Gotic - Jordi Vilaprinyó


Escenes de la terra en festa i de la mar en calma (L.P. “Escenes” - 1977)

JORDI VILAPRINYÓ - Keyboards

Brief Gòtic chronical
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"In fact, the idea of ​​Gòtic ..." was a phrase we repeated often in interviews when someone asked us about the group's beginnings.
And we said it because on one of the first interviews we did, with Angel Casas in National Radio of Spain, Paseo de Gracia No. 1, I started saying that the idea of ​​Gòtic came from afar, and many times we saw ourselves forced to delay our own projects and spend our time in more commercial and profitable musical jobs, which provided us some money!!
The origin of the group is in the "Jordis". Jordi Martí and I were pals on school, and we played together at my parents place with an Eminent organ we had in the house In fact, the drumkit of Jordi spent a whole life in a corner of my living room. We played, though, many Beatles music, along with other colleagues who played guitar and sang his songs.
Later, we met Rafa, who originally played drums!. Then he moved to electric bass, and became a virtuoso.
With this trio (organ Gem, electric bass and drums) we did lots of versions and covers of pieces of "Emerson, Lake and Palmer," and some original compositions. Keyboardist wizard Keith Emerson, with his trio, always fascinated us.
But the touchstone of the group is found after the addition of Jep Nuix, flutist and composer. We all met playing for the singer Joan Isaac in Catalan festivals during the summer of 1976. And Jep became the turning point because he gave the group the required brightness and character that made the band stand out as unique. It was the sound and lyrical leadership of his flute which largely defined the sound of the entire band.
Compositional and interpretive constant evolution of our original very neat and with many colors and atmospheres distintas- -some issues led us to the development of a richer for recording our first album instrumentations. To do this, we contacted Jordi Codina, classical guitar and Josep Albert Cubero, electric guitar, which made recording a unique and unrepeatable work.
I remember I used my Twin Reverb with JBL speakers valve as distorted guitar amplifier, recording at full speed to late at night, in one study Gema Bailen local currently occupied by a Chinese bazaar.
The period with Jep was the most creative of the group, in that we did almost daily rehearsals. With ideas written by Rafa, Jep and myself, and then developed collectively by all.
A lot of other musicians pass by and listen our efforts: Lluís Vidal, Antonio Peral, the Coses band, Potestri group, Chema Purón...
We had a very well equipped local, with acoustical fiberglass insulation that we had installed ourselves and floodlights, as well as a terrific platform that had been built by drummer Jordi Martí. To record some rehearsals, for a while we had a Revox tape recorder.
Later, due to disagreements with Jep, the lineup of the band changed and we formed a quintet with Eugeni Gil, electric guitar, and Agustí Brugada, classical flutist.
With this last lineup we had the luck of participating in the famous Canet Rock Festival 1978, and the show was recorded on video!.
We also recorded our second album, in demo form, also in Gema 1 recording facilities. This demo was rejected as our second commercial album by the recording company (Movieplay). The producer/promoter of the label company called me to say that the tunes lacked virtuosity. His name: Gonzalo García Pelayo.
And now, more than 35 years laters, we miraculously got the original stereo magnetic tapes and remastered the recordings with the help of the original engineer, Jordi "Cap Problem" Vidal. So our original 1978 work -what should be second Gòtic album- will finally see the light…

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did and still do,

Jordi Vilaprinyó
(keyboards)

Jordi Vilaprinyó: Mini bio
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Integrated into the environment of Zeleste’s layetana music, and with the seal of symphonic rock, influenced by Genesis, Yes and Premiata Forneria Marconi, we formed the group Gòtic, along with Rafael Escoté, Jordi Martí and Jep Nuix. We worked a lot and create a characteristic sound from our own musical ideas, recording our first album '' Escenes '' in 1977 with compositions by Rafa, Jep and myself. Later, in quintet format, with Eugeni Gil and Agustí Brugada, we played in the Canet Rock festival in 1978.
At the same time, I arranged and recorded albums with well known singers these days, as Chema Purón, Elisa Serna, Aire and Compás, Paco Munoz, and I also directed the Orchestra Song of the Mediterranean. With some of them we played throughout the Spanish geography.
I also had a lot of activity with singers of the musical and political movement known as Nova Cançó, Lluís Llach, Francesc Pi of the Serra, Raimon, Joan Isaac, Coses, Jaume Sisa, Lluís Miquel and 4Z, etc, arranging and recording many of their records.
Later on I focused on classical and contemporary music, being part of the ESMUC (Catalonia College of Music), the Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona and Cervera, carrying out a relentless teacher and concert activity until today.
I have recorded albums and CDs with pieces by Carles Baguer, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Chick Corea, Aaron Copland, Manuel de Falla, Francesc Taverna-Bech, Conrad Seto, etc.
In the field of composition I wrote for piano, chamber music, with cobla instruments and for symphony orchestra, works published by Boileau, Clivis, Dinsic and Zimmermann.