Lalo Huber (Nexus) - Lost in Kali Yuga (2009)

Artista: Lalo Huber
Álbum: Lost in Kali Yuga
Año: 2009
Género: Rock sinfónico
Duración: 78:03
Nacionalidad: Argentina

Lista de Temas:
1. All Computers Die
2. Universal Legion
3. To Play and Die
4. The Entangled World (Lost in Kali Yuga Part I)
5. Still I Sense Your Hand
6. Last Trip in Buenos Aires
7. In the Labyrinth (Lost in Kali Yuga Part II)
8. Failed to Feel (Lost in Kali Yuga Part III)
9. The Hecatomb (Lost in Kali Yuga Part IV)
10. Back to Dust

Alineación:
- Lalo Huber / vocals, Hammond, piano, synthesizers, acoustic guitar, bass
- Luis Nakamura / drums, percussion

Otro disco resubido: Lalo Huber, tecladista de la banda sinfónica Nexus en su trabajo solista, único hasta el momento, sin duda un gran disco que quizás haya pasado desapercibido para muchos pero que bien vale la pena. No dejen de escuchar esta clase magistral de música de calidad.

Hoy lo vamos a dedicar a Nexus, ya que un Conejo amigo se ha mandado la primicia absoluta de traernos el último y recientemente salido último disco del grupo, paso a traerles otro gran trabajo de esta gente, o al menos algunos de los integrantes más importantes del grupo, y con ésto queda comprobado que Lalo Húber es multiuso: además de tocar en Nexus, dar clases de cómo prepararse para entrevistas laborales y conferencias sobre motivación, escribir libros al respecto, se hace un tiempo para grabar un disco solista con su amigo, cofundador y baterista de Nexus, Luis Nakamura. Y muy buen disco, un lindo viaje al país de Kali Yuga. Los títulos y las canciones están bien en inglés, aunque el material con el que nos encontramos aquí tranquilamente podría pasar como otro disco de estudio de Nexus, con los típicos elementos que lleva la banda, las densísimas atmósferas creadas por los sintetizadores, y también como es característico, una solidísima base rítmica aportada por el amigo Nakamura y el arrollador trabajo de teclados de Mr. Húber. La diferencia notable con Nexus es que el bajo y la guitarra suenan más de acompañamiento que de otra cosa, siendo los teclados los elementos sobre los que se va a centrar el disco.

La voz en inglés también es provista por Lalo como en el último disco de Nexus. Un muy buen disco, dedicado a todos los fans de los teclados Hammond, los sintetizadores sinfónicos a todo vapor, a aquellos degustadores del buen neoprogresivo, también a los seguidores de Nexus pero sobretodo a aquellos tecladistas o fanáticos de las teclas que quieren ver cómo un maestro como Lalo Húber le saca brillo a los Hammonds

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Lalo Huber es, además de multiinstrumentista y experto en comunicación argentino, el teclista y compositor de la banda progresiva Nexus. Se lanza ahora en una aventura en solitario con unos resultados inmejorables, con una obra plena de sentimiento y delicadeza, que rezuma progresivo clásico, y con clase, por todos sus poros. No en vano, estamos ante un disco que ha sido nominado a los Prog Awards 2009 en dos de sus modalidades, Mejor álbum debut, y Mejor Artwork, sin duda los dos aspectos en los que más nos fijamos los fans: música de calidad, y en un formato apetecible para su adquisición. De fácil asimilación, Lalo se mueve en terrenos cercanos al progresivo y sinfónico clásicos, con influencias a lo Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Vangelis o las maravillas en solitario de Wakeman o Norlander. Esto es, básicamente, una música basada en teclados, pero con una apertura de miras que no muchos logran alcanzar. Capaz de conjugar diferentes ambientaciones sin perder estructura y coherencia, en este 'Lost in Kali Yuga' hay cabida para todo, como la inicial “All Computers die”, donde el universo ambiental rige el tema, o la combinación del Hammond más purpleliano junto al sonido Emerson de la siguiente “Universal Legion”, ambas instrumentales completamente, por ejemplo. Pero también hay espacio para recetas más clásicas, reminiscentes del mundo Canterbury, como es el caso de “Still I sense your hand”, o espaciales -“To play and die”-, o incluso el piano más jazzie de “Last trip in Buenos Aires”. El título del álbum viene representado en cuatro partes, “The entangled World”, “In the labyrinth”, “Failed to feel” y “The hecatomb”, distribuidas a lo largo del redondo, que en mi modesta opinión, escuchados de continuo como un todo, son puro deleite para los oídos. Ciertamente, no cabe duda que siguiendo este camino no puede sino recibir más que elogios, dado el gran trabajo brindado.

Javier Moreno Vega

 

Luego de cinco discos editados con su banda, este era un gran momento para escuchar el debut absoluto como solista del tecladista de Nexus, nos referimos a Lalo Huber. Pues bien, la incógnita se resolvió de la mejor manera con este gran disco “Lost In Kali Yuga”, en él, Lalo Huber adopta el formato de trío “alla Emerson Lake & Palmer”, haciéndose cargo de todos los instrumentos y la voz líder, excepto la batería, tarea para la cual convocó a su compañero de banda Luis Nakamura, tan eficiente y ajustado como siempre, y en donde Lalo deja meridianamente en claro por qué es el principal compositor de Nexus. “Lost in Kali Yuga” es un gran trabajo, híper sinfónico, con una gran suite que da título al disco, de nivel superlativo, dividida en cuatro partes con un sonido que remite al mejor Nexus destacándose la potente tercera parte titulada “I Failed to Feel” dentro de un alto nivel, y que no están ubicadas todas juntas en la obra, (es muy recomendable programar el reproductor y escucharla luego con todas las partes de manera consecutiva, se puede apreciar que se unen a lo largo de casi 40 minutos dando un disco de vinilo de primer nivel), sino que están intercaladas con otros temas (alguna de sus partes), le cual también aporta otra coloratura a la obra de concepto total. El disco también introduce variantes sonoras y estilísticas que lo enriquecen y distiguen de los trabajos de Nexus, como los aires de jazz blues “Last Trip in Buenos Aires” un instrumental alegre y fresco, o algo de climas y electrónica en la intro “All Computers Die”, y otros que lo acercan al estilo de la banda como los aires épicos de le hermosa suite final “Back to Dust”. Otro punto a destacar es lo logradas que resultaron las partes cantadas en inglés por Lalo, que ya había incursionado en este ítem en “Perpetuum Karma” (último disco de Nexus) y aquí vuelve al punto en un plano mas adelante en la mezcla y queda a la altura del gran nivel del disco. Por último, se trata de una obra de concepto, basado en la creencia hindú, para la cual la actual etapa de la humanidad se llama “Kali Yuga”, de allí a la referencia de su título y las letras de la obra, adonde se destaca una temática sobre lo mal que se halla el mundo, las dificultades para dejar aflorar los buenos sentimientos, la hecatombe en la que se vive con guerras constantes y el mundo perdido en pos de lo material. Gran arte grafico de George Grie, una hermosa tapa que remite a las estatuas de la isla de Pascua, fotos internas acordes a la temática de cada tema, todas la letras e información del disco. Un gran trabajo de rock progresivo y sinfónico, grandes pasajes instrumentales, cambios de ritmos, climas, atmosferas, abundantes órganos Hammond y toda la parafernalia sonora que habitualmente destaca a Lalo Huber, grandes suites y el agregado de nuevos sonidos que lo enriquecen, podría ser el resumen final que da una idea para donde va este debut solista de Huber, del cual seguimos esperando mas buena música en el futuro.

Gustavo Bolasini

Argentinian composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lalo HUBER is probably best known as the founder of Argentinian band Nexus, who has been issuing albums and participated in various projects since the tail end of the 1990's. In addition to his main musical venture, he is also a part of the experimental outfit Subliminal, which so far have released one album. 2009 saw Huber make his debut as a solo artist, with the release of the production Lost in Kali Yuga. On this project he caters for most of the instruments himself, with long time friend Luis Nakamura helping out in the rhythm department.

Progarchives

Lalo Huber is a very skillful keyboardist well-known from Argentinian band "Nexus". His first solo album is quite similar to music presented by his main group which is dynamic symphonic rock with neo-prog tendencies. Just like in "Nexus" music is loaded with Hammond organ and synthesizers (both digital & Moog). However there are 2 differences: - no electric guitar - Lalo adds more electronic music elements in his solo album But it doesn't change a thing that "Lost In Kali Yuga" should be listened by all fans of "Nexus" as a good addition to this band's collection. 1. "All Computers Die" - unfortunately album doesn't start too well. We can treat it as an atmospheric intro to this record...but it's still boring. Floating synthesizers, no drums or bass. It's very near to electronic prog a la J.M. Jarre, Vangelis, Brian Eno or Klaus Schulze and bring me memories of Don Airey's "Light in the sky" album (which I've reviewed few days ago). However Don included few such tracks which were about 1 minute long, while "All Computers Die" is more than 3 min., and it's not easy to keep an attention so long time listening such ambient music (anyway for me). 2. "Universal Legion" - fortunately next track is a really splendid instrumental very much in the vain of "Nexus" best staff. Pompous synthesizers flights, dynamic percussion and - the most important - sharp as razor Hammond organ runs. If you already like "Nexus" you know what you can expect here, if you don't I can explain to you in one simple sentence: Keith Emerson meets Keiko Kumagai ("Ars Nova") meets Toshio Egawa ("Gerard")... 3. "To Play and Die" - it's the first composition where we can listen to Lalo's voice (all lyrics are sang in English on this album)...and it's not too impressive to be honest but quite suits mellow atmosphere of the song which blend neo-progressive rock with (again) some electronic noodling. Lots of sting-like synthesizers, a little organ in the background (not too audible) and quite lazy drumming style (of Lalo's friend from his band - Luis Nakamura). It's not very bad, but 4 minutes instead of 8+ would be enough. 4. "The Entangled World (Lost in Kali Yuga Part I)" - after sleepy last song, Huber comes back to what he does the best: ELP-inspired, high-speed symphonic instrumental suite. Ultra fast organ runs with typical for this keyboardist percussion effect (which brings resemblance to "Tarkus") very well "melt" in synthesizers solos and leads (it seems from time to time instead of modern keys we can also hear some good-old Moog in this composition). Lalo Huber surely proves that he's nowadays master of Hammond & real successor of 70s symph-prog tradition. 5. "Still I Sense Your Hand" - this one is very similar to song "To Play and Die". The pace of the song is very mellow/relaxing and vocals are also "lazy" and they seem to be heavily electronic transcoded. However I like this one a bit more because keyboards emulate more interesting sounds here. We have no Hammond at all, but Lalo's synths are varied from flute-like to pipe organ & strings imitations or eternal sounds similar to mellotron. Not bad but just like the previous neo meets electronic song ("To Play and Die") too long and repetitive. 6. "Last Trip in Buenos Aires" - this track is the only real surprise on the album. It breaks "equation" of soft song/dynamic instrumental/soft song (and so on) structure of the album 'cos this is...jazz-rock composition. It seems it's the first time we have occasion to check out Huber's electric piano skills! The beginning of the song really reminds me of Brian Auger's instrumentals, in 2:30 minute synth (Moog?) solo joins the party which seems to be out of place...but in fact isn't. After several seconds another surprise...harmonium solo. I don't know when last time I've heard this instrument (probably in last Beardfish's album "Destined Solitaire"). In the middle of the track Hammond organ kicks in again and doesn't leave as until the end of the "Last Trip in Buenos Aires". This 3 minutes organ spot is really fantastic and shows that Lalo is very talented keyboardist who can perfectly sounds jazzy and symphonic in the same time. 7. "In the Labyrinth (Lost in Kali Yuga Part II)" - jsut like "Universal Legion" & "The Entangled World (Lost in Kali Yuga Part I)" this is another progressive rock delight. As usual ELP, Triumvirat, Collegium Musicum, Ars Nova, Gerard, Social Tension influences are obvious, however I'd like to stress that in this suite music the most reminds me of Russian band Little Tragedies, especially "busy"-sounding synthesizers are very similar. In general: swirling Hammond all over the place! 8. "Failed to Feel (Lost in Kali Yuga Part III)" - after highly exciting last epic, Lalo comes back to more electronic sounding music full of eternal synthesizers, digital sounding piano and decoded vocal with echo effects. I can't say that it's bad song. Some arrangements are even very enjoyable for my ears (like simple acoustic guitar licks played by Lalo himself) and calm synthesizer (Moog?) solo in the middle is very atmospheric. But as I said before, if it was a bit shorter, would be better. 9. "The Hecatomb (Lost in Kali Yuga Part IV)" - as title suggests this is a real BOMB. The longest composition is again an instrumental one...and it's a good one too. High pitched synthesizer leads and backings (think "Little Tragedies" again), but mainly heavy organ riffs and solos with this incredible percussion effects makes it the real highlight of the album. It's a real heaven for keyboards-oriented prog! No time for boring moments here, Lalo shows that only few artists these days can keep up with his technical skills. When you listen to this epic you'll surely believe in all these stories that Lalo often leaves blood on his Hammond during "Nexus" concerts... 10. "Back to Dust" - church bell is followed by massive, digital synth sound and we know that we reached farewell track of "Lost in Kali Yuga" album. This is another mix of mellow electronic & neo-prog. Eternal synthesizers, slow tempo, strange-sounding voice, this kinda staff. Near the end of the song J.M.Jarre/Vangelis/Tangerine Dream mood appears again. So the circle of the album is closed. It's difficult to summarize this album because tries to mix 2 completely different styles (IMHO..): dynamic, organ driven symphonic prog rock in the best 70s tradition with electronic music, and additionally he also puts some inch of neo-prog for good (?..) measure. Quite clear formula of the album: one slow song with mainly mellow synthesizers "landscapes" and pianos, after that fast one with organ and more aggressive synths and again soft one, reminds me another Huber's project called Subliminal and their (only) album called "Limbo Experiment". Similar concept of building albums has Japanese prog keyboardist Motoi Sakuraba which is especially evident on his album "Tales of Series Battle Arrange Tracks". Who I can recommend this album? Many people! Especially I can recommend it to fans of "Nexus" and "Subliminal", and it's obvious. But in general I recommend it too all fans of modern keyboards oriented prog with clear 70's sympathies like Gerard, Ars Nova, Social Tension, Little Tragedies, Motoi Sakuraba, Par Lindh Project, Ryo Okumoto (solo), Don Airey (solo) and so on. I'm sure that people who only listen to "traditional" seventies staff like ELP, Triumvirat, Refugee, The Nice, Collegium Musicum, Le Orme, UK or The Trip will also find a big please while listening to Lalo Huber's solo effort. Best tracks: "The Hecatomb (Lost in Kali Yuga Part IV)" and "In the Labyrinth (Lost in Kali Yuga Part II)" I was thinking what rating will be appreciate for his recording. While about 35-40% of "Lost in Kali Yuga" isn't so exciting for me, the rest is a full blown symphonic prog with incredible Hammons runs so I can't give it less than 4/5 stars.

Tomasz "ozzy_tom"

 

Y en el siguiente video lo tenemos con Nexus, en una presentación en vivo.

www.myspace.com/lalohuber