Balandrán - Balandrán (1993)

One of my favourite asturian folk bands of the 90s, and surely one of the most innovative too along with groups of international fame like Llan de Cubel and the unfortunate Felpeyu, these relatively unknown Balandrán brought a gust of fresh air to the sometimes too conservative asturian folk movement. Based in the small town of Avilès, near Oviedo, Balandrán released only two albums in the course of their existence: the charming eponymous debut posted here, characterized by a warm and brilliant sound, in which the interplay between the traditional acoustic instruments (guitar, accordion, violin, flute, bodhran and gaita - the asturian bagpipe) is enhanced by the use of electric bass & guitar, was followed by El Viaxe, where they took further experiments with electronics. Coming back to Balandrán, in my opinion the instrumental opener Al Dolce with its well constructed crescendo and the moving Danza la mar, «pa baillar descalzos nel sable moyao» (to dance barefoot on the wet sand) alone are worth the download.

They say 'bout them in Asturies:

«Balandrán fué una de las bandas más importantes del folk asturiano, supusieron un aire nuevo y original en nuestra música de reelaboración»

«De xuru la banda asturiana de los años 90 más avanzada conceutualmente»

Enjoy!

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