Honduras

AKA Honduras Libregrupo.

Agustín Martire (saxophone), Alex Kodric (guitar), Nicolás Kodric (piano, organ, synthesizer), Alejandro Leonelli (vocals, bass), Gabriel Falciola (drums), Omar Grandoso (trombone)

I would describe their music as being much more in the Avant style than Psychedelic but no matter, this Argentinian band always offer up challenging and interesting music.

HONDURAS LIBREGRUPO was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in late 2004, after a casual meeting of Alex KODRIC and Alejandro LEONELLI. Being the two of them respectively a guitarist and a bassist without a band yet yearning to make music, they started writing material while trying to recruit a drummer in order to complete a basic line-up. An add placed in the magazine SegundaMano advertised for "a drummer willing to be part of a band influenced by Soft Machine, King Crimson, Gong, Can", and so it came to be that Gabriel FALCIOLA filled the role: actually, he was the only applicant. Alex's brother Nicolás started collaborating as a support musician playing sound generator and synthesizer, and it wasn't long before he became a full-time member and incorporated a few more keyboards (organ, electric piano).

After spending one year playing in assorted gigs (bars, abandoned cultural centers, theaters, open air concerts), the band decided to make its first recording, a labor that took them 2 days (a whole weekend), 4 microphones and 3 mini-discs. The post-production process took 6 months to cut the full 26-hour improvised material short into 46 minutes. It was titled "Volumen 1", handmade released and given away for free to concert attendants. November 2006 was a special time for the band, when they recorded a Spanish version of one of Robert WYATT's classic songs, 'Sea Song', bearing the translated title 'Canción del Océano'. The final result is a bit more robust and expanded than the original, yet retaining its primal eerie vibe. It was aimed at a tribute album that was supposed to be released by a French label, but the project was eventually aborted. Nevertheless, the track reached the ears of Phil MANZANERA, who in turn sent a copy to WYATT himself. The Canterbury veteran sent them a mail to the lads of HONDURAS LIBREGRUPO congratulating and thanking them for the artistic endeavor. While this anecdote reveals that their music can be appreciated overseas (even if it is only on a marginal level), in their own hometown the options for playing live were getting gradually shorter. Leading with this situation, the band creates an informal association called Célula Dormida de Honduras Libregrupo, so they can play anywhere and comfortably display their improvisational ideas, interacting with a varied, unstable number of guest musicians. With the CDHL, the band recorded a live album which, together with the WYATT cover and "Volumen 1", were given away for free at concerts. Nowadays, all three items are downloadable from their webpage.

In March 2007, HONDURAS LIBREGUPO started the recording sessions for "La Única Posición es la Oposición", the first proper album: along the way, saxophonist Ignacio DOMÍNGUEZ augmented the line-up. Argentinean avant-garde friendly level Azione Artigionale took charge of the album's edition, ultimately released in early May 2008.

Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com : HONDURAS LIBREGRUPO is a band that should please and impress all true lovers of avant-prog, psychedelic free-form rock, RIO and experimental jazz-rock.