Music without Labels XXV
Heavy metal by Motörhead
Prodigious jazz by Ketil Bjørnstad and Anja Lechner
Bueno´s author pop
Heavy metal I: Introduction
Heavy metal constitutes one of the most extensive sections of rock. It’s a visceral music that leans on the image and the adolescent myth of rock as a rebellion. Its lives are rituals that evoke a lifestyle.
Its origins go back to the second half of the sixties, when in full electric guitarist era, British bands increased the volume and the rawness of blues. Quickly it established in the United States.
Motörhead – Motörhead (1977)
This is a song that was composed by the band’s leader Iam Kilmister, it was released as a presentation single. It shows a rock that known no subtlety and favours the physical impact of massive decibels.
Antecedents like The Kinks, The Who, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), shaped heavy metal, giving it monumentality. Deep Purple breathed into it the spectacular and Black Sabbath rebelliousness. In a second wave, at the end of the sixties, while stars dedicated themselves to the mechanical repetition and looking for a female market, small independent labels promoted a return to the basics. This way, bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard launched the new wave of British heavy metal.
International: Ketil Bjørnstad
Ketil Bjørnstad is a Norwegian artist that has been described as a cultural prodigy. Initially trained as a classic pianist, he debuted with Oslo’s Philharmonic at the age of 16, playing Bártok’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
The exposure to Miles Davis’ music converted him to progressive jazz, making his first recording with a quartet in 1973. Bjørnstad is also a widely translated novelist and has collaborated with filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard.
Ketil Bjørnstad – La notte VI (2013)
This is a self-written track included in his album La notte. Recorded live in Molde International Jazz Festival, it’s dedicated to the homonym film by the Italian Michelangelo Antonioni.
Ketil Bjørnstad surrounded himself with the greatest masters of contemporary music. That is the case with Anja Lechner, one of the most talented violinists in the world. She is an expert in bringing together contemporary and traditional music, the oriental and the occidental, and the arranged and improvised music. Lechner has collaborated with exceptional musicians, like the bandoneon Dino Saluzzi and the pianist François Couturier, and she has been part of the acclaimed Rosamunde Quartet in Munich. Always “looking for music that tell stories”.
National: Bueno
Bueno is Javi Vallina’s personal project, an Asturian music veteran that for several decades has been involved in projects like Los Mancos, Lansbury, Koniec, Sister Morphine and Hotel Vaqueros.
He practices a high-level auteur pop, that’s utterly unconventional and far from the commercial circles. Bueno takes care of everything: he composes and arranges the songs, he plays the instruments and even models, produces and self-published his records.
Bueno – Maratón (2014)
This is a self-written song that was released as a single in the album Perros, santos y refranes. It won the Asturias Musicians’ Society award for the best song in the alternative scene category.
After a dozen records and various projects, Javier Vallina decided to jump into the void with 9 canciones minúsculas, un huracán y un millón de lunares, an album that in 2009 started his project Bueno. Perros, santos y refranes followed, and it is still last album so far. His music is made to me listened in tranquillity, with as quality sound and lyrics full of sensibility about intimate and personal stories. The care for the aesthetics also stands out, both in the album presentation and in the music videos.