About the band
Deftly mixing equal parts of folk and symphonic prog is what this Spanish band does best. The Strawbs did it with English folk whereas Ibio stress their Spanish roots; however, the comparison stops here as their musical styles have absolutely nothing in common. This quartet from Cantabria (land of the famous Caves of Altamira) released only one LP back in 1978 and then mysteriously disappeared.
Despite some Italian symphonic overtones brought on by the lush keyboard work, the mostly instrumental album "Cuevas de Altamira" never lets you forget its Iberian origins: typical Spanish melodies with a generally upbeat tempo, strong presence of the acoustic guitar and a few but emphatic vocals (perhaps a little overwrought for some tastes). The abundance of moog, synths and mellotron, the complex drumming and the mildly distorted and phased electric guitar make it a 100% prog album.
Recommended if you like folk prog with a marked Southern European accent.