Uruguayan rock
Uruguayan rock | |
---|---|
Stylistic origins | Blues, jazz, rock and roll |
Cultural origins | Early 1960s Montevideo, Paysandu |
Subgenres | |
Candombe Beat, Candombe Rock, Murga Rock | |
Fusion genres | |
Jazz Rock, Latin Jazz | |
Regional scenes | |
Uruguay Montevideo | |
Other topics | |
Discodromo Show |
Uruguayan rock first emerged in Uruguay in the 1950s. The real breakthrough for rock in Uruguay, however, as in much of the world, came with the arrival of The Beatles in the early 1960s. Although the country has a small population and is far-removed from the world's cultural centres, rock music from these land, which has always taken on an identity forged from a mix of different cultures (especially, Argentina's and Brazil's, due to proximity) and local peculiarities, crossing different genres and styles, has largely been a well-kept secret outside the region.[1] Thanks to the Internet and easy access to music libraries through streaming services such as Spotify, this is now changing.[citation needed]
1960s: The Beatles and the Uruguayan Invasion
The Beatles were wildly popular across the world, and many Uruguayan youths began to form their own rock bands. In the mid-1960s, as the British Invasion was peaking in the United States, Canada, Australia and elsewhere, a group of Uruguayan bands broke into the mainstream in Argentina. This cultural phenomenon was called the Uruguayan Invasion, and it continued for several years, as record labels began signing Uruguayan bands to promote them in Argentina.[2]
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Los Shakers (Break it All)1965.
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Los Mockers 1965
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Los Iracundos 1965
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Kano y Los Bulldogs
Like Los Shakers, the other bands that emerged in Uruguay at this time, did not want to just sound like their British counterparts, but to create a more original sound. Examples include Los Iracundos, Kano y Los Bulldogs, and Los Malditos. Los Mockers are not an example of this, however. Deeply influenced by The Rolling Stones, there "was no trace of any local or regional personality" in their work, although its members where considered talented performers and arrangers.[4]
1970-1973 Uruguayan Rock Boom
With the Uruguayan Invasion of Argentina dying down, a new wave of rock musicians arose, including members of El Kinto, Tótem, Psiglo, Génesis, Opus Alfa, Eduardo Mateo, Jesus Figueroa and Días de Blues, promoted by radio and television shows like Constelacion and Discodromo Show.
Gastón Ciarlo (aka Dino) was a rock music pioneer in Uruguay, playing electric blues before the Beatles revolution, and blending pop music and local rhythms and themes. He dabbled in candombe like Eduardo Mateo and El Kinto, adopting a rock attitude on the 1970 release Underground and mixing styles such as milonga. The songs are introduced by enigmatic words and the sound of casual conversation can be heard in the background. 1970 also saw Eduardo Mateo dissolve El Kinto and two of its members, guitarist Walter Cambón and drummer Luis Sosa, formed LimoNada , a short-lived project that was rediscovered in the 1990s thanks to its extremely unconventional sound, boasting songs "clustered by strange voices, incidental music noises and effects that sometimes unite the songs and other times cut the tunes in half".[5]
The emerging Uruguayan rock scene showed musicians searching for a new Latin American cultural identity at the beginning of the 1970s.
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Eduardo Mateo 1971
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Dias de Blues 1972
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OPA Uruguayan Band in USA 1972
Apart from Tótem, the Uruguayan hard rock band Psiglo was able to cross over from the underground and reach a large audience. Inspired by Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, Psiglo was formed in 1971 and reached their height with their debut album Ideación, released in 1973. Their leftish politics and rebellious attitude meant it was impossible for them to continue after the 1973 military coup, and their second album did not see the light of day until 1981, because the military authorities threatened to close the record company down if it was released at the time.[7]
1973-1979: Uruguayan Rock Bottom
In 1973 the military dictatorship came to rule Uruguay, and the rock boom ended. In 1975, popular music came to be dominated by canto popular, a genre that was against and openly dismissed electric instrumentations and foreign rhythm and styles.
1980-1984: Breaking the status quo of the dictatorship
Jorge Galemire's first solo album (1981) Presentación, combining acoustic ballads with groovy candombe jazz arrangements along with new pop readings of the Uruguayan murga was a big influence on many artists, although it did not reach a wide public.[8] Galemire emerged from the 1970s Uruguayan rock scene, previously playing with El Syndikato, Carlos Canzani, Eduardo Darnauchans and Eduardo Rivera, playing an important role in breaking the cultural status quo imposed by the dictatorship.[9]
Another influential album,
1985-1989: The new Uruguayan rock
After 1985, with the restoration of democracy, after 12 years of dictatorship, Uruguayan rock was reborn. The new scene was perhaps best represented by Los Estómagos, whose 1985 debut album, Tango que me hiciste mal (1985) "is considered the kick-off of the new Uruguayan rock".[11] Although usually labelled a punk band, the dark tone and minimalist music of Los Estómagos mean they are closer to new wave bands such as Bauhaus and Joy Division, rather than Sex Pistols. The album's particular sound was also due to the use of outdated and poorly equipped Uruguayan recording studios.
In 1985 also the Uruguayan Heavy Metal scene was born with bands like Acido and Alvacast, being Alvacast the first Heavy Metal band to get a record deal in Uruguay. Alvacast recorded their first LP in 1987 called "Al Borde Del Abismo".
Other bands influenced by punk rock and new wave included Traidores, Neoh-23, Zero, and La Chancha Francisca. The scene was alive and well, with shows at underground venues or the series of big concerts known as Montevideo Rock, (where participated the most popular Heavy Metal band called Alvacast) that also included foreign bands. The gloomy sound of this era (post-punk guitars, grim lyrics) found little support in mainstream media. This eighties rock movement slowly weakened and practically vanished. It is generally considered that this period symbolically came to an end in 1989, with the split of Los Estómagos.[12]
Corrección: la banda que edito dentro de la categoría HEAVY METAL en Uruguay. Fué ACIDO. Fonográficamente ese es el 1er. registro.
1990s
The mid-nineties, with the popularization of compact discs, cable TV and the beginning of the internet saw another generation of Uruguayan bands coming to the surface.
.In 1995, a band called
2000s
In 2001, Buenos Muchachos, a band that started in the 90's in Montevideo's underground rock scene, alongside Chicos Electricos, La Hermana Menor and The Supersonicos, reached maturity with their third album Dendritas contra el bicho feo, with references to bands such as The Velvet Underground and The Stooges as well as borrowing accents from the milonga and tango.[13]
Contemporary
In general, the most popular bands from previous decades, such as
A number of new bands have started to attract critical attention including ET y Los Problems and Molina y los Cosmicos, whose independent folk rock with touches of "spaghetti western" and Calexico influences[14] have attracted attention outside the country, partly thanks to tours in Brasil and the USA. Other bands have started to come of age, such as Boomerang, the band that started in 2000 as a Uruguayan Oasis clone, but who have now discovered a mature sound with the release of Engañamundos, recorded in the studio of Argentine band Babasónicos[15]
References
- ^ 111 discos Uruguayos by Andrés Torrón (English - page 254)
- ^ The Uruguayan Invasion
- ^ 111 discos Uruguayos (English - page 260)
- ^ 111 discos Uruguayos (English - page 260)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos (English - page 268)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos (English - page 269)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos (English - page 274)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos by Andres Torron (Spanish - page 128; English - page 283)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos by Andres Torron (English - page 283)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos by Andres Torron (Spanish - page 128; English - page 283)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos by Andres Torron (English - page 292)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos by Andres Torron (English - page 292)
- ^ 111 Discos Uruguayos by Andres Torron (Spanish - pages 230-1; English - page 309)
- ^ El dulce folk fronterizo atraviesa el continente, El País (April 18 2015) (Spanish)
- ^ La Maduración de Boomerang, El País (Feb 25 2015) (Spanish)
External links
- (in English) The Uruguayan Invasion
- (in English) 111 Discos Uruguayos