Ibio -

Ibio was a Spanish symphonic-folk band that released the 1978 album Cuevas de Altamira on Movieplay.

Members: Ito Luna (drums), Dioni Sobrado (guitar, 1977-82), Lily Alegría (bass, vocals), Mario Gómez Calderón (electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer, Mellotron)

Background

Ibio formed in 1977 in Santander, Cantabria, with keyboardist Mario Gómez Calderón, guitarist Dioni Sobrado, drummer Ito Luna, and bassist-vocalist Lily Alegría. Alegría and Luna had played in the Santander beat group Los Dixies.

Ibio built its early repertory from Cantabrian folk material and symphonic-rock arrangements. The group played Madrid dates at Colegio Mayor Santo Domingo Savio with Burning, then worked university concerts in Salamanca, Oviedo, Valladolid, Burgos, and Zaragoza. Santander appearances included the Festival de Músicos Montañeses at Plaza Porticada with Bloque, Estrella Unida, and Juan Carlos Calderón. The quartet also played Plaza de Toros de Santander and Universidad de las Llamas, then secured a Movieplay contract.

Cuevas de Altamira

Ibio released their singular album, Cuevas de Altamira, in August 1978 on Movieplay.

The album presents a seven-track Spanish-language program that adapts popular airs through Cantabrian-rooted symphonic rock. Mario Gómez Calderón plays electric piano, Clavinet, synthesizer, ARP Solina String Ensemble, and Mellotron. He wrote everything apart from “A lo alto y a lo bajo,” a Dioni Sobrado contribution.

“Cuevas de Altamira” swells from a measured opening into broad chordal surges and chantlike vocal passages. “Romance del Conde Lara” bounds through an uptempo instrumental line with quick lead changes. “La virulencia del ferrocarril” careens through tempo turns, mood shifts, and explosive lead breaks. “Pastor” sets folk-derived phrasing against the album’s mid-paced motion. “La baila de Ibio” presses into heavier movement with firm low-end accents and extended section turns.

A1. “Cuevas de Altamira” [Caves of Altamira] (5:20)
A2. “Romance del Conde Lara” [Ballad of Count Lara] (2:37)
A3. “La virulencia del ferrocarril” [The Virulence of the Railroad] (6:02)
A4. “Las chicas de Laredo” [The Girls of Laredo] (3:22)

B1. “A lo alto y a lo bajo” [High and Low] (3:10)
B2. “Pastor” [Shepherd] (6:08)
B3. “La baila de Ibio” [The Ibio Dance] (7:46)

Ibio recorded Cuevas de Altamira in January 1978 at Torres Sonido with producer Gonzalo García-Pelayo and sound engineer Juan Carlos Trigo. Juan Carlos Trigo also engineered the 1978 Movieplay album Mitos, ritos y creencias by Joaquín Díaz at Estudios Torres Sonido in Galapagar.

Mario Gómez Calderón designed the cover package. The front illustration depicts two silhouetted figures at a cave opening under a blue night sky, with distant mountains and orange cave light.

Movieplay issued “La baila de Ibio (primera parte)” as a 1978 promotional single (b/w “La baila de Ibio (segunda parte)”).

Discography: