Noesis
Since their inception in 2002 Noesis has been mixing traditional Mexican compositions with heavy metal and progressive rock. The approach has brought rich dividends with appearances at the Oaxaca Guelaguetza and National Anthropology museum amidst nationwide tours. Now they are busy recording a new album, as well as planning a live DVD of their recent show in Oaxaca's Juarez Theatre.
The group currently have two discs to their name. The first, "El Pais De las Nubes" (The land of the Clouds) is named after their Mixtec homeland. It features traditional compositions such as "The Dance of The Feathers" along with an audacious version of Beethovens Ninth Symphony. All of the tracks are instrumental, in contrast to the second release "Raices", in which tracks were picked exclusively from Oaxaca state and feature the voice of guitarist and group leader Constantino Garín on vocals. Recorded in a month, the album expanded their sound to include hints of blues and jazz.
The groups name Noesis is taken from the work of the Greek philosopher Plato and means "The Highest Grade of Knowledge". Drummer and manager of the group Paco Garín explains that the name was chosen to remind the group to always demand the highest standards of themselves.
To this end they have spent much longer recording their third album than previous efforts, renting the renowned Arte De Digital studios in Mexico City. The disc, which is named after the greatest Mixtec leader and warrior, Ocho Venado Garra de Jaguar (Eight Deer Jaguar Claw), will include more songs written by the group as well as traditional songs from other states in Mexico. Paco confirms that "There will be no rules", with the group free to extending songs into more drawn out jams and sing in Spanish and Mixtec, the language of their local region.
The four brothers who make up the group started playing from an early age, encouraged by their father who is also a musician. They formed the band with the aim to revitalize Oaxacan music by creating a fusion of traditional music and rock. Says Paco, "If you question the majority of the university students they wouldn't know what traditional music is. Young people find it a bit tedious to listen to traditional songs in their original form and so we brought in the (rock) rhythms and electric guitars which they know. So far we've succeeded in our aim to spread these compositions to a new audience."
It has been a hard rise up for the Oaxacan group. Garín says that currently there is little money made available to develop the local music scene especially in the Mixtec region, with local events often badly planned and produced. He worries about other local bands trying to make their mark in this environment lamenting, that unprofessionally produced events have often done more harm than good.
The bands influences, Led Zepelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, are indelibly stamped on their music. When the band play live, the mix of meaty seventies metal with the chiming melodies of traditional songs is even more marked. It has proved a successful fusion, with the band being chosen for the National Institute of Anthropology and History's "Musical Testimony of Mexico" collection. Paco believes that the time could soon be right for an international tour, the band having already received invites to festivals in France, Italy and Spain.
Working a band of siblings has not been easy and there are many personality clashes in the group according to Garín. However any internal conflicts are outweighed by a strong collective desire to create a lasting legacy for themselves as the standard bearers for Mixtec and Oaxacan music in the wider world.
By John Holman