Companyia Eléctrica Dharma - Diumenge (1975)

Música de independencia, justo para fechas de independencia. El Canario nos había presentado a la Companyia Eléctrica Dharma en su sección de rock catalá, ese nuevo capítulo de la escuelita de rock cabezona, y decidimo s traer varios discos que vamos a ir publicando esta semana. Aquí traemos su ópera prima, ya con su música que tiene un aire festivo y agitado, resultado de la mezcla de estilos como el folk catalán o el jazz-rock, entre otros, creando un sonido y un estilo inéditos sl combinar las raíces tradicionales de la música catalana con los instrumentos del rock, y un inconfundible protagonismo de los instrumentos de viento. Este grupo catalán demostró que era posible combinar los mensajes inconformistas y la reivindicación de la identidad catalana con el baile y la fiesta, y ahora lo reivindicamos y traemos al blog cabezón.

Artista: Companyia Eléctrica Dharma

Álbum: Diumenge
Año: 1975
Género: Jazz Rock / Folk Prog
Duración: 40:03
Nacionalidad: España

Lista de Temas:
1. Fesomies urbanes
2. Lila
3. Capità Trueno
4. Lalila
5. Eufòria
6. L'harmoniosa simfonia d'un cos. Part 1
7. L'harmoniosa simfonia d'un cos. Part 2
8. El "bailaor" còsmic
9. Tema dels carrers radioactius

Alineación:
- Pep Fortuny / drums, percussion, vocals
- Joan Fortuny / soprano saxophone, vocals
- Carles Vidal / bass, guitars
- Jordi Soley / keyboards
- Esteve Fortuny / guitars
- Lluís Fortuny / keyboards, accordion, trumpet, vocals

Con un buen montón de álbumes a lo largo de su carrera –que se podría dividir en dos etapas–; siendo la más interesante su primera etapa, la más progresiva. El grupo está formado por 3 hermanos: Esteve, Joan y Josep Fortuny, en el año 1973.
El nombre del grupo está inspirado en el título de un libro del escritor Jack Kerouac: "The Dharma Bums". En sus incios, la influencia de Miles Davis fue clave, pero muy pronto la Elèctrica Dharma evolucionó hacia el folk y la tradición mediterránea. En el año 1975 la banda combinó actividades con la compañía teatral "Els Comediants" y el encuentro fue decisivo porque juntos dieron un gran impulso a los actos de calle y a los pasacalles, que se convirtieron en manifestaciones populares y festivas en un contexto político muy convulso: las protestas en defensa de la libertad eran cada vez más habituales.
La Dharma se estrenó ante un público masivo el verano de aquel año. Fue en el Canet Rock, ante 50.000 espectadores que se dejaron hipnotizar por los ritmos folk de aquellos cinco músicos aún desconocidos. Esta mítica actuación quedó recogida en el disco "L'Oucomballa" (que presentamos en el blog y reseñó El Canario), que contó con la participación de "Els Comediants".

La Companyia Elèctrica Dharma es un grupo de música español procedente de Barcelona (Cataluña), concretamente del barrio de Sants. Su música, de carácter festivo, integra sonidos procedentes del folk catalán (especialmente de la cobla y sus característicos oboes) con estilos contemporáneos (rock, jazz-rock, world music, etc.).

Wikipedia

Este disco tiene unas excelentes reseñas y comentarios, en éste, su primer y para varios su mejor trabajo, ya mezclaban rock progresivo, jazz rock, folk, salsa, donde se reflejaban ecos de los grupos de la época y zona, entiéndase Música Dispersa, Orquesta Mirasol, y también influencias de músicos de la talla de Chick Corea, Herbie Hanckock o Miles Davis, todo en una excelente conjunción de sonidos, plena de ritmo y calidad, que viene avalada por el virtuosísmo de sus músicos.

Los orígenes del grupo se pueden encontrar en medio de una comuna rural cercana a Gerona. Durante el verano de 1974, cuando los hermanos Joan, Josep y Esteve Fortuny, el bajista Carles Vidal y el teclista Jordi Soley compusieron los temas que formarían su primer trabajo, 'Diumenge'. En 1986 el grupo sufre la perdida de Esteve Fortuny, el guitarrista, fallecido a causa de una hemorragia cerebral en un concierto en Cardedeu el 19 de agosto. La formación creció con la incorporación de Maria y Lluís Fortuny. Pep Rius como guitarrista y Tianan Bi Tra en el djembé se han unido últimamente al grupo.

Erlantz Bikendi Gonzalez

Aquí, el comentario de nuestro comentarista involuntario de siempre, a ver qué es lo que nos dice de este trabajo:

"Diumenge", el disco debut de la leyenda viviente catalana Companyia Eléctrica Dharma, supuso un gran impulso para la generación y afianzamiento de un lenguaje especialmente importante dentro de la avanzada musical que se estaba dando en la escena laietana de los 70s. Ante todo, "Diumenge" es una obra musical bella, plena expositora de las sonoridades ágiles y coloridas que la CED gusta de desarrollar en sus vuelos musicales que usualmente oscilan entre lo etéreo y lo celebratorio. La onda experimental de corte fusión que CED elaboraba en su primera etapa recién hallará sus expresiones más peculiares a partir del segundo disco "L'oucomballa", pero no sería válido negar la sólida presencia de anticipaciones estilísticas bien definidas en este disco que pasamos a comentar ahora.
'Fesomies urbanes' abre el disco comenzando con una breve introducción aleatoria que anuncia el despliegue de cálida alegría que se arma en el cuerpo central. La aureola flotante que atraviesa el esquema sonoro generado por el ensamble se me hace afín a lo que hacían Weather Report y Perigeo. Por su parte, 'Lila' nos transporta hacia un ambiente bastante diferente, pues se trata de un mágico vuelo por cadencias que van desde texturas melancólicas free-form hasta ornamentos aflamencados - todo un vuelo, en verdad, dirigido por la guitarra española y complementado por las líneas de saxo y las bases de piano eléctrico en un bloque sonoro tan sereno como conmovedor. Con sus 10 minutos y pico de duración, 'Capitán Trueno' se erige como la pieza más extensa del disco, y de hecho, es todo un clásico de la Companyia. 'Capitán Trueno' nos devuelve al swing fusionesco que tan buenos réditos había dado en el tema de apertura: el solo de guitarra es uno de los momentos más lucidos de Esteve Fortuny en todo el disco, y qué decir de la dupla rítmica, que sostiene el jam con un pulso tremendamente impecable. El hecho de que el solo de saxo sea el último ayuda a que la pieza se preserve en un lugar colorido hacia el final, lo cual resulta bastante conveniente para el reprise de 'Lila', esta vez titulado 'Lalila'. 'Eufória' tiene un título bastante pertinente, pues se revela genuinamente entusiasta, como si la pieza en cuestión estuviese diseñada específicamente para generar buenas vibraciones en la mente del oyente. A continuación, siguen las dos partes de 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos', con una parte primera que se enfila hacia atmósferas misteriosas y reflexivas y una segunda parte se explaya en semi-lentas cadencias funky que parcialmente se hacen eco de la psicodelia cósmica expuesta en la parte anterior para rearmarla bajo un ropaje más ágil: es como si la Part 1 se focalizara en las brumas del atardecer y la Part 2 esbozara un retrato sonoro del cielo nocturno donde la oscuridad negra se hermana con la luminosidad de las estrellas. En todo caso, personalmente no me hubiese molestado que el fade-out de la Part 2 llegara un poco más tarde, pero sin duda que el concepto general de 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos' supone un clímax del disco. 'El "Bailaor" cósmic' comienza con una grácil introducción de piano acústico seguida por un interludio introspectivo signado por el piano eléctrico, siendo así que antes de llegar al minuto y medio ya emerge el cuerpo central, pleno de dinamismo aunque con una dosis contenida de energía. En fin, el cierre provisto por 'Tema dels carrers radioactius' aporta un adecuado aire de extroversión para finiquitar las cosas con buena onda.
Como balance final, tenemos en esta opera prima de Companyia Eléctrica Dharma un disco de gran calibre artístico - "Diumenge" es un manifiesto de elegancia y
belleza que permite a la banda tomar impulso para remontarse hacia desarrollos sonoros más ricos para sus siguientes tres trabajos fonográficos. Con este disco no hay pierde para el coleccionista progresivo sensible a los conceptos jazzeros.

César Inca

Es así que les dejamos un gran disco para que vayan comenzando con esta saga de Companyia Eléctrica Dharma que no terminarà aquí. Ahora, comentarios en inglès, y ya saben dónde encontrarlo...

Man I was not expecting this debut from these Spaniards to be this good. I was reminded of MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA alot, although there is no violin. Lots of electric piano and the drummer is simply killer on this disc. Throw in sax, trumpet, guitar and chunky bass and mix it into a Jazz / Fusion style and that's what we get.
"Fesomies Urbanes" opens with cymbals, horns and atmosphere before it kicks in with some impressive and intricate drum work. Electric piano and horns sound amazing. "Lila" is a mellow piece with acoustic guitar and smooth horns. "Capitan Truend" has such an incredible sounding rhyhm section as horns, electric piano and guitar help out. This is just a pleasure. Love the guitar. Lalila" is just over a minute of acoustic guitar as horns come in late.
"Euphoria" sounds so good. Chunky bass, drums, electric piano and horns are all so impressive. It settles with guitar 1 1/2 minutes in.The drumming is once again amazing. "L'harmoniosa Simfonia D'un Cos. Part 1" is atmospheric with horns and electric piano slowly playing. "L'harmoniosa Simfonia D'un Cos. Part 2" has this beat with guitar, horns and electric piano. Gorgeous. "El "Bailaor" Cosmic" features piano early then it picks up 1 1/2 minutes in. Nice bass and drum work as piano continues. The guitar starts to light it up. "Tema Dels Carrers Radioactius" opens with drums as guitar,electric piano and horns join in. Some fire here. It ends with the sound of a large truck going by.
I just can't give this less than 5 stars.The atmosphere and lights out instrumental work has left me stunned. This is right up there with fellow Spaniards ICEBERG's best but better.

John Davie

"Diumenge", the debut album by the pioneers of Catalonian rock-fusion Companyia Eléctrica Dharma, was at the time a great impulse for the development of the avant-garde rock and jazz scenarios; nowadays, it can be truly appreciated as an unforgettable gem of Catalonian jazz-prog that served the band's purpose to boost their own musical voice by exorcising their jazz-dominated influences (akin to Weather Report and early RtF, and also coincidental with Perigeo). First and last, "Diumenge" is a lovely jazz-prog album, and so CED reveal that they have plenty of good ideas to offer to whoever may stop and listen to them. 'Fesomies urbanes' opens up the album with a free-form intro and then deliveres a warm, joyful main body. The overall mood is soaring and thereral, but the colorfulness is petnetly there to be noticed immediately. 'Lila' is a whole different thing: a soft piece led by the acoustic guitar and filled with electric piano washes and soprano sax lines, it delicately brings an array of successively free-jazz, bossanova and Flamenco textures. So beautiful... probably many listeners have taken the time to listen to this piece twice in a row before getting at the next track, and quite rightly so. Again, this album must go on and so we come to 'Capitán Trueno', which actually happens to be a constant CED staple. With its 10+ minute span, it brings back the fusion ambience and works on it with amazing intensity. Esteve Fortuny's guitar solo is one of his best moments ever; additionally, there are no words for me to express the solid power that the rhythm duo provides to the whole sonic scheme. The fact that the sax solo is the last one helps the track to contain itself in its own vibrant colorfulness rght up to the end, which in turn makes sense with the reprise of 'Lila' entitled 'Lalila'. 'Eufória' has a very convenient title: it is an euphoric piece, full of enthusiastic moods and optimistic sensations that will surely affect the listener's mind in a good way. Next are the two parts of 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos': part 1 is mysterious and reflective, part 2 is stated on a funky mid-tempo that partially echoes the cosmic mood of part 1. It's like part 1 portrayed the foggy shades of late afternoon and part 2 focused on the stable blackness of the night - I wouldn't have minded if the fade-out of part 2 had come in later on, but in general, 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos' generates a particular climax for the whole album's framework. 'El "Bailaor" cósmic' starts with an agile grand piano intro, then an introspective electric piano interlude follows, and by the 1 1/2 minute mark the main body is set to express a constrained mode of energetic extrovertiveness. Ultimately, the closer 'Tema dels carrers radioactius' dellivers a fuller extroverted aura, humorous indeed: it is a proper closure for such a colorful album. This CED debut is highly recommended to all prog rock collectors sensitive to the jazzier side of experimental rock.

Cesar Inca

Companyia Electrica Dharma (aka La Dharma) were, together with Iceberg and Orquestra Mirasol, one of the pioneers of the 2nd wave of catalan progressive music, the wave dominated by Jazz-Rock/Fusion. Formed around the core of the Fortuny siblings from Barcelona city, when they released this debut in 1975 they immediately became a benchmark for their talent and musicianship.
La Dharma would soon differentiate themselves from other bands by coining a very personal fusion of Jazz-Rock with traditional catalan music, very joyful and evocative of the summer festivities celebrations in a catalan village.
But in this debut album this sound had not yet evolved and we are treated with top notch classic JR/F in the style of Mahavishnu, RtF, Brand X and the likes, although one key element was already present being the trademark soprano sax evoquing the catalan tradional wind instrument tenora , which would remain a very distinct feature of their sound for their long career.
The album starts with the fast-paced Fesomies Urbanes (Urban Physiognomies), displaying right away their high musicianship, a track with plenty of electric piano adorned with great soprano sax and synth solos. It becomes immediately clear that Pep Fortuny's drumming is one of the highlights, amazing combination of rythmic playing with constant intrincate fills.
Lila calms things down, a beautiful soft piece based on spanish guitar with sax melodies full of sensitivity, which has a short reprise in Lalila, but before that we have the 10 min Capitan Trueno (a popular character from 1970's Spanish comics) with its groovy rythmic section and fantastic Rhodes, sax and guitar melodies and solos. Only one thing may be slightly criticised, Esteve Fortuny was (besides a good composer) a good guitarist playing rythm or mid-speed solos but when he attempted to solo at very high speed he couldn't compete with the greats like McLaughlin or Di Meola, which is not a shame (he would tragically die of a brain bleeding on stage in 1986, RIP).
Euforia is another great fast-paced fusion track with Rhodes, sax and guitar.
L'Harmoniosa Simfonia d'Un Cos (The Harmonious Symphony Of A Body) is split in 2 parts, the first dreamy with a very sensitive sax and the second more mid-tempo, great stuff.
El Bailaor Cosmic (The Cosmic Flamenco Dancer) has a soft piano intro and develops into a gorgeous mid-tempo theme with Rhodes and guitar solos, the rythm section again magnificient. The album closes with the short but highly energetic and syncopated Tema Dels Carrers Radioactius (Theme Of The Radioactive Streets).
A great Fusion album without any weak points, I can't give it less than 5 stars even if it's not yet very personal. As from their second album L'Oucomballa they retained their quality but they coupled it with their to-be trademark sound blending the Jazz-Rock/Fusion with catalan folk and popular music, which made them very unique and interesting.

Gerard Gerinski

La Darma, as we used to call this Catalonian festive-jazzistic band of the great 70's, was one of the most enjoyable bands playing live that I remember. It was one of those bands that would let us forget for a while our ridiculous cultural sadness under the military regime, and that our country was a musical island without any contact with the music explosions abroad, which we could only hear in the distance. La Darma is complex folk-jazz and fun. They showed this is not an impossible combination, so they used to sold out in live concerts. I still can see the genius guitar Esteve opening legs as a bad cheer leader when approaching the climax in the solo. In this debut album, still with little festive airs, mostly brought about by brother Joan's sax and some accelerated moments, there is a marvelous flamenco guitar piece called Lila. Esteve was probably one of the most inspired composers of the spanish scene. Unfortunately he passed away too early, while on stage, which marked the future of the band. Anyway, enjoy here some fine compositions as Euforia, L'Harmoniosa Symfonia D'un Cos, and El Bailaor Cosmic. In these you will get impressive sax, guitar and keyboard pieces wrapping you in hypnotizing fast beat that you'll never want to finish. Salut.

Oscar

COMPANIYA ELECTRICA DHARMA are one of the forefathers of Catalan Prog Folk. They were formed in Barcelona in 1974, by Fortuny brothers - Joan (soprano saxophone), Josep (drums) and Esteve (guitar), along with Carles Vidal on bass and Jordi Soley on keyboards.
The band fused many aspects of Catalan folk music (emphasizing it on the saxophone)with jazz/rock/fuision, as well as other types of Mediterranean-based root music. They're music is festive, light-heartened and toe-tapping, but also complex and not banal at all.
The band's line-up changed (or better, widened) several times, once evene with a tragedy: Esteve Fortuny died of cerebral haemorrhage in 1986, during their live performance.
Later, Maria and Lluis Fortuny joined the band on keyboards and trumpet, respectively. Pep Rius as guitarist and Tiana Tra Bi on djember percussions are new members as well.
"Diumenge", the debut album by the pioneers of Catalonian rock-fusion Companyia Eléctrica Dharma, was at the time a great impulse for the development of the avant-garde rock and jazz scenarios; nowadays, it can be truly appreciated as an unforgettable gem of Catalonian jazz-prog that served the band's purpose to boost their own musical voice by exorcising their jazz-dominated influences (akin to Weather Report and early RtF, and also coincidental with Perigeo). First and last, "Diumenge" is a lovely jazz-prog album, and so CED reveal that they have plenty of good ideas to offer to whoever may stop and listen to them. 'Fesomies urbanes' opens up the album with a free-form intro and then deliveres a warm, joyful main body. The overall mood is soaring and thereral, but the colorfulness is petnetly there to be noticed immediately. 'Lila' is a whole different thing: a soft piece led by the acoustic guitar and filled with electric piano washes and soprano sax lines, it delicately brings an array of successively free-jazz, bossanova and Flamenco textures. So beautiful... probably many listeners have taken the time to listen to this piece twice in a row before getting at the next track, and quite rightly so. Again, this album must go on and so we come to 'Capitán Trueno', which actually happens to be a constant CED staple. With its 10+ minute span, it brings back the fusion ambience and works on it with amazing intensity. Esteve Fortuny's guitar solo is one of his best moments ever; additionally, there are no words for me to express the solid power that the rhythm duo provides to the whole sonic scheme. The fact that the sax solo is the last one helps the track to contain itself in its own vibrant colorfulness rght up to the end, which in turn makes sense with the reprise of 'Lila' entitled 'Lalila'. 'Eufória' has a very convenient title: it is an euphoric piece, full of enthusiastic moods and optimistic sensations that will surely affect the listener's mind in a good way. Next are the two parts of 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos': part 1 is mysterious and reflective, part 2 is stated on a funky mid-tempo that partially echoes the cosmic mood of part 1. It's like part 1 portrayed the foggy shades of late afternoon and part 2 focused on the stable blackness of the night - I wouldn't have minded if the fade-out of part 2 had come in later on, but in general, 'L'armoniosa simfonia d'un cos' generates a particular climax for the whole album's framework. 'El "Bailaor" cósmic' starts with an agile grand piano intro, then an introspective electric piano interlude follows, and by the 1 1/2 minute mark the main body is set to express a constrained mode of energetic extrovertiveness. Ultimately, the closer 'Tema dels carrers radioactius' dellivers a fuller extroverted aura, humorous indeed: it is a proper closure for such a colorful album. This CED debut is highly recommended to all prog rock collectors sensitive to the jazzier side of experimental rock.

Drago Museveni

Espero que lo disfruten!