History

Senogul is an instrumental band born in Asturias in 2002, thanks to the meeting of bass player Pablo Canalís, keyboard player Eduardo García Salueña, drummer Alex Valero "Danda" and guitar players Israel Sánchez and Pedro A. Menchaca. Although they had different musical backgrounds (Heavy Metal, Blues, Folk or Post-rock) they found a common ground related to styles such as progressive rock or jazz fusion, the so-called “Contemporary Instrumental Music”.

The initial repertoire of the band was made up basically of symphonic rock covers from the 70s (from bands such as Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Crucis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and later they approached other bands more related to fusion (Return To Forever, Airto Moreira, Frank Zappa or Hermeto Pascoal). This led to the recording of the Demo CD Cosecha años 70's , in “Dos Mundos” studio in 2003-2004, with Mikhail Goldfarb as the sound engineer. It was precisely in September 2004 when Senogul was semifinalist in the musical contest “Concurso de Rock Ciudad de Oviedo ”, held in the capital of Asturias .

Since then, Senogul focus in their own compositions and style, based in the instrumental fusion of different musical styles: rock, jazz, blues, baroque music, minimalism, electronic music or flamenco, including such compositions in their set-lists. In 2005 Senogul records and self-produces the mini CD entitled Tránsitos , in which the band included six of those new compositions played live in the studio. Such demo recording was widely spread, not only through several concerts in different concert halls in Asturias (Gijón, Oviedo, Navia) or nacional events (such as Lughnassad Festival , held in Tiermes –Soria- in 2005, together with other important asturian artists such as Dani García de la Cuesta, Skontra or Deua Dubra), but also through internet in specialised national and international websites.

Meanwhile, Senogul kept composing new material showing new influences, with a freer, improvised character, tending to ethnic music and tone percussion. In 2006 the band focused in the recording of their first, self-titled, studio album, with Ángel Berdiales as the recording engineer and the collaboration of many renowned asturian musicians (such as multi-instrumentist Guzmán Argüello, who has played with Nuberu, Los Locos, Mü, Acullá or Edwin Moses). Such recording was edited in May 2007 by Mylodon Records, the Chilean record label specialised in progressive and avant-garde music, with French Musea Records acting as distributor in Europe. This recording was later released as a double LP under Kankana Records in the beginning of 2009 . The record was warmly received by prog-rock fans as well as critics, as it has been very positively reviewed in media (radio and press) as well as web pages devoted to progressive music and Spanish music releases. The replacement of drummer Álex Valero by Eva Díaz Toca, the nomination of Pablo Canalis as best bass player in Asturias (AMAS Awards 07) and live performances in Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León and Madrid increased the band workload during 2007-2008.

Such activity was particularly intensified in 2008, with several media appearances on radio ( El intercambiador or Latitud Norte in RTPA), television (cultural magazine Con3sentidos in TPA ) and press (newspaper “Les Noticies” and Musicom section in newspaper “El Comercio”). The band also performed live more regularly, sharing stage with other Spanish progressive rock bands (Insigne, Kotebel or Neverness). It all led to the participation of Senogul in the first edition of Madrid Art Music Festival (MamFest), held in Nicolás Salmerón theatre (Madrid, April 2008), together with bands of brilliant international careers such as Baraka, Guillermo Cides & Jerry Marotta or Trettioariga Kirget. The event was covered in media such as Radio Nacional de España 3 (in programs such as Discópolis ) and the music magazine This is Rock , as well as on-line through many specialised web pages.

The inclusion of Senogul as one of the bands under study in the book Radiografía del rock experimental II: del underground artístico al progresivo innovador , by Sergio Guillén and Andrés Puente (Castellarte Ed., December 2008), as well as in The Progressive Rock Handbook , by Jerry Lucky (Collector's Guide Publishing, July 2008), meant an important promotion for the band. Also the publication of critics in specialised magazines such as the two volumes of the Spanish Sinfomusic: Nuevos Horizontes Progresivos , the French Bing Bang and the Dutch iO Pages . Senogul's second recording entitled Concierto de evocación sonora para conjunto instrumental ( Aural Impressions Concert for Instrumental Ensemble ) was released in February 2009 under margen Records. It is an ambitious project conceived as a single composition divided in 9 movements. This effort deals with sound itself without any aesthetic restriction and emphasises on what Senogul members denominate the “process of aural impression”: to represent different concepts, realities or emotional states through music.