The
spirit of prog-rock is alive and well in grooves of the 2009 CD from
the Chilean band Aisles, entitled In Sudden Walks. The lead
vocals, sung in English, are deftly handled by Sebastián
Vergara while the group also sports inventive electric guitar
work from Rodrigo Sepulveda and Germán Vergara,
with the later handling the production chores as well. The sound is
quite cutting edge and the arrangements borrow from that classic ‘70s
U.K. and European progressive rock sound. With a great rock beat—courtesy
of drummer Juan Carlos Raglianti—and keyboards of Luis
Vergara keeping the sound moving, the CD is filled with imaginative
arrangements and an excellent studio sound. Aisles cite influences
like Genesis, Marillion, YES, Pink Floyd and King Crimson so if those
classic bands turn you on, perhaps Aisles will do the trick as well
with the release of In Sudden Walks. The Aisles CD is available
from MuseaRecords.com, CDBaby.com, Amazon.com as well as from the
prog-rock experts at KinesisCD.com www.AislesProject.com
MUSIC
WEB EXPRESS 3000 presents
GERMÁN VERGARA and RODRIGO SEPULVEDA
of the progressive rock band AISLES
Guitars Center Stage
Guitarists making waves in the music world,
their new recordings and gear!
Musical Background
Germán:
Well I started studying piano when I was 10 years old, but when I
turned 14 my older brother Luis (AISLES’ keyboard player) gave
me an electric guitar as a present. The guitar had belonged to Rodrigo
Sepulveda who is my all time guitar brother. Since then I’ve
been studying guitar, both teaching myself and also taking some lessons
whenever I could.
Well since AISLES was formed it was conceived with two guitar players,
and since then me and Rodrigo, whom is also replying part of this
interview, have been trying to elaborate a very unique and complementary
sound. In fact I think that we have influenced each other a lot and
are still working and evolving our guitarist synergy.
Rodrigo has been playing guitar since he was 11 years old and has
made a real art out of it. And it was him, my brother Luis and I who
founded AISLES.
New
CD
Germán:
We are very happy about In Sudden Walks for it has a more mature
sound than our previous album. The recording conditions were the highest
and te technical team was the best available, unlike The Yearning,
which was recorded with a lower budget.
In Sudden Walks was recorded and mixed in Santiago, Chile and
it was mastered in the U.S. by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering Studios,
Portland.
The composing stage was long and we had total freedom and time to
create. We composed in small groups, knowing that not every piece
of music will make it into the album.
Preproduction
started in the winter of 2007 with the musical arrangement sessions,
followed by rehearsals and ending after 6 months in long and exhausting
recording sessions.
The production of this album would last over a year and resulted from
the joint efforts of talented individuals, ranging from the best technical
team to gifted musicians and the collaboration of a selected few guest
artists.
Incorporating theater into our music was one of the risks we were
determined to take on this album and we were fortunate to work with
three prominent local actors and actresses. You can see the result
in the opening track of the album “Mariachi”.
Luis wrote and directed the scene you find in our opener track.
I think that the album is a very interesting work of music for anybody
who is interested in music with content. The band has also evolved
and we are happy to be shaping our uniqueness or what we are constantly
looking for which is originality and integrity.
The use of electric guitars is present throughout the whole album,
we have came to a rougher sound than in The Yearning but still
being very careful with the harmonies and details. Acoustic guitars
were also used in the album and both Rodrigo and I are very melodic
guitar players and innate composers.
Our influences are very varied and you can very much perceive that
AISLES is musically eclectic. Our music is sometimes identified as
Prog Rock, but we like to think we are going further beyond that.
In In Sudden Walks you can find a lot of fusion and music from
all over the world.
Favorite
Guitars
Rodrigo:
My favorite guitars are; Les Paul Custom, Gibson, Gibson SG (Double
Neck), Fender Stratocaster with the Floyd Rose Tremolo System and
an Alhambra Acoustic.
To record In Sudden Walks I used an Ibanez Prestige S-1620
as electric guitar and a Samick Custom Acoustic Guitar.
The strings I used were Dean Markley and Thomastik, gauge .010
Both Germán and I used a Line 6 Pod XT Pro emulating the amps,
cabinets and all sort of effects.
Germán: My favorite guitars are: The Fender Stratocaster with
the Floyd Rose, Gibson ES -335, the Ibanez JS 1000 that I own, and
I also like very much Lukather’s MusicMan.
To record In Sudden Walks I used an Ibanez JS-1000 as electric
guitar, and a Takamine Acoustic guitar.
I used Ernie Ball strings gauge .010 and a Hannabach Goldin for my
acoustic guitar.
Musical
Influences
Rodrigo:
My most influential albums were: Signal, Hemispheres and Moving
Pictures by Rush, Tribute by Ozzy Osbourne, Somewhere
In Time by Iron Maiden, The Extremist by Joe Satriani, The
Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis, Master Of Puppets
by Metallica, and Discipline by King Crimson.
My favorite guitar players are: Randy Rhoads, Adrian Smith, Alex Lifeson,
Steve Rothery, Adrian Belew.
Germán: My most influential albums were: Sheer Heart
Attack & A Night At The Opera by Queen, Fragile
& Going For The One by Yes, Signal by Rush, The
Lamb Lies Down n Broadway by Genesis, Wish You Were Here
by Pink Floyd and Letter From Home by Pat Metheny.
My favorite guitar players are: Steve Howe, Alex Lifeson, Pat Metheny,
Brian May and Jimmy Page
Upcoming
Plans
Germán: We are currently working on our third album.
We are in the composing stage right now. We are also planning to live
in Europe over the next years and intend to start the production there
once we have settled. I hope that we are able to release our third
work together by the end of 2011.
Web Site
Our web site is: www.aislesproject.com
Our myspace is: www.myspace.com/aislesproject
email: aisles@aislesproject.com
