Since the Cuban progressive rock band
Anima Mundi
got themselves a Dutch manager, the Netherlands have become their
second homeland. They spent almost two months in 2012 in our country to do some
concerts in Europe and to record a large part of their latest studio album
The Lamplighter
(see
review). Therefore, it was obvious that the start of their European tour and the release party of
the new album would take place in the Netherlands. The location was an already
familiar venue for them. Because in 2012 they opened the iO Pages Festival (see
review) held at Cultuurpodium Boerderij in Zoetermeer. Only this time the band
was fronted by a brand new lead singer.
Carlos Sosa
decided in early 2013 to leave the band and was replaced by
Emmanuel Pirko-Farrath.
The question was of course if he could forget their former lead singer, because it's always
difficult to step into the shoes of an amazing singer.
Before the band came, a couple of lanterns could already be seen on the stage just
like on the cover of the new album. Like for example next to the keyboards and
drums. It was a nice way to get the audience into the right mood. But I guess
that their loyal fans probably didn't need any of those extra attributes to
|
Emmanuel Pirko-Farrath |
enjoy the music of this fantastic band. They were fantastic once again, like on
all the other times I had watched them, and the first part of the concert very
much proved this. They chose to perform the new album in its entirety during this
first set. The sound was perfect right from the start and that made it possible
for the difficult musical parts to come across well. That most of the people
present didn't know the music of the new album didn't seem to be a problem at
all. The album was on sale for the first time during this CD release party and
only a couple of music reviewers and friends had already heard the album.
Everybody just enjoyed the new songs which contained excellent guitar parts by
Roberto Díaz.
Sometimes he sounded just like
Dave Gilmour (
Pink Floyd)
on
Echoes (
Meddle 1971) and
even more so than on the original studio versions. The sound of the keyboards played by
Virginia Peraza came very close to the studio versions. The beautiful flute sound on the album could be
heard many times. Excellent was also the way
Yaroski Corredera
handled his bass guitar-sometimes pounding and
other times very delicate. However , the bass pedal synthesizers sounds were
performed by Virginia on her keyboards. A special guest was welcomed before they started
Endless Star. It was
Remco Engels from the Dutch progressive rock band
Mangrove who assisted drummer
Manuel Govin
|
Special guest Remco Engels |
on percussion. As they had done in their 2012 concerts, they together gave an excellent drum
solo which was very much enjoyed by the crowd. Remco remained on stage until
the last song of the first set was done. During this set it turned out that Emmanuel
must had practised a lot to get the new album under control because he succeeded very well in singing his
difficult vocal lines in front of a live audience.
After the break it was time to enjoy the music from Anima Mundi's back catalogue.
However they had decided not to include any material from their debut
Septentrión
(2002/2012, see
review). They started with a great version of
Time To Understand
taken from their masterpiece
The Way (2010, see
review)
Band leader Roberto Diaz once again played a
breathtaking guitar solo; goosebumps all over! During this song, everybody at
the venue was of course very curious to see how Mr. Pirko-Farrath managed to
sing the parts that were originally done by Mr. Sosa. Well, to be honest, I
have to confess that he pulled it off very well. Singing several lines
|
Virginia Peraza and Roberto Díaz |
differently and others together with Mr Diaz, he succeeded in bringing the song
to a strong finish. During the next piece, he was not allowed to sing because
Rhythm Of The Spheres is an entirely instrumental composition from their second album
Jagannath Orbit (2008, see
review)
and a composition that gave the musicians a chance to improvise on their instruments.
Most of all, the keyboards and electric guitars shined all the way through.
Flying To The Sun and
Cosmic Man from
The Way
finished off the second set. During the first track, I
could enjoy once again the fantastic-and most of all impressive-church organ
sound produced by Virginia on her keyboards. The second title of course
included the amazing bass guitar solo done by Yaroski. The first encore was an
obvious choice because it was done many times before. However this version of
Sanctuary
was a bit different from the other ones. This time Roberto took over the lead vocals of Emmanuel because he
could not reach the high notes. The last encore was also done before but maybe
not how you'd expect. It already appeared on the setlist when the band made their
debut on Dutch soil at Lakei in Helmond in 2011 (see
review). At the time they gave it the title
Arthur but was none other than a large instrumental part of the classic
Genesis piece
Firth Of Fifth.
This perfect version of this amazing song was most of all a perfect ending to
another strong performance by Anima Mundi. Maybe the band had deserved a much
larger audience. But those who came out to see this band, that took a flight
across the Atlantic Ocean from Cuba to visit Europe for the third time in a row,
never regretted coming to see them! All I can say is welcome back Anima Mundi! We love you all the way!
Henri Strik (edited by Robert James Pashman)