of Bonella, whose wide array of instruments add plenty of depth and colors to these songs. "Balada de los Antartes" is a wonderful piece, moody and symphonic, with plenty of synth washes, soaring flute, and a David Gilmour-ish guitar solo from Gustavo Mari. Other standout cuts include the more upbeat "Cateter", with its mix of intricate flute excursions, acoustic guitar, Moog, and Hammond organ, the classical meets fusion of "Fat Dreams", and the exciting jig that is "Aceitunas". Luna shows time and time again throughout this CD what a fine flute player he is, and it won't be long before he is recognized fully for his talents. As a great extra, there are also three "Camel Tribute" bonus tracks here, where the band covers "Supertwister", "Rhayader" and "Rhayader Goes to Town" with a modern twist. It's a fitting end to a very nice progressive rock CD from a South American band who will certainly turn the heads of prog fans who love melodic, flute & keyboard drenced sounds.

Pete Pardo

Although Argentinean outfit ROCKAPHONICA don't have a website (and their CD, "Fuera de Tiempo", arrived with no supporting materials), I am inclined to think this is their debut album. According to the booklet, the last three pieces (see track listing above) form The Camel Tribute Section, though their titles themselves are already more than merely eloquent regarding their origin. Following the romantic traditions in vintage symphonic Art-Rock, Rockaphonica have made an all-instrumental creation whose nine tracks (i.e. the ones from the tribute section included) all have much in common with each other. So even while listening only to the first six cuts, I often find myself perceiving "Fuera de Tiempo" as a kind of "The Snow Goose, Part II". No, I don't want to say the music is devoid of any originality, but anyway, I clearly hear that almost all of the group's original tunes, while sounding rather fresh and compelling alike, are basically modeled after that compositionally-stylistic approach which Camel applied on their third album, the fact that only one of these, Balada De Los Antartes, features an electric guitar having no influence upon that impression. The only relative exception to that rule would be Aceitunas - an intense, dynamic composition with piccolo and (synthetic, yet very convincingly sounding) violin sharing the lead in most cases, the music reminding me more of art-rock variations on a traditional Celtic tune than, well, the recording's primary style. Passion Y Crimen and Fantasmas both consist for the most part of intense arrangements too, being generally diverse enough to be appreciated, but nevertheless the latter appears to be somewhat more impressive than the former, which is not only because it is richer in transitions. The point is that Passion Y Crimen finds flautist Ricardo Luna overshadowing keyboardist Andres Bonelli, whilst on Fantasmas these musicians harmonically complement each other, the sections revealing their joint soloing at the fore being especially impressive, for sure. Once it is established, the balance between the group's two principal driving forces is kept on all the subsequent tracks. Fat Dreams and Balada De Los Antartes, are both moderately slow at their fastest:-), but nonetheless, each has some theme and pace shifts, besides which the group's ability to subtly slacken and accelerate their pace is striking particularly on these. Cateter is the most diverse and, at the same time, most original track here, abundant in multi-layered soloing patterns, and gives the impression of a sort of steeplechase. There is a highly resourceful acoustic guitar solo that runs almost all through the piece, tirelessly intersecting those of flute, piano and organ, effortlessly surmounting numerous obstacles that appear on its way in the form of transitions, pace shifts, etc and so on. Well, it is the turn of the remaining three cuts, Supertwister, Rhayader and Rhayader Goes to Town. Whether I call these last or bonus tracks will not change their nature, as all are covers, but not interpretations of you know what. Conclusion: Regardless of their likeness to Camel, Rockaphonia's own compositions are all worth a listen. These run for nearly 36 minutes, which, IMHO, has always been enough for a full-length album (I'm just recalling LPs by some legends, Camel again included). Furthermore, I think the last three pieces just intensify the similarity between "Fuera de Tiempo" and "The Snow Goose", serving to overshadow the group's own achievements in the field of originality. Anyhow, the hero of this occasion is a good release that will delight many sympho-prog lovers - beginning with fans of Camel.

Progressor Lo único malo de Rockaphonica es que este fue su único disco, esperemos que algún día se pongan las pilas y nos brinden más alegrías como esta... Por ahora es lo que hay, no se lo pierdan...