ASCETA

ASCETA joined Music Gateway on 20 Sep 2025 ASCETA. Concept. Asceta is a modern music ensemble, whose musical proposal is similar to the life of an "ascetic"; that is, that character who seeks spiritual perfection by eliminating all those elements of superfluous pleasure that keep him from that goal. In the musical sphere, "Asceta" aims to exalt the art of music, disregarding everything that is not of its essence; how big companies, fame, vanity, marketing, publicity tricks, etc, etc. The group has remained oblivious and hidden from various promotional media, betting on person-to-person dissemination and only in those specialized media that know how to value honest and meticulous work. The music. Asceta's musical proposal is conceived as a "modern music" ensemble, which fuses different currents of classical music with contemporary trends, such as progressive rock, incidental music, jazz, tango and avant garde. The resulting musical aesthetic can be considered within the so-called RIO (rock in opposition), Avant/prog, or chamber-rock, where acoustic instruments predominate over the common ones of a rock band. The result is music with a dramatic character, very eclectic and diverse, highlighting dark and hypnotic atmospheres, and even landscapes of simplicity and beauty. Biography. In the middle of the year 2020, Rodrigo Maccioni devised the musical concept and wrote the music for an octet; piano, guitars, cello, violin, bassoon, clarinet, drums and electric bass. The ensemble constituted in November 2020, began as a collective, and whose members are musicians with outstanding training and participation in both classical and popular music. The first formation: *Alfonso Vergara: clarinet and bass clarinet. *Efraín Vidal: basson. *Eduardo Rubio: bass guitar and upright bass. *Oscar Pizarro: piano and electric piano. *Leonardo Saavedra: drums, percussion. *Arianne Guerra: violin. *Cristián Peralta: celo. *Rodrigo Maccioni: guitars, concert wooden flute and synths. In June 2021, the ensemble began its sessions to record the first album, simply called Asceta, in the Paraíso studio in Santiago with engineer Francisco Aguilera. Subsequently, the mastering was carried out by the prominent engineer Udi Koomran, who has worked with such important bands as Soft Machine, Present, Gong and a long list of musicians and groups. The Mexican label Azafrán Media Records, was interested in the project and published the album in January 2022, in association with the prominent French label Musea Records, having a wide distribution in Europe, Mexico, the United States and Japan.- The album has had an excellent reception in the different media and specialized portals. In September 2022, the ensemble, now constituted as a septet, begins the recording sessions for its second album, which is titled "Erebus, la suite de las sombras", which will be released in June 2023.- In this album, Asceta is integrated by: Rodrigo Maccioni; electric guitar, flute and synthesizer. Christian Peralta; cello. Alfonso Vergara; clarinet and bass clarinet. Arianne Guerra; fiddle. Alexander Vera; bassoon. Eduardo Rubio; electric bass and acoustic double bass. Leonardo Saavedra; drums and percussion. They also participated as guest musicians; Oscar Pizarro on piano and Pascal Montenegro on oboe and English horn. The album was released on May 30, 2023 by the same Mexican label Azafrán Media and Musea Records, having a very good acceptance from specialized critics.