Napalis – Napalis album art
Napalis is a prog rock/jazz formation that released only one album. Mutant Sounds describe it as follows:
World class funkified fusionoid moves from this forgotten Dutch unit whose supple and fluid but busy busy busy attack and thematically sharp arrangements give the proceedings a distinct whiff of Italian jazz rock; the adrenalized bits here glancing off the likes of Arti & Mestieri and Etna and the more languid sections having a certain Perigeo and Toni Esposito je ne sais quoi. I’d posit Francois Cahen’s post Magma outfit Zao as being an influence here as well, especially the burnished warmth of the work they were issuing contemporaneous with this LP on Kawana.
The self-titled LP was recorded in Hilversum in September 1976, featuring Rob van den Broeck (electric keyboards, synthesizer), Neppie Noya (congas, percussion), Leo de Ruiter (drums), Michael Samson (electric guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar), Dick Vennik (soprano, tenor, and baritone saxes; flute), and Henny Vonk (electric bass, reverbed vocals).
Rob van den Broeck (1940–2012) takes credit for the cover design and the painting, too. Apart from being a jazz pianist and composer, he was active as a visual artist and had studied graphic design at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. The Napalis logo is lettering based on the Neo Prisma typeface. The designer gave the A a bar, made a new S – apparently he didn’t like the original clipped form –, and embellished the lines with gradients for a spaced out chrome effect.
Via Iván Moreno – ¡gracias!
