Anar Band

So here Jorge Lima Baretto is jamming with Rui Reininho – soon to become the lead vocalist of GNR, whose guitarist and songwriter Vitor Rua will concurrently become Baretto’s partner in Telectu. The sound is quite obviously inspired by the German experimental rock and synth music of the early 1970s. I think about Conrad Schnitzler’s hand in Kluster, the earliest efforts by Tangerine Dream, perhaps even Popol Vuh’s Moog-heavy debut. Although Baretto plays Arp Odyssey here. So definitely more electronic side of things. Instead of Germans’ fixation on psychedelia and blues riffing Anar Band acknowledges (in very convoluted liner notes) that inspiration for their instrumental mannerisms comes from improv jazz. Something that is most apparent in Cecil Taylor-esque pianism and walking bass of Side A’s second half. In the arabesque synth playing I hear the echoes of prog (Mike Ratledge’s impressionistic style in Soft Machine) – “Sandokan” being the most apparent homage. What is more surprising is proto-acid arpeggiated madness of “Tarzan” and “Plasticman” (how appropriate) section of Side A, which also sounds like Horacio Vaggione’s equally disturbing outing on Cramps one year later. Something was in the air in the late 1970s. Elsewhere we have uneasy radiophonic atmospheres, synth squiggles and oscillating sinewaves. Utterly glorious, way ahead of its time and still under the radar. I was lucky to find a vinyl pressing signed by Baretto himself, but I really hope this will be reissued so that more people can access it beyond awful vinyl rips online.