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The beautiful “harmonic” distortion of Sigilu
Sigilu is a Spanish band from Lugo (Galicia), a project born after the dissolution of the band Tierra de Cinco Minutos. Singer and leader Nacho Cuesta, after a stint in Malaga, returned to Lugo and founded Sigilu, initially as a duo with drummer Pablo Saavedra.
The original lineup also included Hugo Rodríguez on violin and Evaristo Frieiro on bass. They released their first album, Singularidad o Barbarie, in 2017, a work with a sound close to experimental folk and electronica.
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic and the departure of several members, the band stabilized as a trio with the addition of Ángel Boquete on bass. In May 2025, Sigilu released their second album, Beta, with which the band abandoned their folk influences for a darker, more aggressive sound, a mix of '70s prog rock, grunge, and post-metal.
The current lineup is:
Nacho Cuesta: Guitar and vocals.
Pablo Saavedra: Drums.
Ángel Boquete: Bass.
They resumed their live performances with a significant date on September 13, 2025, at the Club Clavicémbalo in Lugo, officially marking the end of their hiatus.
Their style is a fusion of modern progressive rock, art rock, and experimental rock.
Despite being a trio (guitar, bass, and drums) without keyboards, the band manages to create complex and dynamic soundscapes, alternating melodic moments with more rhythmic and virtuosic sections. Their production is characterized by highly personal lyrics and sophisticated sound design, technical complexity, and great emotional charge.
There's "harmonic" distortion, and I know it's an oxymoron, but distortion in their work is never self-contained and isn't intended to destroy or disrupt. It's part of the melody, not only that. The guitar parts are powerful, and the bass, with equal mastery, lays down carpets of imposing, sometimes almost imperceptible, sounds, without which the music wouldn't have the same depth. The guitar and bass aren't always distorted, they're not monothematic, and they're not tied to a single genre or soundscape. Like all great musicians, they express themselves in fuzz and clear with virtuosity, never overdone, or with great clarity of sound, depending on the song's intentions.
The drums are absolutely outstanding, at ease with both complexity and linearity, though never truly linear. They move with incredible mastery through every level of complexity and enrich it with details, touches, accents, unexpected finishing touches, and surprisingly careful diversions.
And finally, the voice: this band has an exceptional singer, who combines the bel canto I've often found in the Spanish tradition with a passionate interpretation, not overly theatrical, but one that makes you understand that he believes what he sings, feels it, and you, the listener, feel it too.
The Discography and the Reviews
Singularidad o barbarie - 2017 - ECCELLENTE
Beta - 2025 - ECCELLENTE