Formed in 1994, La Desooorden and in 2004 they their third album entitled "La Isla de los Muertos" (The Island of the Dead). The band is a sextet consisting of Alfonso Banda (guitars), Rodrigo Gonzalez (drums and percussion), Peter Pfeifer (saxophones), Francisco Martin (Bass and piano), Fernando Tagore & Karsten Contreras (vocals).
Inspired by some historic events from 1906 in which 200 workers and members of their families have died mysteriously. The result is a a concept album, that has reflects a rather recent and little known (especially to people outside Chile) historical event.
The music in itself takes you on a journey through various styles ranging from melodic to chaotic to Latin folk to jazz. They defy anything I’ve been exposed to so far. In all honesty it was a hard listen, whereas it to longer than usual for me to take in all of the nuances. I had to listen to this more than I usually do in order to form a proper opinion.
La Desooorden combines music with a message of importance (even those outside Chile) even though it’s done in Spanish. If you’re a fan of the progressive based music of South America, past and present, then you must seek out this album as well as the companion DVD as soon as possible. For all others, check out their songs on their MySpace page and proceed from there.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on October 3rd, 2008
