Corima

Corima was formed in 2005 in El Paso, Texas by high school friends Erik Martinez, Jaime Silva, Juan Tarin, and Sergio Sánchez. Initially inspired by The Mars Volta, they were through a series of changes in style and personnel, the pulsating rhythms of African and Latin music, the poignancy of 60s and 70s classic rock, and taking as a concept the philosophy of Mayan and Aztec spirituality, especially with the mysteries of the feathered-serpent illumined seer Quetzalcoatl. Their interest in unconventional progressive rock bands grew considerably and became very influenced in a wide variety of them such as Gong, King Crimson, ELP, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Soft Machine, to name a few. Finding the lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums insufficient for their growing ambition, they recruited keyboard player Francisco Casanova, a high school friend of Juan's.

Then they discovered Magma, and immediately knew they had found their true inspiration. After losing the two guitarists and touring North America as a trio, the decision was made to relocate to Los Angeles. In the process, they were reduced to a duo as the original bassist decided not to move. They soon started meeting musicians in LA and connected with new bassist Ryan Kamiyamazaki and violinist Andrea Calderón, who was also from El Paso. With the addition of saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi, the band took its current form.

With a set of new compositions ready to be recorded they teamed up with LA musician and recording artist Christopher Votek and in late 2011 recorded their second album entitled Quetzalcóatl. When the album was almost finished, Alain Lebon, the owner of the legendary French label Soleil Zeuhl, contacted them and asked them if they were interested in having their album distributed by his label. It was released in late 2012.

Personnel:

  • Ryan Kamiyamazaki — Bass
  • Patrick Takashi Shiroishi — Saxophones
  • Andrea Calderón — Violin
  • Francisco Casanova — Keyboards
  • Sergio Sánchez — Drums

Links to artist websites:

Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.

Performances:

  • Seaprog 2014 — Day Two