(Progressive rock, Avant-prog, Chamber rock, RIO) Jose Luis Fernandez Ledesma & Margarita Botello - Al Filo - 2002, APE (image+.cue) lossless

José Luis FERNÁNDEZ LEDESMA is a big name in the Mexican avant-garde musical scene. He is acknowledged as an adventurous creator and a proficient musician: his performing skills include guitars, keyboards, various ethnic wind, string and percussion instruments, something like a Mike OLDFIELD with a RIO heart. His first steps in the world of prog took place in NIRGAL VALLIS, a band contemporary of ICONOCLAST and others, that never got to release a proper LP. After the band disbanded, FERNÁNDEZ LEDESMA began his solo venture determined to explore his unique musical vision. Singer/keyboardist Margarita BOTELLO is his recurrent partner in almost all his records. His music has been publicly eulogized by Chris CUTLER, as stated in the liner notes of the "Sol Central" album. In early 2007 he began the SAENA project, a symphonic prog band formed by veterans (just like him), but his solo career remains active.

The writing and arranging modus operandi for FERNÁNDEZ LEDESMA's material is profoundly based on atmospheres, going from the ethereal to the somber and from the dreamy to the inscrutable, always dense and mysterious, at times colorful, other times grayish. The combination of acoustic and electric instruments bears enough amounts of mixing console processes as to make the original sounds go somewhere else. Instead of using traditional instruments according to the standards of fusion and prog-folk, what FERNÁNDEZ LEDESMA does is incorporate these ancient items as parts of the sonic amalgam that would match his modernistic vision. Influences range from krautrock (POPOL VUH, CAN, early 70s TD) to RIO (ART BEARS, HENRY COW, UNIVERS ZERO), as well as the avant-garde chamber music pioneered by Cage, Stockhausen and others. "Al Filo" comprises a dominant sinister tendency, while "Sol Central" displays a more developed sense of colorfulness. Albums such as "La Paciencia de Job" and "Híbridos" may lean closer to one trend or another. "Designios" stands out as a special exception to the rule, since its repertoire is a venture in the fields of symphonic-meets-folk prog, in this way exposing a not-so-usual melodic side of FERNÁNDEZ LEDESMA - it includes new versions of two old NIRGAL VALLIS tracks. Through the years, he has created music for theater, contemporary ballet and documentary films, and collaborated with other avant-garde artists (ALQUIMIA, OXOMAXOMA, etc.). Additionally, he works as a sound engineer and producer.

Progarchives:
This album and "Sol Central" are, in my opinion, the two pillars of JLFL's discography: almost any other recording by him should be evaluated and reviewed regarding its proximity to one of the two aforesaid albums. "Al Filo" has to be his most disturbing album ever, really scary, yet, in a strange way, it is not oppressive or overwhelming. There is a certain dreamy aura to the instrumental deliveries comprised in this album that makes it sound magical in a recurrent fashion. But as I said before, this is not the magic of a Disney animated movie soundtrack: this is a very gloomy album, at times sinister. The terrifying beauty of the album cover - a round dance of female infant ghosts in the mist of the night - is an extension of the most disturbing sonorities that the listener will find here. In fact, the 10 minute opener 'Las Siete Columnas' is a well accomplished exercise on enchanting minimalism built with mysterious keyboard-based soundscapes upon which percussive ornaments and choral washes go drifting by. This soft grayness bears a very appealing feel, indeed. Things turn into a more serene realm with 'Presence', a candid piece on acoustic guitar. This is just a momentary rest, since the disturbing moods
return in an enhanced manner with 'Oniromante' - this is really a portrait of limbo turned into sounds of keyboard, guitar, flute and female singing, all of them confluent in a weird dynamics. The last 90 seconds bring a shade of light with a beautiful duet of acoustic guitar and vihuela. 'Espejismo' is pure thanatos, a sinister journey into the catacombs of the heart: not unlike the preceding track, the last minute provides an unexpected relaxing twist to the theme's development. 'El Triángulo,' on the other hand, goes to dark places in full swing, albeit with a proper touch of subtlety that makes it comfortably coherent together with the remaining tracks in the album. This sequence of tracks 3 - 5 serves as a continuing highlight. 'Ojo de Venado' changes things quite a bit with those gracious percussive arrangements and those elegant flourishes on treated guitar. The suite 'Las Cuatro Imágenes' is the most ambitious item in this repertoire. This one pretty much sounds like a compendium of what the album is all about: 'La Noria' is a bit more colorful than most racks in the album; 'Día Interior' is full of shades; 'Mirándome Mirarme' states a hypnotic frenzy; and finally, 'Una Larga Agonía' displays a twilight atmosphere than at times becomes almost silent, but the last 30 seconds are filled with an impressive, spectral crescendo. This suite is a masterful example of genius texture managing.
The closer 'El Enyerbao' bears influences from the musique concrete tradition and the tribal side of experimental prog, with a strong emphasis on percussive instruments from the Mexican deserts' folk music. All in all, "Al Filo" is an excellent opus by JLFL. The reason why I don't give it the same rating that I gave to "Sol Central" or "Designios" is that I am particularly more impressed by the colorful side of JLFL's music, but if your avant-prog tastes give preferential room to the minimalist trend, you might as well find this album a masterpiece, pure and simple. 4 or 5 stars for this album, I cannot imagine how it could get a lower rating.