Band Bio and Historia de La Luz track-by-track commentary

Bio

Cambur Blanco appears on Buenos Aires, Argentina, as a rock ensemble strongly influenced by the later Beatles and the progressive rock classic ´70s scene, mainly Rush, King Crimson and Pink Floyd, but also from artists so different as Depeche Mode, Luis Alberto Spinetta and Radiohead. The band explore a kind of sound landscape where the song is the principal idea, but with strong instrumental passages. The concept, the lyrics and the music are one in the songs of this group, who produced their own recordings. The band occasionally writes in English, besides of the member’s native tongue, the “arrabalero” Spanish of Buenos Aires. After some line-up changes the band actually consists of Matías Papapietro on drums, Gustavo Ucci on bass, Alejandro Volponi on keyboards and Leandro Rodríguez on guitar and vocals.

The band started as an idea in 2009-2010, mainly by Leandro Rodríguez (guitar & vocals), Mariano Salvay (bass & vocals) and Alejandro Volponi (keyboards). The first drummer Nerio Romero enters in 2011, and in that moment the band recorded a Live Session in Lb records studio, released in 2012. Romero leave the band, and after recording a few singles with Federico López on drums and doing an acoustic show, the first concept studio album suddenly was written and Matías Papapietro joined in as the definitive drummer. Just before the recording of it Salvay leave the band, so the three remaining musicians make the album happen. The Dreams And The Numbers on The Sea was released on 2014 by Brano Media, and was very well received on several shows on Buenos Aires. During the recording sessions of the album the band make The Journey, a massive 22-minute epic instrumental released at the end of the year. During 2015, the band recorded to shows: Live at NMO and Live at INARTEC, both consisting of newer versions of released songs, some covers (Beatles, Rush, Spinetta) and some new. The compilation-live-album of these shows is The Kids Are Alive and Tailing, released in 2016. Then, the band started to work in a long concept album. Several things happened after: the big one was the incorporation of Gustavo Ucci on bass. The band re-formed, so re-arrangements of all the new songs were the principal duty, most of them also during recording. The group concentrated only in the making of this concept album, Historia De La Luz. The musicians think that this one, released in November 2018 and done in Gustavo Ucci´s own personal studio, is their magnum opus to date. Again the album is produced by the band itself, but this time with the help of Ezequiel Díaz.

The album tells the story of the light from a human life & death point of view, in different  soundscapes and musical forms in the context of the classic 70´s rock concept albums (wide dynamics and sound fields filled strong instrumental passages), like some kind of time machine. Also introduces songs in Spanish for the first time since 2012, as the point of view of the musical narration changes. 

Historia de La Luz – a track by track description

On the Preface, the origin of existence is represented by a strange caravan of sounds who suddenly changes to an all-acoustic ensemble that assumes the role of an Overture. Then, The Road to The Big Bang presents a main theme: the origin of light. Looking at The New is the search is about the will of create life. Starblast, as Carl Sagan says on the song also, shows the exploration as an inevitably duty. Then life became complicated, because the system is so much like a directed movie (that´s the point of Meeting con tu Cameo) and after that we see egoism inside and outside on The Constant Selfish as we get older. In Travel From Life to Death the subject is obvious, and a cultural transition happened, that suggests reincarnation. But the travel is no completed, as Borges says. After his premonitions side A ends.

Side B begins with The White Darkness is Grey, a kind of dream between life & death. Death, sorrow and faith, and finally a prayer are the topics of No More Darker Days. Then the reset happens on Camino Hacia el Big Bang: a Spanish reprise of The Road To The Big Bang, telling that life begins again such as laughter always happen after the tears. A new life brings more wisdom, more love, and diffuse memories who became existence closer to illumination: Abismos, Lidle (Luces Inmensas de La Eternidad) and Brilla testified that statements.

Finally, Danza Invisible tells us that the only inmortal and really powerful thing is light.