Opening track for CII: Second Son by 17 Pygmies. Authentic space sounds give way to gentle guitar introduction, setting the tone for part two of the "Celestina" saga

CELESTINA XII

Isabel II: Abaddon Rising is the fifth of an eventual nine recordings that when combined comprise the entire Book of Celestina. Originally based on a short story called The Flight of the Celestina, the Isabel series (I-III) follows the plight of former crewmember and ship's doctor, Dr. Amelia Isabel as she now finds herself a fugitive from CENTRE, hiding in an underground necropolis deep beneath the streets of Nuevo Madrid. The music is the soundtrack to this part of her story. Following their long tradition of blending musical styles 17 Pygmies artfully manages to incorporate Prog, Folk, Pop and Alternative 80's rock into a single musical style that has allowed the band to follow it's own unique vision for over 30 years.

10 - Isabel XXI - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

09 - Isabel XX - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

08 - Isabel XIX - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

07 - Isabel XVIII - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

06 - Isabel XVII - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

05 - Isabel XVI - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

04 - Isabel XV - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

03 - Isabel XIV - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

02 - Isabel XIII - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

01 - Isabel XII - Isabel II Abaddon Rising

"CIII: Even Celestina Gets The Blues (A Tale of Love and Quantum Physics)" by 17 Pygmies completes the triptych of the "Celestina" saga. Musically, CIII is reminiscent of Celestina and CII: Second Son, but is also a departure into additional genres of music and theory, including classical, progressive rock and blues, and influenced by artists such as Ennio Morricone, Kraftwerk, Greg Lake, Howlin' Wolf and Tangerine Dream. 17 Pygmies invited additional artists to join them such as Bob Mora (bass), Lea Reis (vocals), Claire Chenette (oboe), Larissa Fedoryka (cello) and Heather Lockie (viola).

10 CELESTINA XXXII

This song was written in the 80s by Jackson Del Rey but 17 Pygmies recorded it in 2007 for the CD release "Ballade Of Tristram's Last Harping"

03 Last Train

Eight years ago, 17 Pygmies, a band if noted for if nothing else, being stupidly ambitious, undertook a stupidly ambitious project. Originally a short story based upon the 15th Century classic novel La Celestina by Fernando Rojas, the recorded Celestina (in actuality the name of the spaceship) was envisioned as a three part, 33 1/3rd psalms/songs long science-fiction story mixing as many musical elements including progressive, psychedelic, classical and ambient as possible in an effort to create a unique musical landscape to match an imaginary, but somewhat based on reality, version of love and deceit in deep space. In 2008, the first step was completed when Celestina was released.  

In 2011, these "new" influences were incorporated into the next installment of Celestina, ultimately to be known as CII - Second Son. In many ways, CII was similar to CI, with one major exception. The best was to explain the difference is to imagine the Pink Floyd influence replaced by influences from Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, the two bluesmen from which the Floyd got their name. 

On January 1, 2012 17 Pygmies officially released CIII - Even Celestina Gets the Blues (A Tale of Love and Quantum Physics). This, the third and final installment of the Celestina trilogy finds the crew of the Celestina (what's left of it anyway...) having escaped the clutches of a black hole and with new knowledge of the Treachery of the Third Inquisition racing back to Earth to expose the truth of the "robot menace." 

Isabel was officially released January 1, 2013
Musically, Isabel draws on some of the more attractive attributes of it’s predecessor CIII: Even Celestina Gets The Blues, namely Prog Psychedelia and Ether-Pop but adds a healthy dose of Spanish Guitar, Trip-hop and interestingly R&B backing vocals to what has already been described a musical blend "warm and yet haunting, it’s spacious and yet lush, it’s warm and yet melancholy. It’s music of contrasts and much like sweet-and-sour, it’s delicious."   

Influences for Isabel include ELP, “Lamb” era Genesis, Can, Amon Duul II and John Foxx. A little less obvious, but no less important touchstones include Christopher Young (he wrote the theme to “Hellraiser” but you knew that), The 1st Movement of "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" by Henryk Górecki, Segovia and "Venus In Furs" by the Velvet Underground.

Isabel II: Abaddon Rising was officially released November 17, 2015

Sometimes it's best to look back when planning one's next move. In the case of Isabel II, 17 Pygmies decided to write the never happened follow-up LP to it's classic 1980's album 'Captured in Ice'. Musically speaking, this required the band to go back to its roots as one of the originators of the "cold-wave" movement (the Pygs themselves referred to their style of music as "sombredelic"), a genre that mixed "College Rock" "Art Rock" and "Pop" with a downbeat, if not often whimsical and/or reflective message. 

Taking "Ice" as it's starting point, Isabel II also manages to mix in Prog, Psychedelia, Classical and Folk music as additional territory rich for exploration. Direct comparisons can be made to the music of post-Genesis Peter Gabriel, Early Kink Crimson, Gary Numan, Roxette, Current 93, Shirley Collins, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Manuel de Falla, Maurice Jarre and Jerry Goldsmith as well as visual inspiration in the works of Hieronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Picasso's "Guernica", Vincent Van Gogh, James Whistler and Joan Miro.  

As with all 17 Pygmy releases, great care is put into the overall visual presentation. Isabel II is a limited edition hand assembled signed and numbered CD featuring a foil stamped design on specialty paper. 


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