AKINETÓN RETARD

One of the wildest and most unique progressive bands to emerge from Chile, the Santiago based AKINETÓN RETARD has also become one of the more famous experimental acts to emerge from this far southern nation. Formed in 1994 by Vicente García-Huidobro (guitaris, vocals), Leonardo Arias (saxophonist, clarinetist) and Pablo Araya (bass) as music students at the University of Chile, the trio would soon find company with drummer Cristian Bidart and saxophonist Rodrigo de Petris set forth to craft their own potpourri fusion blend of diverse artists such as Frank Zappa, John Coltrane, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and Magma amongst many others.

The band's unusual name refers to a medicine used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease but with such unrelenting rhythmic drive and crazed unpredictability it's more likely that the music will cause seizures in the uninitiated rather than cure them! The band is notorious as being a multi-media act with great effort placed on sound effects, videos and other visual touches in their live performances and has performed extensively across Europe, Japan and China. The band's unique blend of jazz, progressive rock, zeuhl, Latin music and modern classical give it a very distinct sound unlike any other that i've found and the duo saxophone combo effects along with a bass clarinet offer an extra jazzy assault of sizzling squawking action .

AKINETÓN RETARD has released five studio albums and its 2005 live album "Akinetón En Vivo" which got the band recognized internationally. While focusing more on Latin rhythms and musical styles in the modern era in order to gain a bit more crossover appeal, the band's earliest efforts are a wild and unhinged affair which all started on this self-titled debut that emerged in 1999. To call this band off kilter would be an understatement. Crafting its own nonsensical language in the vein of Magma, the band brazenly delivers a wild guitar abandonment in the vein of classic Red-era King Crimson or Anekdoten along with stuttering zeuhl rhythms along with avant-prog angularities in the vein of Present or Univers Zero.

The jazz influences are really unlike any fusion bands that you've heard with a unique contrapuntal effect between dueling saxophones. The music is primarily improvised instrumental segments with a restless delivery system that is in many ways the musical equivalent of Parkinson's strangely enough. Vocals presented are often shouted in a hysterical form sounding more like something from the world of post-punk rather than anything prog or traditional rock. The over the top approach adds a touch of humorous whimsey reminiscent of England's Canterbury Scene or even Sweden's Samla Mammas Manna only vocals here are gruff and explosive and verging on psychosis at times. The music drifts from overtly aggressive to passively sleek and subtle starting out on the more aggressive side and finding a bit of more contemplative slower moments beginning with "Blues En Re."

The mix of three different saxophones and a bass clarinet give the entire shebang a very woodwind dominated sound although the guitars carry a lot of weight with crunchy discordant riffing tirades as well as cleaner moments of reverb. The compositions can follow a fairly repetitive groove or engage in knotty brutal prog excess sometimes well within the confines of a simple cadence or two. While the jazzy touches are in the forefront, often the compositions themselves sound like something straight out of the world of 20th modern classical which offers bizarre transformations from one dominant style to another. While it's hard to compare AKINETÓN RETARD to any other act on the scene, fans of twisted avant-prog jazz fusion similar to bands like Jean Louis, Auktyon, Ne Zhdali, Utopianisti or even classic Area will find a lot to love here only this band is a bit more anarchic in its approach than any of those.