LA AUSENCIA DE LO SAGRADO

Jorge Campos is one of the most talented contemporary chilean musicians. He is consider one of the best bass & fretless players in South America and during his long and succesful career he played with legendary chilean bands like FULANO and CONGRESO.

During the last years he has been working in several side projects like JORGE CAMPOS KUARTET (electro-ethnic-fusion with two basses, drums and a DJ), ARAUKANIA KUINTET based in the music of Victor Jara and Violeta Parra, and GLOBALEVASION (electronic fusion power trio with ex members of FULANO).

La Ausencia de lo Sagrado is his third solo album and again he shows and confirm his talent as a musician and composer. During 60 minutes Campos shows his skills on bass and fretless (among other string instruments)vand takes a lot of different musical styles to make a solid album full of surprises, amazing arrangements and some really awsome songs mixing jazz, south american rhythms, dark athmospheres, electronic effects and sequences that build a kind of conceptual album dominated by instrumental songs.

La Ausencia de lo Sagrado (Viaje): Very dark and almost crimsonian intro with a powerful fretless solo. Through various sections you can feel different athmospheres with ethnical touches and exquisite arrangements for winds, violin and cello. Great guitar work by Tony Springer!

Mar: Very nice and floating song with Jorge and Amanda Irrarázaval vocals. Solid rhythmical drum base and simple jazzy-pop string arrangements.

Ansiedad Amnesia Anonimato: A song dominated by electronic sequences and percussions in constant proression. Simple and dark and in some way a kind of progress in comparison with similar experiments on his previous album MACHI.

La Cosa Loca: Jazzy trumpet leaded song with some background bass.

Estación Paraíso: Another song leaded by effects, sequences and percussions. Now, Campos takes some ethnical elements to build a solid instrumental with some salsa and jazz sections.

Siempre Pensé: Another nice, simple but well composed folk song with Jorge floating vocals. Beautiful lyrics!

Doimo: Wow! A strange mix of ethnic percussions, dark athmospheres and heavy drums... Some sections are pure avant garde and really close to Univers Zero stuff! A solid mini suite with an awsome climax leaded by an extraordinary fretless solo.

Yo Creí: A complex song with and slow intro with electric guitar that leads into a rhythmical secuence with some interesting loops and sequences that Campos uses to show his talent as a bassist... and surprise! He also is talented with electric guitar, cello and sitar, some of the instruments that he plays during the seven minutes of that song.

Trialogo: With the colaboration of Cristian Crisosto (FULANO) on sax and the well known chilean musician and composer Joe Vasconcellos (CONGRESO) on percussions and vocals, Campos build an almost improvised song with some folk elements and mysthical athmosphere leaded by Crisosto sax.

La Ausencia de lo Sagrado (Aire): A short, simple but nostalgic solo sax by Doug Richardson.

Mariana: Another simple but melancholic and almost naif folk song. Again, the floating and emotive vocals of Jorge, great lyrics and a beautiful wind section.

La Ausencia de lo Sagrado (Llamas): Short but misterious intermezzo with simple string arrangements.

La Ausencia de lo Sagrado (Canción): Maybe the weakes song if the album but yet beautiful. Nice lyrics and a simple rhythmical base gives some kind of charm to this almos pop song with folk-acoustic elements.

Cuando Voy al Trabajo: Strange ballad based on an original song by Victor Jara. Jorge stars this song singing a capella. Slowly, percussions, sax, drums, bass and guitar build a kind of jazzy/folk song, very sad and nostalgic.

Very good album... a great example of the chilean prog/fusion scene made by one of the best latin american musicians of these years. Highly recommended!

4.0*