A Grandius Bandius

As I've mentioned before, one of the perks of doing this blog is that lots of nice people send me groovy music for free. In recent weeks none of them have been nicer or groovier than Bandius Companion.

Based in Barcelona, the band claim to be "inspired by the soundtracks of Italian detective stories of the 1970s". I know what you're thinking: "Isn't everyone these days?". That's true, but this bunch stand out even in that very crowded field.

Their most recent album, "Preguntes Fractales", was released late last year. You can buy it for as little as €5 on Bandcamp, and if that isn't enough of a bargain then for another €10 you can get their entire back catalogue as well.

Here are a couple of tracks from the album to whet your appetite. The Spaghetti Western influence is noticeable on "So Far, The Desert", "The Boa Azul Great Escape" has more of a jazzy prog feel (in a good way).

As a bonus, I have bunged in a song from 50 years ago which I think makes a similar noise. It will be familiar to those of you of a certain age who own a copy of the Island Records' "Bumpers" sampler.

"The Boa Azul Great Escape" - Bandius Companion

"Take Me To Your Leader" - Clouds