Rock musician, Luis Alberto Spinetta, has died after contracting lung cancer last July.
The musician, best known as the “Flaco” had been hospitalised for a 25 day surgical operation due to an “intestinal perforation.” He died at home surrounded by his family.
Spinetta’s illness was publicly announced last December in a moving letter, published on the Twitter account of his son, Dante.
A national icon and pioneer of Latin American rock music, Spinetta was the lead guitarrist of a number of bands, from Alemendra in 1967 to Pescado Rabioso and Spinetta Jade, before dedicating himself to a career as a solo artist in the 1980s.
In 2007, Artaud, the third album released by Pescado Rabioso, was chosen as the best album of Argentine Rock by the magazine Rolling Stone.
In December 2009, Spinetta performed a now mythic show in the Vélez Sarsfield stadium. Thereafter, his public appearances became increasingly more sporadic, although he continued to organise key local festivals.
Spinetta is survived by his four children, Dante, Catarina, Valentino and Vera.
The latest in our new music series, courtesy of FM La Tribu: The inverted serenade.
Each week a young, independent musician sings from the balcony of the radio station to the street below. This serenade took place on 25th July 2011, and features Shaman.
To catch this week’s serenade, head along to Lambaré 873 on Thursday at 4pm and enjoy a free gig. This week xxx, will take to the balcony, courtesy of FM La Tribu.
The latest in our new music series, courtesy of FM La Tribu: The inverted serenade.
Each week a young, independent musician sings from the balcony of the radio station to the street below. This serenade took place on 21st July 2011, and features singer Fede Terranova, a musician who is perhaps better known for his role in the groups Fútbol and Orquesta Típica Fernández Fierro.
To catch this week’s serenade, head along to Lambaré 873 on Thursday at 4pm and enjoy a free gig. This week Isol y Zypce, will take to the balcony, courtesy of FM La Tribu.
The latest in our new music series, courtesy of FM La Tribu: The inverted serenade.
Each week a young, independent musician sings from the balcony of the radio station to the street below. This serenade took place on 14th July 2011, and features singer songwriter Marcelo Ezquiaga.
To catch this week’s serenade, head along to Lambaré 873 on Thursday at 4pm and enjoy a free gig. This week Jef Marawi, will take to the balcony, courtesy of FM La Tribu.
The latest in our new music series, courtesy of FM La Tribu: The inverted serenade.
Each week a musician sings from the balcony of the radio station to the street below. This serenade took place on 7th July 2011, and features singer songwriter Florencia Ruiz who has been composing and singing since the start of the century, with work edited both in her native Argentina, Cuba and Japan.
To catch this week’s serenade, head along to Lambaré 873 on Thursday at 4pm and enjoy a free gig. This week Dani Umpi, will take to the balcony, courtesy of FM La Tribu.
The latest in our new music series, courtesy of FM La Tribu: The inverted serenade.
Each week a young, independent musician sings from the balcony of the radio station to the street below. This serenade took place on 23rd June 2011, and features Rosario Bléfari, an actress, singer and writer from Mar del Plata. Considered as an emblem of independent rock since the 1990s, when she fronted Suárez, an experimental and alternative rock and pop band. She is now a popular solo artist.
To catch this week’s serenade, head along to Lambaré 873 on Thursday at 4pm and enjoy a free gig. This week Pablo Malaurie, will take to the balcony, courtesy of FM La Tribu.
The latest in our new music series, courtesy of FM La Tribu: The inverted serenade.
Each week a young, independent musician sings from the balcony of the radio station to the street below. This serenade took place on 16th June 2011, and features Gonzalo Aloras, a singer songwriter from Rosario whose career began in the 1990s when he formed part of the trio Mortadela Rancia. He is now more known as a solo artist.
To catch this week’s serenade, head along to Lambaré 873 on Thursday at 4pm and enjoy a free gig. This week Fede Cabral, famous for his participation in Sancamaleon and La Peña Pop, will take to the balcony, courtesy of FM La Tribu.
Most Argentines don’t know who José Alberto Iglesias is. But mention his pseudonym – Tanguito – and eyes light up.
Considered one of the fathers of Argentine rock, Tanguito is one of the great names behind the Rock en Español movement.
Tanguito performing
Born in 1945 in Caseros, a northwestern suburb of Buenos Aires, the musical master flunked out of school. Despite his efforts in apprenticeships such as gardening, Tanguito was made for the guitar.
By the age of 17, he became a mainstay at dances in the neighbourhoods of Mataderos and Flores. There, Iglesias picked up his nickname, because he danced rock ‘n roll style in a zone filled with tango lovers.
In 1963, Tanguito became the singer of a group called Los Dukes and made his recording debut. He left the band after a suggestion that he should make a solo album for RCA, but the plan fell through.
After his time in the suburbs, Tanguito headed to the big city and started spending a lot of time at the Recoleta establishment La Cueva. Located at Av. Pueyrredón 1723, the venue came to be known as the birthplace of Argentine rock.
Tanguito and his group of bohemians also used to frequent La Perla del Once, a late-night dinner or breakfast joint. In their washroom, the rock legend penned his first popular song – ‘La Balsa’ – while his friend Litto Nebbia added musical elements.
Tanguito also went by another name: Ramses VII. He was fascinated by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and was enchanted by chords with dominant sevenths.
And so, it was Ramses VII who wrote some of the first popular Spanish rock songs in Argentina – specifically ‘La Balsa’, ‘Amor de Primavera’ and ‘Natural’ – according to the name attached.
The man became a rising star as the co-writer of ‘La Balsa’, which became famous when the band Los Gatos sang it. He recorded a single in 1968, which slumped because of poor marketing, although several Argentine artists were covering his songs, like ‘Amor de Primavera’ during the same year.
Until this point, Tanguito was using marijuana and pills like many of his peers. In mid-1968, however, he took to injecting amphetamines.
In 1970, he agreed to do a record with the label Mandioca. After a few skipped sessions, he finally showed up and recorded his only solo album, which was received with critical praise.
Despite his role as one of Argentina’s great musicians, Tanguito spiralled out of the musical sphere and into addiction and mental illness during his final years.
By the end of 1970, he’d caught the attention of police and was arrested several times before being sent to prison in 1971. After being charged with leading a drug gang and being diagnosed as criminally insane, he was sent to the José T. Borda Neuropsychiatric Hospital. There, he was subjected to insulin shock and electroshock therapy for his addictions.
Rather than recover, his mental health deteriorated and, in May 1972, he was sent to Penitentiary Unit 13 of the same hospital – a unit for for criminal psychopaths.
At dawn on the 19th May 1972, he escaped from the hospital. Although he reached the Pacífico train and hoped to get to his parents home in Caseros, he did not make it: at 10:50am, the legend fell on the tracks and was hit by an oncoming train.
Despite the tragic end to his life, Tanguito’s legacy lives on in his music. His songs continue to be covered, and there are movies and shows about his life. As the magazine ‘La Bella Gente’ once said: “Tanguito managed here, possibly for the first time, to take all the drive, the authenticity and the feeling that is used to sing in the streets of Buenos Aires.”
Genre: Argentine rock
Dates active: 1962-1972
Famous for: Being one of the pioneers of Argentine rock
In his own words: “All of a sudden you’re in a place with a guitar, as I was. There are 20 people, in a group or not – but they are there. I never said the group was mine, and only now do I learn that.”
Most famous song: ‘La Balsa’ or ‘Amor de Primavera’, both of which were popularised by other bands covering them.
Best lyric: “I have to get a lot of wood / I have to get it, from anywhere / And when my raft is ready / to be leaving the madness / with my raft I will go to wreck.” – La Balsa
Best to listen to: On weekend afternoons when your roommates are taking a siesta and you’re sipping mate / When you want something to chill your spine, but keep your mind occupied.
Named after his father, and changed first from Rodolfo to Rodolfito and later shortened to Fito, Fito Páez is the musical genius behind the highest selling rock album in Argentina’s history. But this rock star didn’t get his start in the big city as you might expect. The city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, is where Páez calls home.
After starting his first band, ‘Staff’, at the tender age of 13, Páez began touring with several bands straight out of high school. A chance encounter with contemporary rocker Charly García lead to an artistic push.
His first album, ‘Del ’63′, was released in 1984. With Páez as songwriter, vocalist and pianist, it was an impressive first effort. The disc won him critical acclaim as a musician and led to back-to-back album releases in 1985 and 1986.
Despite all of his success however, it seems even the famous can’t avoid tragedy. Páez’s life was changed forever when former classmate and musician Walter De Giusti, broke into Páez’s family home and, crazed with jealousy and suffering from mental illness, brutally murdered his aunt and grandmother.
Páez poured all of the pain and anger he felt into his 1987 recording, ‘Ciudad de Pobres Corazones’. The album marks a clear change in his work but showed greater songwriting depth than his earlier recordings. With a more rhythmic sound and profound lyrics, the entire feel of the album is dark and skeptic.
Fast forward to 1990 when his style changed once again. In his album ‘Tercer Mundo’, Páez explored Latin American roots and cultural influences, showing the harsh world of poverty and exploitation through notes and words. This album provided the launch pad for his best-known record, ‘El Amor Después del Amor’. The pinnacle of his commercial success; the album sold more than 750,000 copies.
Today he can be credited with having written all and personally produced several of his 21 albums. A Latin GRAMMY winner, Páez has left an indelible mark on the Argentine rock scene, and has even tried his hand at filmmaking. ‘Vidas Privadas’, which was both written and directed by Páez, is a controversial film about incest, set in the time of Argentina’s military dictatorship. His latest contribution to the music scene, ‘Confiá’, was released in 2010 and is yet to be followed up.
Not one to drop out of the spotlight, Páez’s recent comments in local newspaper ‘Página 12’ inspired something of a backlash. Following the July reelection of incumbent city mayor Mauricio Macri, Páez offended porteños by declaring, “half of Buenos Aires disgusts me.” By ‘half’ he was referring to those he considers to be the wealthy and aloof.
As he says in his most famous album, “no one can and no one should live without love.” To keep the love coming his way, perhaps Páez should stick to expressing himself in songwriting or scriptwriting, or something that will help maintain his success and not hurt it…
Genre: Rock and roll
Dates active: 1979 – present
In his own words: “The fear of death is what keeps me alive.”
Most famous song: El amor después del amor
Best lyric: “I will have to do what is and not proper, I will have to do good, I will have to do damage, don’t forget that forgiveness is divine, and to err is something human.”
Famous for: Selling over 750,000 copies of a single album earning it the title of the highest selling rock record to date in Argentina
In the cosy, conspiratorial atmosphere of Café Vínilo, the curl-crowned figure of Alvy Singer mounts a stage bedecked with fairy lights. He is followed by a quirky troupe of instrumentalists, dressed as though they have just raided an eccentric great aunt’s wardrobe. The 1940s outfits and candlelit tables grant the evening a speakeasy feel, and as the band launches into an unusual juxtaposition of brassy big band pomp and heartfelt acoustic ballads, the modern world really does feel 70 years away.
Alvy Singer Big Band enjoy a strong live presence which perhaps exceeds the album’s limitations, with their obvious musicianship distracting from any less-than-catchy numbers. The festive energy of songs such as ‘Ay de Mí’ melts easily into the introspective blues of ‘La Cabeza Rota’ and then meet in the middle on ‘Será una Noche’, a stand-out track dripping in sultry syncopation. Alvy himself is something of an enigmatic character. While performing, he and his wild hair dance around like a whirling dervish. In conversation with the audience, he loses his nerve, stammering and blushing.
Alvy plays relentlessly throughout the concert. While the big band takes a quick breather, he is accompanied by an accordionist and pianist. The repertoire takes on a more hauntingly beautiful tone, offering a brief glimpse of the melancholy solo ballads on which he cut his musical teeth. It is at odds with an otherwise joyful atmosphere, emphasised by the colourful children’s party-style garlands draped over the stage. The finale returns to the infectious spirit of fun, with handfuls of glitter sprinkled over band members as each performs a solo in demonstration of their musicianship.
Off-stage it is similarly difficult to separate Jano Seitún from his musical alter-ego. Like the director of the film from which his moniker derives, Alvy Singer shares a trademark Woody Allen tendancy towards self-deprecation. He jokingly suggests that the relationship between himself and the big band entourage resembles Bruce Springsteen and the E-street band. You would never guess that in 2004 he won best soloist in the ‘Aguante Buenos Aires’ competition.
This is alternated, however, with a warm and engaging manner, suffused with an unfeigned enthusiasm for music. He is quick to praise other musicians and hands out flyers to concerts in earnest promotion of the Buenos Aires music scene he has grown to love.
Photo courtesy of Alvy Singer Big Band
Alvy explains that this has been “a very busy year”, full of recording and rehearsing. The new release ‘El Corazón Fantasma’ is the third of three albums, preceded by Volume 1 in 2005 and Volume 2: La Elegancia in 2007. He has twice toured around various cities in Europe. A classically trained musician, he began songwriting in 2000 and has not looked back since. Alvy enthuses: “I found in songwriting an occupation that I love, the way I want to relate to music.”
On the subject of the new album, Alvy explains that the latest is “different in its dynamic, its recording process. Volumes one and two were recorded at my home in a little studio I have, which is really just my computer and one microphone. For this record we had a lot of rehearsals with the band and we went to a big studio where it was recorded playing altogether. Previously we recorded one by one, but this time we’re playing together like old orchestras used to. It has a live spirit.”
Even Alvy is at a loss to describe the distinctive style that has emerged, but he considers the latest album to be “a development of the aesthetic and musical and lyric search that I pursue”. It is a series in which “the first volume was a very happy album, and volume two was a very romantic and kind of sad album. And this one I think strikes a balance between the two of them.”
Alvy regularly performs intimate concerts as a solo act. It is the novelty of the big band sound, however, which most stands out in the Buenos Aires music scene. Rather than a being a particular passion of Alvy’s, his interest “is more to play with those sounds and styles.” He explains that his songs, based on the pop tradition of three or four chords, differ from the sophistication of jazz. Instead, the big band instrumentation “complements the kind of song that I compose.”
All Alvy Singer’s albums have been made in conjunction with the big band. “Some are friends, some are colleagues from other work I’ve done because I work in a lot of different projects. It’s a thing with musicians here in Buenos Aires or Argentina, you have to have ten different jobs.”
It is no surprise that a purveyor of twisted love songs should have drawn inspiration from Woody Allen. Alvy explains that his classical background means that he had a different relationship with music. When he launched his pop career, he “decided to look for a nickname to use as a shield.”
A fan of Annie Hall, Alvy enthuses that “I love that nickname because I think that it exposes my basic problem and fear of being a front man. Singer obviously means singer and I have permanent vocal problems, which was something I had to confront.” He decided that the best way to poke fun at his voice was to expose it in his name. In another fortuitous coincidence Alvy found his songs echoed the character’s problems in the movie, and “his visions of life and relationships and women.”
Alvy relates his music to a renaissance in traditionally defined musicianship taking place in the shadowy corners of Buenos Aires. “It’s very underground and fascinating because there are a lot of people writing songs and playing with little orchestras.” The unifying feature of the scene is the use of acoustic instruments. “Since the Cromañon fire a lot of places have closed and there aren’t many anymore where you can take your amplifiers and play with a rock band.”
Never one to follow trends, Alvy claims that he “started using acoustic instruments and playing in libraries and little cultural centres or teahouses before the fire.” Indeed, he has now gone the other way from the crowd and fixed his sights on electric instrumentation: “In the concert the girl who actually plays double bass played electric bass, I asked her to switch.”
From the incongruously antiquated sounds of big band in Buenos Aires, to press shots in a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles sweater or a conscious divergence from what’s big on the scene, Alvy Singer is so studiously uncool as to be cool. Perhaps this maverick to the bitter end defines himself best when he explains “I’m trying to do the opposite from everyone else.”
By Rachel Hall
Alvy Singer Big Band’s latest album El Corazón Fantasma is available to buy in Musimundo.
A serious setback for Alvy Singer Big Band occurred on Friday 11th September when Alvy Singer and Lu Martinez were accosted by robbers. The two musicians were instructed at gunpoint to abandon the car filled with valuable instruments they were driving to a concert. If you are interested in helping the band, consult www.myspace.com/alvysingerbigband
As we launch another Indy photo competition, we revisit Amie Tsang's 2010 article about Sub, a photographic cooperative that gives a unique insight into daily life in Buenos Aires
