LA MUSGAÑA

From its very beginnings, La Musgaña has wrought its own personal style of handling traditional Castilian music, distancing itself once and for all from the typical arrangements of the rondalla (music of the strolling musicians) which the style had lapsed into.
The first album, recorded for Sonifolk in 1988, was entitled El diablo cojuelo (The Crippled Demon) and was totally instrumental, with the exception of the lyrical song “Un soldado menos” (One soldier less).
That same year the group took part in the National Folk Festival for young artists, held in Santiago de Composte- la, walking away with a well-deserved first prize in the category of contemporary folk Their performance was filmed on video by Spanish television and as a result of that award the group got the chance to make another album, this time for Spanish Radio and Television’s own label, RTVE, entitled El paso de la estantigua (The hobgoblins’ pro- cession) which was the first of their records in CD format.
In 1990 they began touring Europe (UK, Italy, France, Germany, Slovenia, etc.), and that same year they represen- ted Spain at the annual European Broadcasting Union event, the EBU, held in Budapest.
The decision to turn professional led to two of the group members moving on but opened the way for two musi- cians with a wealth of experience in folk and new trends: Luis Delgado and Cuco Pérez.
By this time la Musgaña had made their third album, which came out in 1991 under the Lady Alicia Records label. Entitled Lubicán as a tribute to the Iberian lynx. the album was recorded by the original members of the band with Luis Delgado’s collaboration plus two leading voices for the vocals tracks: Manuel Luna and Javier Bergia.
Their next recording was made for Spanish television for the programme Arte y artistas. In 1992 the group recorded three new songs to be included in the re-release of their first album, El diablo cojuelo on CD. In 1993, along with other groups, they also took part in an album dedicated to the St James’s Way, entitled Hent Sant Jakez, recorded by the Swiss label, Shamrock. Along with the Breton group, Bleizi Ruz, Desi Wilkinson from Ireland, and the Galician female group, Leilia, La Musgaña stole the show on many tracks of the album.
Meanwhile, the group was continuously touring abroad, particularly in the States. Catching the attention of one of the major international Celtic and folk music labels, Green Linnet, the label soon offered them a contract for several albums. Starting with a re-release of Lubicán, after the departure of Cuco Pérez from the group, la Musgaña did their first sole recording for Xenophile, Green Linnet’s new ethnic label.
Entitled Las seis tentaciones (The Six Temptations) the album was an intoxicating tribute to traditional Castilian music, recorded with an interesting mix of traditional and modern instruments. Perhaps most appropriately from the international point of view, it was a totally instrumental work, with the collaboration of the Basque trikitiari or accordion player, Kepa Junkera, on a number of tracks.
This takes us up to the recording. made for their tenth anniversary and entitled En concierto, brought out by the label, Resistencia, in 1997. This is a selection of numbers performed live at several performances by the La Musgaña trio with the participation of: Kepa Junkera, Javier Paxariño, Amancio Prada, Manuel Luna, Luis Delgado, Johny Cunningham, and several members of Radio Tarifa, amongst others.
After six years without any recordings but with a hectic activity of projects and concerts it arrives what media has considered their most elaborate, meticulous and exciting record of their trajectory, Temas Profanos. Being released by La Musgana`s own record label Lubican Records, they explore on this CD the essence of Central Spain rich tradition and they develop the aesthetic possibilities of a cultural heritage with so much racial mix.