Bauda: Sporelights

Chilean band perfect their post-rock sound.

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For the last decade Bauda have been carving their own niche within the world of progressive music.

Their first recording, 2006’s Del Mar Al Aire EP, was a marriage of dark ambient and folk, but they soon began experimenting with post-rock and post-metal. Third album Sporelights is produced by The Gathering’s René Rutten and sees them move away from those earlier folk influences and back towards the post-rock sounds of 2009’s* Oniirica*. Just as Rutten’s band are chameleons of sound, so Bauda aren’t afraid to experiment with different styles, or to use Chile’s diverse landscapes for inspiration. Tool-like soundscapes punctuate opener Aurora, and the spacious melodies of Vigil sweep and soar like Chilean mountains; each peak caressed by César Márquez’s smooth vocals. Imagine 65daysofstatic working to slower drums with hints of The Gathering’s elegant How To Measure A Planet, and you’re almost there. As the album concludes, Tectonic Cells shifts gear into angular post-punk guitars before cutting into the Editors-esque dream-prog of Asleep In Layers. Sporelights is not only crammed with just over 40 minutes of musical bliss, it’s also Bauda’s finest and most polished release so far.

Natasha Scharf
Natasha Scharf
Deputy Editor, Prog

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.