INFLUÊNCIAS

This striking first album from Marco Antônio Araújo finds him strongly influenced by a range of British prog artists (especially those from the folk-influenced end of the genre) of the sort he'd heard during a long stint living in the UK before returning to Brazil. The obvious touchstone is Mike Oldfield, but instead of acting as a multi-instrumentalist Marco instead brings in a broad variety of artists in order to achieve a big, broad sound. At the same time, there's a raucous edge of things which will remind listeners strongly of Jethro Tull, especially when Eduardo Delgado lets rip on the flute, and there's enough additional ingredients in the mix that the compositions never quite drift into simple imitation of any one artist. Recommended for all fans of instrumental folk-prog.