Bloque -

Bloque was the Spanish symphonic-rock band behind the classic 1978/79 albums Bloque and Hombre, Tierra y Alma, followed by the 1980/81 titles El Hijo del Alba and Música Para la Libertad.

Members: Juanjo Respuela (guitar), Sixto Ruiz (guitar, 1975-83), Luis Pastor (bass, 1975-83), Paco Baños (drums, 1975-78), Juan Carlos Gutiérrez (vocals, keyboards, 1976-94), Carlos Terán (drums, 1978-79), Tivo Martínez (drums, 1979-80), Carlos de Juan (drums, 1980-83), Iván Velasco (guitar, 1993-94), Luis Escalada (drums, 1993-94), Pepe Masides (bass, 1993-94), Mario Gómez Calderón (keyboards, 1993-94)

Background

Bloque formed in the northern Spanish town of Torrelavega, Cantabria. The group coalesced in 1973 when bassist Luis Pastor assembled a core lineup with guitarists Sixto Ruiz and Juanjo Respuela and drummer Francisco Baños in nearby Santander.

Their early sound revolved around a dual-guitar attack, later expanded by the arrival of keyboardist Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, whose use of organ, Mellotron, and synthesizer introduced a richer tonal dimension. Active on Spain’s northern rock circuit, Bloque gained traction through high-profile festival appearances in León and Burgos. By late 1977, they entered Audiofilm Studios in Madrid to document their hybrid of regional rock sensibilities and sweeping symphonic textures.

Bloque

Bloque released their self-titled debut album on March 15, 1978, on Chapa. They cross twin-guitar figures with sophisticated keyboard textures and multi-part compositions.

The album opens with “Undécimo poder,” an assertive piece driven by dual-guitar harmonics over syncopated changes, punctuated with mid-range Hammond chords and rapid transitions between staccato riffs and open-chord release. “Abelardo y Eloisa” follows a more spacious contour with subdued vocals and ambient Mellotron swells before lifting into a second-half crescendo with sustained fuzz and sustained ride cymbal work. “Salvación por la música,” a brief, keyboard-centered instrumental, places electric piano and analog synth layers in rhythmic cross-pattern. “Joven levántate” builds steadily from a steady snare beat into interwoven guitar and synth motifs that shift subtly in tempo and key, landing on a climactic instrumental coda.

Side B comprises the six-part suite Conociendo a Abraxas. “Consultando el tarot” weaves through shifting patterns of synth resonance and call-response guitar voicings with wide rhythmic variance. “Fiesta de la mar” and “La libre creación” form a short middle pair of cinematic instrumentals with episodic meter and limited development. “Nostalgia” delivers a gentle, mid-tempo theme carried by Rhodes-style keyboard phrasing. “La noche del alquimista” shifts into front-heavy, riff-laden progressions that interplay with ascending lead lines and syncopated bass runs. The closing title movement, “Conociendo a Abraxas,” collides phased synths, distorted harmonica, sharp modulations, and impassioned vocals in a piece that breaks form with chaotic yet carefully arranged interplay.

A1. “Undécimo poder” [Eleventh Power] (6:18)
A2. “Abelardo y Eloisa” [Abelard and Eloise] (7:41)
A3. “Salvación por la música” [Salvation Through Music] (3:07)
A4. “Joven levántate” [Young Man, Rise Up] (5:32)

Conociendo a Abraxas (suite):
B1. “Consultando el tarot” [Consulting the Tarot] (6:23)
B2. “Fiesta de la mar” [Sea Festival] (2:07)
B3. “La libre creación” [The Free Creation] (2:50)
B4. “Nostalgia” [Nostalgia] (2:25)
B5. “La noche del alquimista” [The Alchemist’s Night] (4:49)
B6. “Conociendo a Abraxas” [Meeting Abraxas] (3:28)

Sessions spanned December 19 and 23, 1977, at Audiofilm studios in Madrid with producers Luis Soler and Vicente Romero. Engineered and mixed by Santiago Lardies. Cover photography by Justo Respuela and Ciuco Gutiérrez.

Hombre, Tierra y Alma

Bloque released their second album, Hombre, Tierra y Alma, on March 12, 1979, on Chapa. On this album, they eschewed bluesy heaviness for a layered symphonic sound that integrates impressionistic narrative fragments with complex harmonic layering.

Founding drummer Francisco Baños had departed, replaced by percussionist Carlos Terán. Sixto Ruiz covered both guitar and bass, while bassist Luis Pastor assisted offstage as a live technician. Keyboardist Juan Carlos Gutiérrez assumed a greater role in the band’s harmonic and atmospheric framework, creating a dense interplay of analog textures that coalesced with the dual guitar parts of Ruiz and Juanjo Respuela. With this lineup, Bloque crafted a suite-heavy work structured around three thematic groupings, each marked by introspective tone shifts and extended instrumental resolution.

Hombre, Tierra y Alma opens with “Humanidad indefensa,” a six-minute piece that layers the sounds of glass shattering, distant voices, and siren-like synths before launching into a sequence of rhythmically jarring guitar figures offset by bursts of Mellotron and minor-mode lead vocals. “Ya no hay nada en la calle” follows with acoustic phrasing and restrained tempos, a contrast to the dense organ and Les Paul sustain of the opener. “El llanto del poeta” pairs schoolyard choral voices with keening guitar leads and sustained chordal progressions. Side A closes with “¿El infierno está aquí?”—a tripartite movement that escalates from slow volume swells into brisk ensemble passages with layered harmony and modal shifts between organ, phased leads, and interlocking lines.

Side B opens with the extended “Meditación” suite, where solemn synth tones and dissonant guitar climbs converge in a through-composed cycle with subtle textural transitions. This leads into “El verdadero silencio,” the album’s second extended sequence, which incorporates recited passages, murky dual-guitar themes, and stark metric disjunctions across three movements. The closing track, “Por fin he vuelto a ti,” delivers a more declarative tone with intermeshed guitar voicings, saturated organ, and a closing vocal arrangement that balances collective phrasing and solo exclamations.

A1. “Humanidad indefensa” [Defenseless Humanity] (6:04)
A2. “Ya no hay nada en la calle” [Nothing Is Left in the Street] (3:32)
A3. “El llanto del poeta” [The Poet’s Cry] (3:09)
A4. “¿El infierno está aquí? (Parte 1)” [Is Hell Here? (Part 1)] (1:38)
A5. “Una posibilidad” [One Possibility] (1:13)
A6. “¿El infierno está aquí? (Parte 2)” (2:24)

B1. “Meditación (Parte 1)” (1:21)
B2. “Descubrir el sentido terrible de la vida” [Discovering Life’s Terrible Meaning] (4:01)
B3. “Meditación (Parte 2)” (1:30)
B4. “El verdadero silencio (Parte 1)” [The True Silence (Part 1)] (2:43)
B5. “La muerte renacida” [Death Reborn] (1:41)
B6. “El verdadero silencio (Parte 2)” (2:28)
B7. “Por fin he vuelto a ti” [At Last I Have Returned to You] (4:29)

Sessions spanned January 11 to 19 at Estudios Kirios in Madrid, where Bloque self-produced Hombre, Tierra y Alma. Engineered and mixed by Luis Calleja. Sleeve design by Juan Cagigas.

Before their next album, Carlos Terán cleared out for drummer Tivo Martínez.

El Hijo del Alba

Bloque released their third album, El Hijo del Alba, on April 21, 1980, on Chapa.

El Hijo del Alba serves as Bloque’s second conceptual work, structured as a two-part arc with a lyrical side followed by an extended instrumental cycle. Composition credits are divided among members, with guitarist Sixto Ruiz contributing the “El Silencio de las Esferas” segments that span most of side B. The album’s scope leans more overtly into symphonic textures, aided by tightly composed motifs, abrupt sectional turns, sustained minor-key phrasing, and interlocking instrumental passages.

Side A opens with “Poemas de soledad,” a drifting synth prelude that dissolves into acoustic reflection. “Alquimista soy” introduces vocals over pulsing rhythm guitar, with short instrumental breaks and a steady, flattened dynamic arc. “La danza del agua,” at nearly eight minutes, forms the centerpiece of the side with organ swells, tempo accelerations, and scalar keyboard/guitar dialogues. The title track closes the side in a subdued register with clean-toned guitar patterns and balladic vocals.

Side B is structured around the multi-movement suite El silencio de las esferas, divided into four recurring segments and interspersed with discrete compositions. “Quimérica laxitud” injects a dose of high-intensity ensemble play, pairing percussive syncopation with overdriven guitar. “La razón natural” and “Un hombre nuevo,” both by drummer Tivo Martínez, incorporate rapid thematic changes with abrupt cuts between phrased instrumental motifs and short vocal verses. Between each major track, the “Esferas” sections reappear in short duration (ranging from 54 seconds to just under two minutes), often as reprised fragments with Mellotron-like backdrops or transitional atmospheres. The final three tracks, comprising the last ten minutes, function as a recapitulation of the suite’s thematic material, rendered in tighter instrumental form with brief lyrical resolution.

A1. “Poemas de soledad” [Poems of Solitude] (3:39)
A2. “Alquimista soy” [I Am an Alchemist] (3:46)
A3. “La danza del agua” [The Dance of Water] (7:54)
A4. “El hijo del alba” [The Son of Dawn] (3:58)

B1. “Quimérica laxitud” [Chimerical Laxity] (3:15)
B2. “El silencio de las esferas I” [The Silence of the Spheres I] (1:48)
B3. “La razón natural” [Natural Reason] (2:55)
— . “El silencio de las esferas II” (0:54)
B4. “La elipse” [The Ellipse] (1:23)
— . “El silencio de las esferas III” (0:54)
B5. “Fin y principio” [End and Beginning] (1:26)
— . “El silencio de las esferas IV” (0:54)
B6. “Un hombre nuevo” [A New Man] (4:07)

Bloque self-produced the album between February 18 and 27 at an unspecified studio. Live soundman and original bassist Luis Pastor also handled engineering duties.

Música Para la Libertad

Bloque released their fourth album, Música Para la Libertad, on July 13, 1981, on Chapa. The lineup featured core members Juanjo Respuela, Sixto Ruiz, and Juan Carlos Gutiérrez alongside new drummer Javier de Juan and guest saxophonist Emilio Martínez. Founding bassist Luis Pastor contributed behind the scenes as technician.

Música Para la Libertad blends compact vocal numbers with short instrumentals and atmospheric miniatures. Mellotron and organ underscore much of the album with layered, choral tones, while the guitars—more rhythmically restrained than before—support melodic saxophone leads and subdued vocal phrasing. Lyrical themes evoke introspection, resistance, and metaphysical renewal, corresponding to the album’s title.

The side A sequence opens with “Pesadilla de vivir,” a mid-tempo rock setting with descending vocal lines, clipped rhythmic phrases, and restrained keyboard layers. “El poder de la libertad” unfolds in slower, gradual arcs, shifting between declarative verses and sustained instrumental sections. “Añoranza” introduces minor-key guitar phrases and Mellotron overlays in a slow, measured tempo with a subdued rhythmic pulse. “Camino del universo” closes the side in under three minutes with intertwining synth, organ, and staccato rhythm guitar.

Side B opens with “Tau Ceti,” a forward-moving instrumental marked by rapid guitar phrases and thickened choral keys. “Detenidos en la materia” features alternating vocal passages and guitar-driven breaks with bursts of saxophone, switching meters midstream. “Sólo sentimiento” pares things back to low-key harmonies and Mellotron washes, setting up the finale “Mágico y salvaje,” which returns to electric instrumentation with phased guitar, declamatory vocals, and deliberate pacing.

A1. “Pesadilla de vivir” [Nightmare of Living] (3:50)
A2. “El poder de la libertad” [The Power of Freedom] (7:12)
A3. “Añoranza” [Nostalgia] (4:50)
A4. “Camino del universo” [Path of the Universe] (2:43)

B1. “Tau Ceti” [Tau Ceti] (4:15)
B2. “Detenidos en la materia” [Trapped in Matter] (6:25)
B3. “Sólo sentimiento” [Only Feeling] (3:17)
B4. “Mágico y salvaje” [Magical and Wild] (3:20)

Bloque self-produced the album between March 23 and April 8 at Estudios Eurosonic. They recorded Música Para la Libertad with English engineer Mike Cooper, an earlier soundman for Esperanto, Fresh, Keith Christmas, and Someones Band.

Discography: