ENGEL (E)

Multi-instrumentalist Engel, real name Miguel Angel, hails from Spain. He turns out to be very talented multi-instrumentalist. The main instruments he uses are electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, bagpipes, flute and bass but also accordion, harmonica, violin, percussion and more! There's no doubt in my mind that Mike Oldfield must have been one of his main influences, but you can also recognize some influences of ambient, ethnic and most of all Celtic spirits, which is quite amazing for someone living in Spain. The first track opens with bagpipes, then sweet female English vocals join in with a very Oldfield-like melody. The second instrumental track is called La Princesa De Las Ramas. ​It opens cosmic, but then a more folky atmosphere is created when pipes and guitar join in. There's even more folk music in Un Dia Nublado with a different female singer, while the closing part is dominated by bagpipes and flutes. In the title tarck some African influences may be heard. The next two tracks are sweet instrumentals and in Una Imagen Para El Diablo the first Spanish male vocal is presented. El Pajaro Azul resembles El Condor Pasa (Simon & Garfunkel) due to the many flutes. A more symphonic tune is El Rostro De Ajanta. The beautiful ballad El Ultimo Viaja Dei Galeon sounds melancholic and that 'cosy sit-in by the fire place' atmosphere returns again in Recuerdos De Mi Habitacion. The closing piece Fin is short and sweet: a flute plays the melody accompanied by nice keyboard sounds.

Surely one might say that Engel is a clone of Mike Oldfield's music in the seventies, but since many tunes probably originate from ancient folk songs I tend to think that Engel is inspired by the same sources as Oldfield and he did a great job on this eponymous album.