The traditional sounds enjoy a second life in the hands of a crowded band that rediscovers instruments, revisits the Iberian folk and now offers us a journey through our musical past with our ears attentive to the present.
Surely, there is not a folk lover who does not know two essential names of this scene perfectly: those of Coetus and that of the musician and researcher Eliseo Parra. The latter has been one of the main voices of a group for nearly eight years, that with almost twenty members, has dedicated itself to recovering musical instruments as humble as forgotten that are part of the Iberian musical tradition and who take back surprisingly current samples of musical folklore to scene. And it is this which they have endeavored to turn the musical tradition into one of the soundtracks of our days. They have succeeded in bringing the folk closer to a generation of spectators and rereading the musical tradition into the present day. Now, nine years after being born, the band faces a change with the departure of Eliseo Parra and the incorporation of Carles Dénia, a poet and composer with records ranging from jazz and flamenco to Valencian-style singing and which has become the most prominent voice of the band.
The band is taking part in the Grec festival with a new album, De banda a banda, which synthesizes ten years of life of this musical group. On this occasion, however, they are not limited to the traditional repertoire, but also interpret their own compositions inspired by the cultural legacy of the Iberian Peninsula. Indeed, the voice and percussion are still the basis of their proposal, but their sound now opens to harmonic and melodic instruments. A look at the past, with the feet in the present.
A collaboration of the Grec 2018 Festival de Barcelona and the Fira Mediterrània de Manresa.
Musical interpretation: Carles Dénia (voice), Ana Rossi (voice), Rusó Sala (voice), Aleix Tobias (percussion & voice), Martí Hosta (percussion & voice), Dídac Ruiz (percussion, ngoni & voice), Bernat Torras (percussion & voice), Angelo Manhenzane (percussion), Antonio Sánchez (percussion), Acari Bertran (percussion), Alberto Carreño (percussion), Mariona del Carmen (percussion), Anna Tobías (percussion), Fran Lucas (percussion), Guillem Aguilar (bass), Xavi Lozano (winds), Martí Serra (saxos), Mario Mas (guitar). Photography: Dani Álvarez, Abel Echeverría
