Iconoclasta: Iconoclasta (1983)
It’s strange indeed to think that Mexico is actually a hotbead of prog rock, but it’s true! I could hardly believe it, in a land of mariachi bands, it’s nice to see some musicians down there more hip to the music of Yes, ELP, Genesis, and the Italian prog scene. Several Mexican prog bands I’m aware of include Delirium (not the Italian prog band with the same name), Nuevo Mexico, Praxis (not the band with Bill Laswell), Códice, Cast, and Nobilis Factum.
Iconoclasta is by far the best known of these bands. When the prog rock scene has all but vanished in the European scene by the end of the 1970s, bands in Latin America (specifically Brazil and Mexico) picked up where the Europeans left off by keeping prog alive during the worst years.
Iconoclasta’s self-entitled debut couldn’t have came at a worse time for prog rock: 1983. A year where most of the major prog rock bands ceased to exist. Genesis was now a pop band and released a self-entitled album that had songs like “Mama”, “That’s All” and “Illegal Alien”. Yes had just reformed, this time with new guitarist, Trevor Rabin, and gave us 90125, which found the band going for a more pop-oriented direction. King Crimson, which had reformed in 1981 with the lineup of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford was still around in ’83, getting ready to release a new album, Three of a Perfect Pair the following year, before calling it quits (at least until the 1990s). None of these bands sounded much like they did in the 1970s. But Iconoclasta sounded like a ’70s band, and they recorded and released their debut album in 1983!
It sounds like they bought equipment that the Americans and Europeans had gotten rid of a few years before. They were then a five piece band consisting of guitarist Ricardo Moreno, keyboardist Rosa Moreno, bassist Nohemi D’Rubin, guitarist Ricardo Ortegon, and drummer Victor Baldovinos, and they played music that’s strictly in the classic prog rock vein. I hear influences from the likes of Genesis and PFM, as well as some of the ’70s fusion bands, but largely, they were an instrumental band.
My favorite cuts include “Cuentos de Arquicia”, “Manantial”, “Estudio VI” and “Fuera de Casa”. What’s really surprising, is the keyboards Rosa Moreno used on this album: electric piano, ARP 2600 synthesizer, and ARP String Ensemble, and she happened to use the keyboards quite well. I pointed that out because it was normal for people to use such keyboards in 1975, but not in ’83 (when people would rather use keyboards like the Prophet 5 and the Oberheim OBX). But since the band did feature two guitarists, so it should come as no surprise that the guitars should dominate.
I have a few complaints of this album. The production isn’t the best. A couple of the songs, like “Memorias de un Hechicero” tend to meander and lack focus. Not to mention the band did lack originality. But it’s nice to see the band capture the spirit of 1970s Genesis and Per Un Amico-era PFM in the 1980s in an era where many musicians in England and America would rather wear trash bags and pose for MTV (like Duran Duran, Missing Persons, or A Flock of Seagulls). This self-entitled offering from Iconoclasta was just the first of many, as they were to give us many more albums right in to the 1990s.
This album has been reissued on CD, by a small, California-based prog label called Art Sublime. They reissued this album, as well as their 1985 followup Reminiscencias on one disc with LP-sized packaging meaning you really get your money’s worth. It’s a safe bet that if you enjoy ’70s prog, you’re sure to enjoy the debut by Iconoclasta.