EL ARTE DE SEGUIR VIVOS

Kharmina Buranna from Peru were formed in summer 96' in Lima, originally playing Blues/Hard Rock in the vein of British and American bands, while the group participated in several music competitions.After a short break in 2000 they returned with a whole different style, now influenced by 70's Progressive Rock giants such as Genesis, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Focus.With bassist/flutist Mauricio Hooker, keyboardist Daniel Lopez, guitarist Eduardo Valcarcel, drummer Victor Otarola and singer Angelo Perez-Palma they released their debut ''El Arte de Seguir Vivos'' in 2008 on Mylodon Records, featuring also Frágil's Octavio Castillo on flute and Japanese violin player Pauchi Sasaki.

Indeed Kharmina Buranna sound nothing like the contemporary Peruvian Prog Rock bands, which are either more experimental or more folky.Their sound has a strong vintage flavor akin to 70's British, Italian and Latin-American bands with complex orchestrations, multiple breaks and decent songwriting.Comparisons with Italian Prog are maybe the closest ones.The five long pieces are filled with heavy Hammond organs, floating synths and clavinets with a very complicated style, that sounds quite conveincing.Add a diverse and technical guitar playing in the mix with plenty of heavier and jazzy exercisesto complete the picture.But there are also lots of calmer moments thrown in with acoustic guitars, flutes, strings and piano, close to the likes of SERU GIRAN or SUI GENERIS, especially in these psych-influenced harmonica solos.What really prevents the album from being a top-notch release is the lack of strong melodies with the band showing a constant tendency towards sheer complexity and numerous shifting moods.

If 70's-influenced Progressive Rock is among your major preferences, then this is a great album for your collection.Challenging, intricate but not very original.Recommended.