Pacha, Rafael: A Bunch Of Forest Songs

Spanish born Rafael Pacha has been around for decades but I first heard him as a multi-instrumentalist guesting on many albums by the excellent The Samurai Of Prog and later on The Guildmaster. He has quite a few solo albums, many of which can be found on Bandcamp as digital releases.

He is a master player, proficient on many instruments, and he is an outstanding guitarist. On his most recent solo venture titled A Bunch of Forest Songs, according to the liner notes, Pacha was motivated by Kimmo Pörsti (The Samurai Of Prog) to look back on his recording career and in the process Pacha has revived some older tunes that were discarded and in the case of one song just never made it to the cutting room floor. The songs have been re-recorded for this modern age, and it should come as no surprise the album sounds great.

The disc's liner notes also include an introduction form Rafael where he explains his love for folk and progressive rock and each track includes a description in his own words. From listening to the music and the great care taken in the entire package confirms Rafael’s respect for the past and how he wants to go forward as a musician.

A lovely acoustic guitar runs through the entire opening tune “Piper’s Dream� where whistle, Uilleann pipes, and guitar weave a magical blend of proggy European folk music. The sound bursts through the speakers with stunning clarity. Cool use of percussion and stop-start rhythms define the uplifting “Akelarre�, a mix of Scandinavian world, folk, and prog. Rafael adds some nice electric riffage to go along with a deluge of ethnic instruments demonstrating his innate musical prowess. The Eastern influenced “Inma’s Song� has Pacha’s exceptional work on mandolin and acoustic/electric guitar reaching grandiose heights with an occasional nod to progressive rock. “Ossian By The Door� is a very rhythmic piece where Pacha electric guitar adds some cutting drama. The Celtic inspired “Dance Of Rohan� and the slightly dark “Piper’s Nightmare� are two more well-crafted and inspired tunes from Pacha’s considerable imagination.

Just like his work with The SoP, you can expect expert craftmanship, outstanding musicianship, and a keen sense of melody. These thirteen tracks will take you on a cultural and historical journey that should enrich any fan of quality music. Highly recommended!

A Seacrest Oy Records’ release.

The players:
Rafael Pacha (acoustic, classical, and electric guitars, keyboards, bass, fretless bass, whistles, recorders, electric and acoustic violin, mandolin, bouzouki, bodhran, tablas, viola da gamba, baglama, cura saz, percussion, Hackbrett psaltery)
Kimmo Pörsti (drums and percussion)
Marco Bernard (Shuker bass)
Carlos Aragon (Uilleann pipes)
Juan Miguel Lopez (low whistle, Uilleann pipes, Highland pipes)
Juan Arriola (violin)
Alessandro di Benedetti (Grand piano, electric piano, keyboards)
Rafael Moreno (Irish traverse flute)
Jose Manuel Milan (violin)

Track Listing:
1. Piper’s Dream (4:51)
2. Akelarre (4:49)
3. Inma’s Song (4:52)
4. Ossian By The Door (4:38)
5. Balkan Rashness/Pivo U Staklu (3:51)
6. Bean Sidhe (6:05)
7. Dance Of Rohan (4:07)
8. Artañola (3:03)
9. La Mujer Del Músico (The Musician’s Wife) (7:50)
10. Kenningar (Swordwater) (4:39)
11. Piper’s Nightmare (5:46)
12. Stormchaser (4:16)
13. Broceliande (4:38)

Added: May 11th 2025
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist @ Facebook
Hits: 540
Language: english

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