TRAMUNTANA

In the seventies there were two main progressive tendencies in Spain: the andalusian (flamenco prog) and the catalan (more fusion oriented, sometimes called "rock laieta"). Among the andalusian, Triana were the most popular, but there were a lot of other interesting bands like Granada, Iman, Cai, Azahar, Mezquita? Among the catalan, Companyia Electrica Dharma and Iceberg were the leaders. "La Dharma" (as we, catalan fans, call the band in a familiar way) are (still in 2010) the ones that better melt tradicional catalan folk with prog rock and jazz (King Crimson and Miles Davis are mentioned among their main influences). The album "Tramuntana" is maybe the essential release of the seventies, while "Catalluna" is the one from the eighties. Very difficult for me to describe the kind of music you can find here, maybe because I've listened to this kind of music and to this record since I was a child. Five short and two long tracks. Completely instrumental, except for the narration on "La Mediterrania sen's mor" ("Mediterranean Sea is dying"). Good drum work, being electric guitar and sax the solist instruments, but the sax sounds very different to the usual fusion sax of american bands. Very original and interesting. No other bands made similar music to "La Dharma".