Jul Lla Máquina

Máquina! is maybe the very first underground rock group to have recorded in Franco's Spain, their first single dating back to early 69, and the following year, their first LP was out with a striking artwork depicting a clock coming out from a croissant meaning that it was time to wake-up (and have breakfast) in Spain. The album was called Why? and it was clearly so rebellious under a dictature that fellow group Tapiman (and Barcelona crosstown rivals/friends) answered them with a track Don't Ask Why. The five-piece group developed a high-energy Hammond-driven psych/prog rock with two lead guitarists, with many extraordinary musical moments given the context of those years.

A Máquina Voadora (Flying Machine) released in 1970 is a landmark of Brazilian music, inspired by the Psychedelia of the Beatles, almost conceptual, it contains themes of aviation and references to books written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in particular the Little Prince.

Maquina! were one of the very first pioneers of progressive music in Spain, their 1970 album Why? is considered a classic by many (in the Proto-Prog sub-genre). After Why? the band broke up due to discrepancies in the musical direction and because some members had to leave for the then-compulsory military service. Keyboardist Enric Herrera rescued the project but took a rather different direction, focusing on blues-jazz-rock with a distinctive presence of horns (trumpet and sax). He recruited the trio from the band Crac (Carles Benavent on bass, Emili Baleriola on guitars and Salvador Font on drums) and two German musicians who had established in Barcelona Peter Rohr on sax and Hubert Grilleberger on trumpet. Herrera's idea was to record a double LP in the studio but he could not find the required funding so eventually they settled for recording live in concert, with rather limited resources, which was cheaper…

Originally released in 1967