Guitarist, composer and producer Luis Cobo Manglis was born in Sevilla (Spain). At 13 he began to learn guitar and at 17 he became a professional musician, performing at the joint Spanish/US naval base in Rota (Cadiz).
He was one of the pioneers of Rock Andaluz (Andalusian Rock) in the late 1970s as the leader of legendary band Guadalquivir.
Manglis explains how Guadalquivir was formed: “One night, while I was playing at the Club Raices in Madrid that was the cradle of jazz-rock in Spain, José Valera came to see me. He was the personal manager of Triana and my friend from Seville. He directly proposed that I set up a group to play at a festival that was being organized by Triana and it was going to feature all Andalusian groups, such as Storm, Iman and Triana.
It was then where the opportunity presented itself since Andrés Olaegui and I had a guitar duo and we had served in the compulsoty military service together and also in the band Manantial group, the seed of what would later be Guadalquivir.” Manglis and André put together the band, rehearsed feverishly and played at the influential festival in the Madrid suburbs. Guadalquivir was born.
He was also a guitarist for the stars of Rock Andaluz, Triana, between 1981 and 1983.
In 1990 he founded Arrajatabla, together with Raimundo Amador. They won the gold award at the “Band Explosion” festival in Tokyo, Japan. Arrajatabla recorded a now classic album called Sevilla Blues, which features a marvelous collection of Flamenco, Jazz, Blues and other fine herbs.
In 1996 he formed world music band Manteca, with which he recorded two CDs, Pa Darte Gloria and Bailando Con Cabras. Both albums were released in Europe and Southeast Asia, featuring high quality instrumentation and well known guests, including saxophonist Jorge Pardo.
With the new millenium, in 2002, Manglis founded Manglis Compas Machine. He met Singaporean (of Indian origin) percussionist and tabla player Nantha Kumar. Together they recorded the CD Mandala.
Manglis Compas Machine has participated in numerous festivals. It’s been over thirty years dedicated to world music hybrids
Discography:
Guadalquivir, with Guadalquivir (EMI Harvest, 1978)
Camino Del Concierto, with Guadalquivir (EMI Harvest, 1980)
Después Del Silencio, with Guadalquivir (Caskabel, 1983)
Sevilla Blues, with Arrajatabla (Fonomusic, 1992)
Escalera Al Cielo (Movieplay, 1981)
Dandy (Movieplay, 1983)
Pa’ Darte Gloria (Fonomusic, 1996)
Bailando con Cabras (Fonomusic, 1998),
Mandala (Factoría Autor, 2006)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.