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Laghonia Biography

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Laghonia was an important part of Peru's surprisingly fertile psychedelic/progressive rock scene during the late '60s and early '70s. Originally formed in 1965 as the New Juggler Sound, their initial lineup featured lead guitarist/vocalist Davey Levene, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Saul Cornejo, keyboardist Carlos Salom, bassist Eddy Zarauz, and drummer Alex Abad. At first they played British Invasion-style pop/rock, and released a few singles in this vein (including 1967's "Baby Baby" b/w "I Must Go"). As their style evolved, they became a harder-edged psychedelic garage band (think Nuggets) with touches of prog rock, soul, and blues-rock. Abad left in 1968, upon which point the group replaced him with Manuel Cornejo and changed their name to Laghonia. That year, they recorded their first full-length album, Glue, which was released in extremely limited quantities on the MAG label. In 1970, Zarauz left and was replaced by Ernesto Samamé; this lineup recorded the second Laghonia LP, Etcetera, which was released in 1971 and drew more from the progressive late-period Beatles. After leader Levene departed, the remaining members recruited guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Carlos Guerrero and regrouped as We All Together, releasing two albums during the '70s that later found a cult audience among devoted record collectors. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi

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