Amoeba Split

Biography

Amoeba Split is a musical group from A Coruña (Spain) formed in 2001 that currently performs music within the so-called “progressive jazz-rock”. The influences of Amoeba Split are mainly british bands from the seventies, such as King Crimson, Soft Machine or Caravan, although over time they have been considered by various experts as a group of "Canterbury Sound".

After recording their first self-produced demo in February 2003, four years later they entered the studio to edit in September 2010 their debut album, called "Dance of the goodbyes". This album was well received by critics and audiences, with excellent reviews around the world, and was nominated by the Italian website Progawards as "Best Progressive Rock Debut Album of 2010". In addition, throughout 2011 they participated in the prestigious "Finisterrae Prog Festival", performing alongside celebrities such as Al Di Meola, Neal Morse and Jan Akkerman.

In April 2013 Amoeba Split recorded their second studio album, “Second Split”, released in June 2016 by the Mexican label Azafrán Media. Once again, the album received very good reviews and is considered by the specialized page Progarchives as one of the best albums released that year.

After the publication of "Second Split" the band returned to stages to perform the album live. As a result of these concerts, Discos Pat label published in 2017 the cd “Directo Mardigras '16”, and in 2019 “A Tiempo: Una Retrospectiva 2016-2018”.

In December 2019 the group recorded at the Jazz Filloa in A Coruña a free and improvised adaptation of the book "Animal farm" by George Orwell, a concert that will be published under the title" Todos los animales son iguales".

In August 2021 Amoeba Split returned to the Santa Cruz Recording studios (A Coruña) to record their third album. The album is published in 2023 under the name "Quiet Euphoria" and immediately gets excellent reviews, to the point of being at number 1 of all the albums rated by the Progarchives website for several months. In addition, said site ranks the album in second place on the list of the 250 best international progressive rock studio albums published in the last 25 years, an achievement never before attained by any other Spanish group.

Musicians

Fernando Lamas

Drums and percussion

Endorser of Canopus Drums, and since 2011 drummer of Xoel López. Currently participates in various jazz and avant-garde music projects such as Akafree (with Chefa Alonso), Kotka (together with Risto Vuolanne and Guillermo Bazzola) or Batmacumba (with Iago Mourinho and Jorge Frías). He also collaborates with Lucía Rey Trío.

Ricardo Castro

Keyboards

Trained mainly as a self-taught musician, he has participated since adolescence in different musical formations. In 1995 meets Alberto Villarroya in the psychedelic rock band Rama Lama FaFaFa and together they founded Amoeba Split in 2001, where he plays keyboards and synthesizers.

Alberto Villarroya

Bass and guitars

He has developed himself musically in a self-taught way while participating in bands such as Rama Lama Fafafa in 1995. Later, he founded Amoeba Split in 2001 with Ricardo Castro, where he plays bass, guitar and vocals. He has also participated as a session musician in other musical projects (Lovely Luna, Felix Arias).

Pablo Añón

Alto sax

Professional degree in Music in the specialty of Saxophone from the Superior Conservatory of Music of A Coruña. He studied at the School of Musicians of A Coruña, deepening his jazz training through different seminars and master classes. He has performed in festivals, venues and jazz clubs in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany with groups such as Mr. Dixie Jazz Band, Mama Boggie or Speak Low. He has also collaborated on records with groups of diverse musical styles, such as Herdeiros da Crus, Deluxe, Uträqäns, etc. and with his personal project, the KB Connection quintet. In 2010 he received the award for best soloist at the III Palma de Mallorca Jazz Contest. Currently is a member of the Galician Jazz Orchestra, the Hot Chocolates and Garufa Blue Devils Big Band, bands with which he has recorded several records and performs frequently. He is also a teacher at the A Coruña School of Musicians and at the Oleiros Municipal School of Music.

Eduardo Méndez Baamonde

Flute and saxophone

Bachelor of Professional Degree in Bagpipe. As an interpreter, he is mainly dedicated to playing Galician bagpipes, requinta and traditional percussion, as well as tenor and soprano saxophones and different flutes. He teaches bagpipes and traditional instruments at the Municipal School of Music of A Coruña. Within the scope of traditional music, he collaborated in groups such as "O son da Terra", "Xacarandaina", "Vai de Roda" or "Luar na Lubre". He has also participated in different formations such as Malandro, Plastic or Proxecto Gharbo, among others.

Iago Mouriño

Keyboards

Trained in classical music at the Professional Conservatory of Music in Lalín, he began his jazz and modern music studies with Javier Constenla. Later he carried out higher studies in jazz at the Superior Conservatory of A Coruña. He is part of various groups such as Pablo Sanmamed Trío, Miguel Lamas Cuarteto, Hot Chocolates, Maria Toro Quartet or José Somoza Big Band, among many others. With many of them he has performed repeatedly in various jazz festivals throughout Spain. In the field of classical music, he has performed didactic concerts and music for silent films as a pianist of the Ancestral String Quartet, as well as various events at the Lalín Conservatory of Traditional and Folk Music.