Redd - Tristes Noticias del Imperio (Reissue) (1978/2009)

REDD is the most prominent progressive band from Tucuman (Argentina). After the dissolution of LA PEQUENA BANDA DE TRICUPA (or TRICUPA, for short), guitarist Luis ALBORNOZ and drummer Juan ESCALANTE decided to move on and form a new band with a more experimental vein; bassist Esteban CERIONI joined very soon. In January 1977 REDD was a reality. The creative department was completed with the participation of Ricardo GANDOLFO as lyricist. The band's debut on stage took place in June of that same year, when the trio headlined for L. A. SPINETTA, one of the greatest heroes in the history of Argentina's rock. By the end of 1977, REDD contacted the people of M.I.A. in order to get acquainted with the dynamics of independent recording and distribution. In 1978, the trio gained a minor cult among concert goers in Buenos Aires and a good critical reception. It is in 1979 that the band manages to release the debut album "Tristes Noticias del Imperio", which had been recorded the year before. It stated a mixture of INVISIBLE, GENESIS and KING CRIMSON, with touches of jazz-rock. The instrumentation was augmented with the keyboard ornaments delivered by CERIONI and ESCALANTE, plus the former adding some acoustic guitar besides his bass/keyboard inputs. A few weeks after the completion of the album's recording, ESCALANTE was diagnosed with a disease that severely affected his hearing: this tragic event led him to give up music. Finally, in 2005, he lost his battle against cancer.

Back in 1979: the band's new line-up was augmented into a quintet, with the entry of lead singer Oscar IMHOFF, keyboardist Pollo Raffo and new drummer Marcos PUSINERI. The style remained essentially the same, but the instrumentation was fuller and more powerful, somewhat emphasizing the symphonic aspect - no doubt that this was due to the presence of a permanent keyboardist. Near the end of 1979, REDD's sophomore album "Cuentos del Subsuelo" had been recorded and it had been planned for release by early 1980, but it wasn't meant to be. The band dissolved in 1981. Since RAFFO had left the band to pursue musical studies in Berklee (USA), Lito VITALE played keyboards for the band in the last concerts. "Cuentos del Subsuelo" eventually met its first release in digital format in 1996.

This was not the end for REDD. In fact, something special happened that brought REDD back to the map: on the December, 27th of 2002, a show called Re-Union gathered old Tucuman bands from the 70s and the 80s - TANGO, TRICUPA, REDD and JALEA. There was at least one REDD member in any of the other three bands, so the occasion was clear for a possible reunion, which most certainly happened. A double CD titled "Re-Union" as well was released, and the show was repeated in August of 2003: this project became a nationwide tour in July of 2004. The REDD ranks were filled with veterans IMHOFF, CERIONI and ALBORNOZ, plus drummer Carlos CAPDEVILA, keyboardist Mark EDWARDS and a second guitarist named Luis CORVALAN. Juan ESCALANTE made a guest appearance as additional lead vocalist on a few tracks of the 2003 Re-Union. For years, REDD has basically been an on-and-off deal, with ALBORNOZ and CERIONI occasionally reforming the band for special occasions - one of them was the 30th Anniversary Concert in 2007 at the Santa Maria Auditorium, in Buenos Aires, which saw the "Cuentos del Subsuelo" line-up gathered together for the first time in many years. Also, the aforementioned two founding members have been slowly working on the recording of new material with FRAKTAL drummer Humberto SALAZAR for the last few years.