GABRIEL AGUDO
In Continuum vocalist takes experimental prog to new heights with his solo project.
“KNOWING THAT PROG DNA is mainly British, I decided to write and sing in English, which is my second language. Many people thought I was crazy and laughed at me but they helped me push my limits,” admits Argentinian Gabriel Agudo, who’s always dreamed of being part of the prog world.“My first supporters in the business were Steve Rothery and Larry Morand [from Cruise To The Edge] and they’ve believed in me since the beginning”.
Prog readers might know Agudo as the vocalist with Bad Dreams and In Continuum, but he’s gone solo for debut album New Life. It’s been in the pipeline for two years and gets things off to a fine start with appearances from Rothery, Clive Nolan and Dave
Kerzner, among others. “It was based on the experience of trying to reach all the different aspects of resilience after the battle my family fought against with my mother’s disease [Alzheimer’s] until her death,” he explains.“It’s my spiritual map.
“I’m a strong believer that creativity is an unconscious process. New Life has a sort of 70s/80s classic prog sound. This was my first record so I didn’t want to be catalogued or trapped. The way that Genesis, Pink Floyd and Marillion all combine different colours and textures inside a song format with a huge emotional impact is priceless and I love the work of Peter Gabriel, Fish, and Steve Hogarth as well,” Agudo says of his influences.“I love to experiment with sound textures and styles that’s why I love prog so much – it’s a big ocean and a fountain of infinite resources.”
Agudo also worked with musician René Bosc on the project: “We’ve known each other for five years and share the same passion and taste about life and music. He’s a phenomenal orchestra conductor, musician, and skilled multi-instrumentalist. We started working together on a special Supper’s Ready revisited version [released in August 2020] with an international team of musicians from the classical and prog world. It has drumming by Jan-Vincent Velazco [Pendragon] and a solo from Steve Rothery.
“After New Life, we started working on revisiting one of our favourite Genesis albums, Foxtrot. René has proven to be a great source of inspiration and support. I wrote all the songs two years ago so when I decided to make the album, it was a natural decision to work with him and Steve.”
Although Agudo’s live plans for 2020, which included Cruise To The Edge, Night Of The Prog and a co-headline tour with John Hackett, were cancelled due to the pandemic, it didn’t slow him down creatively. Instead, he took advantage of the unplanned downtime with more studio work, including vocals for In Continuum’s next album, Acceleration Theory 3, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
“I released a new single, A Last Chance, inspired by the pandemic,” he enthuses.“I’ve written all the songs for my new album and I also recently recorded vocals for the next Clive Nolan album Song Of The Wildland, which is based on Beowulf.” EM
“MY FIRST SUPPORTERS WERE STEVE ROTHERY AND LARRY MORAND AND THEY’VE BELIEVED IN ME SINCE THE BEGINNING.”