limonada (rare earth XIII)

Limonada (Uruguay, 1970)

Although they sprung ready-made from the ashes of legendary candombe/beat group El Kinto, one of the best-kept secrets from Uruguay's musical mythology is nevertheless the group of musicians who recorded one album as Limonada. So what happened? The story starts with the end of El Kinto, when band leader and iconoclastic maniac Eduardo Mateo decided to embark on a solo career, and the other members of El Kinto said 'let's do something together.' And so it was that in the middle of 1970, Limonada recorded their one and only album, LimoNada, originally released by Sondor. It is a strange record, with backwards tape splices, abrupt song changes, yet at the same time it is absolutely accessible and very groovy, in a Tropicalia sort of way, which might explain why it was an immediate success. In truth, it's a profound mystery why the Limonada LP seems to have vanished from the consciousness of even the most devoted fans of obscure music. Until now, of course. This carefully researched reissue contains the entire LimoNada LP (its reissue debut), supplemented by an extended live bonus track. The sixteen page booklet includes historical background on the Uruguayan scene, details of the band's past, plenty of photos, as well as a brief overview of the legendary Sondor label.

¡Limándose, exprimiéndose, enjuagándose, limotodo o limonada!... reeditado por el sello canadiense Lion Productions el año pasado y originalmente publicado por Sondor, Uruguay, un país más modesto en lo musical al lado de Chile o Perú, regaló en época de grabaciones perdidas el trago más especial de sudamérica. Walter Cambón - guitarra, voz-, José Luis Sosa -batería-, Dardo Martínez -guitarra, piano, teclados-, Ricardo Lanza -bajo, voz-, Tito Caballero -flauta- llevan los zapatos rotos en su largo caminar y portan un candombe-beat simple en apariencia y que discurre en parajes folcloricos, aderazados por percusiones, bossa-nova, psicodelia, vientos, cambios, melodías y voces soñadoras y trazos casi invisibles que acentúan la sensación de un disco conceptual en el que sólo hay canciones, 'Pasteles Verdes', 'Viejo Tambor', 'Dejenme Dormir' y la evocadora 'Pies Descalzos' preciosa en disco y aún más en el festival de Tacuarembó, transformada en una explosión de candombe-jazz.