NEW PROJECT & NEW SONGS OUT NOW!

Flat Five Syndicate is a new raw, indie-tinged Blues Rock band that came out of songwriter and guitarist Razl’s head as a daydream, imagining merging Derek Trucks with Dan Auerbach.

 

Downtown and Smells like trouble are the first two tracks of this new experiment. They have a dirty and greasy blues feel, balanced guitars full of fuzz sounds and the wonderful voice of a somewhat indie vocalist.

Listen Now!

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FFS Live Sessions

FFS Live Sessions is a live recording of the band’s two debut tracks. Recorded at Sierra Studios in Santoña (Cantabria) they show all the energy and the wall of sound that will leave a mark on the audience that sees the band live.

All the recording was done in single takes so that the feeling of naturalness and complicity between the band was captured in a direct way and without any dressing.

Musicians of high voltage and personality for a raw style with contemporary blues-rock roots.

The band

Mehnai, stage name of Carmen Bartolomé, is a singer-songwriter from Cantabria who started writing her own songs a little over a decade ago. In her first two albums (Grab it While It’s Hot – 2011, Trust Freebird – 2014) her style was closer to American folk. With the third one (Red Dragon 2018) she takes a turn towards rock.

Currently Carmen combines Mehnai with other projects such as «Teoria de Cuerdas» with the acrobat Vane Peripecias or the play «Mujeres de Carne y Verso» of the company Abrego.

Razl has been active as a composer and guitarist since 1998. Since then he has worked as a composer, arranger and music editor for television (Globomedia, Atres Media), series (Federico Jusid-Metronome, Music in Silence), numerous short films and advertising (El Corte Inglés, Real Madrid, Lee Films). He has collaborated as a session and live guitarist with groups such as Guateque All Stars, Frank T, Mauri Sanchis, Blas Fernández.

Among his personal projects, besides being the producer and creator of FFS, there are two solo albums (Rotonova and Microscopic) and another one with producer and keyboardist Lorenzo Matellán called Architecture of the absurd, with collaborations with international musicians such as Mike Keneally, Dean Brown, Marco Minnemann, Bryan Beller and Damian Erskine among others.

Over the years Fernando has participated in a multitude of experiences and projects, first in Galicia and then in Madrid, from the composition of soundtracks for musical comedies, short films and advertising, to the participation as vocalist, guitarist and bassist in several bands (Emerge, The Hardtops, Minor Empires, Trono de sangre, Qverno), as well as collaborations as session and live musician (Eoghan Neff, Architecture of the Absurd, Atlántico, The Diesel Dogs, Robin Dee), and works as producer and arranger (La Fiancée Solitaire, Criaturas Celestiales, Yakadlin). 

Carlos has been working for more than 20 years both as an accompanist of live artists and in recordings and studio productions (Mehnai, TéCanela, Nando Agüeros, Luis Rodrigo, Jimmy Barnatán, Pablo Carbonell and many others).
During all this time he combines his work as a professional musician with teaching, giving classes of instrument, modern harmony, theory and musical language in the academy of modern music «Musiquea» since its opening in 2010 to date.

Chus Gancedo is one of the most prestigious drummers in Spain. Active since 2000, he has forged an impressive musical career as a teacher in master classes, recording sessions and as a live musician.   
Chus has won and been a finalist in numerous drum competitions such as Eurodrummer, Drum Mastery and Global Drum-off. 
He is endorsed by DW, Bosphorus, Wincent and Remo.

«Spanish guitarist Raúl Huelves (a.k.a. Razl) leads a power trio featuring bassist extraordinaire Bryan Beller. Coaxing super-seductive tones from both electric and acoustic guitars sans pick, Razl struts and grooves hard throughout, as compelling riffs, clever rhythmic twists, atypical harmonic touches, and an imaginative use of effects further flavor this savory sonic gumbo.»

 

 ★ Barry Cleveland-Guitar Player Magazine ★

«I just had the pleasure of listening to Razl´s latest album, «Microscopic». I cannot think of a better use of your time than to listen to this guitarist play some of the most infectious grooves being heard on this planet.»

 

 ★ Walter Kolosky (music journalist, author of Follow your heart-John McLaughlin song by song) ★

«Razl’s second album, Microscopic, is a real step forward from his impressive debut, Rotonova. His style hasn’t changed radically (although this time out it’s a «highly addictive guitar-and-beyond ridden groove-a-thon»), but Microscopic is not only stripped down instrumentally (basically a power trio album), but Razl’s tunes are both tighter and more focused and he seems to be developing a stronger individual voice as a composer.»

 

 ★ Sean Westergaard-All music guide ★

architecture of the absurd beluga cd

BELUGA

Photosynthesize the grace, shape the emptiness: Architecture of the absurd featuring Marco Minnemann and Damian Erskine.

Razl microscopic cd

MICROSCOPIC

Warning! Highly infectious guitar-and-beyond ridden groove-a-thon! featuring Bryan Beller and Will Bernard.

ROTONOVA

Intergalactic dirty guitar grooves featuring Mike Keneally, Dean Brown, Bryan Beller, Damian Erskine and Charlie Dennard.

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