Manu Lafargue
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French Guitarist Features Instrumentals
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French guitar player Manu Lafargue submitted a fourteen song demo CD-R entitled Man! Featuring instrumental songs in various styles, including rock, blues and progressive, the demo could use a lot more editing in the sense that the phrasing and performance comes across as too improvised and off-the-cuff (i.e. not composed). Many times the soloing is off key, and if tracking were done with more care and forethought, a better performance would be the end result. Lafargue also needs to work on stronger themes for his music, or else collaborate with a keyboard player or other guitarist who can bring compositional strengths to the demo. Like a lot of demos, its a good start to have a number of tracks out there to get feedback, but Lafargue needs to spend a lot more time in pre-production and composing in order to catch more ears with his work.
Manu was born in Tours, France on December 26th, 1971. He started playing the guitar at the age of fifteen. He graduated from the Center of Musical Information in Paris, and was also instructed by Peter Nathanson. For over 15 years, Manu has been playing and recording with different groups, from rock to variety. He teaches guitar and bass to students in his own musical school, and also works with a singer in a progressive rock project. Manu cites as his influences Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen and Billy Sheehan, and has an arsenal of guitars, including a Vigier, Lag, Ibanez and electro classical guitars. He prefers a Laney head running through a Marshall loudspeaker, and uses pedals and a Rocktron intellifex.
Lafargue recorded his demo at home on an eight-track recorder, and played all the instruments himself.
Contact Information
Manu Lafargue
22 Allee Jean Monnet
37250 Montbazon
France
E-mail:
Manu Lafargue
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Victor Taboada
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Rock/Fusion From Columbia
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Sending his demo all the way from Columbia, South America is guitar player and composer Victor Taboada. The seven song instrumental CD-R, entitled Atardecer (sunset in English), is a mixture of styles from jazz/fusion (his specialty) and rock, with some Baroque sonorities and Latin rhythms. Taboada is a fluid fusion player, from the Larry Carlton school, blended with some George Benson and a touch of Holdsworth, when he 'goes legato'. He's a skilled enough player that he probably should begin seeking out other hot fusion players in his area who can work with him to create some incredible music. Fusion fans tend to seek out music that has two, three or even four top-notch musicians on it, so collaboration would seem to be the next logical step.
Victor, a 28-year-old guitarist from Bogota, Columbia, began by teaching himself guitar before entering the Philharmonic School in Bogota, studying music theory and classical guitar with Dennis Lopez. He has also studied jazz, modern harmony, and flamenco (in Spain). In December, 2002 he was invited to the XX International Festival Habana Jazz Plaza (in Cuba), where the internationally known group Irankere performed his piece ³Vuelo de Mariposas². In 2004, he formed the Victor Taboada Trio, a Latin jazz fusion band which has performed live, on Columbian TV, and at the Festival U-Jazz 2004, where they were awarded the Golden Sax for Improvisation and Best Arrangement for "Delerio".
Taboada recorded his demo in a home studio, with assistance from his brother, Dionisio Taboada, and Carlos Rojas.
Contact Information
Victor Taboada
Calle 171 No. 46 A 30
Bogota, D.C.
Columbia
E-mail:
Victor Taboada
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