ALERTA ROJA - Historiko 81-87: La Otra Cara Del Punk 2013

 

Awesome stuff today from Alerta Roja, an Argentine Punk band from Gerli, Buenos Aires and they are considered one of the precursor bands of the genre in this country. In the late 1970s, Argentina was under a bloody military dictatorship. While Punk was rolling in the United States and England, the wave did not slosh into Argentina. At that time, a young man named Pedro Braun, alias "Hari-B", formed the group Los Testicles (1978), which would later become Los Violadores (1980). In that period, "Hari-B" had to perform Military Service, and his colleagues Sergio Gramatica and other members decided to change the name of the group to Los Violadores. From them, other groups quickly appeared, such as Los Psicópatas (1979) or Los Laxantes (1979), with Gamexane, future member of Todos Tus Muertos (1985) on guitar. Los Psicópatas (1979), later called State Of Siege, was initially made up of Pablo Stella on guitar, Fernán Contreras on drums and Daniel García on bass & vocals. After two months of rehearsals, the band would have their first five songs, from which they would choose the ones that would be part of their first demo. In mid-1981 they released the first Simple Punk from Argentina, which would be released months later, after the Falklands War. That demo would be a 7'' under the independent label created by the group itself, Pelmaso Records, produced by Marcelo Gasió, later a keyboardist for the band.

Months before the Malvinas conflict, they had already decided to call themselves Alerta Roja, as a symbol of the political moment that the country was experiencing. In reference to the chosen name, when interviewed on Radio del Plata by Tom Lupo in '83, they would mention that "" Red Is Not The Way Out Either "". During this time, Sergio Spatavecchia joined the band in voice: 11. In the case of Alerta Roja , we first called ourselves The Psychopaths. They censored us. Then we changed into State Of Siege, the same thing happened to us and before Malvinas we put on a Alerta Roja, to reflect the state in which the country lived. People didn't understand punk, and they don't understand it now. We were not Bolsheviks or Nazis. We just sang revolution, we wanted a much more powerful change. We were apolitical, totally anarchists. Alerta Roja wanted to reach the general public "without trading". Basics to the thirty goodies: Fernán (vocals on tracks: 1-19), Mongo (vocals on tracks: 1-26), Pablo (vocals on tracks: 1-19); Pablo (guitars on tracks: 1-26) & Ucci (guitars on tracks: 27-30), Daniel (bass), Fernán (drums), Marcelo (keyboards) and Chiflo (sax). Songs 1 to 19 belong to "Derrumbando La Casa Rosada", recorded in October 1982 at Estudios del Jardín. Songs 20 to 26 belong to "El Llanto Interior", recorded in September 1985 at Avatar Studios and lollies 27 to 30 were recorded live in Cement April 1987.

This great comilation from Pinhead Records shines with historical recordings of the band and they existed and survived under the nose of a violent and oppressive military dictatorship. The band played gigs in Buenos Aires in the early '80s, giving a voice to a generation of angry Latin American youth. After so many years, these thirty tracks are finally getting a proper CD and their influences pulled from music that managed to cross the ocean and fall into the hands of its members, one might hear the Clash, Sex Pistols or Wire seeping from the groves, but don't be surprised if you get a small dose of the Cure as you listen to this gem. Alongside other amazing bands from South America, Alerta Roja reaffirms that despite the conditions and lack of resources, these nations produced some amazing punk music/attitude.

here

ULTRAVOX - Sleepwalk 7" 1980

Also a long musical companion from my early days are Ultravox who appeared in 1977 and released excellent albums, Ha! Ha! Ha! for example and after the break with John Foxx, Midge Ure joined as a new front man and the success came, which unfortunately also had musical effects, the band became more commercial and I like the first two albums because they, in my opinion, still fresh and virus-free. A bit info: With the band seemingly over, Ultravox were then revitalised by Midge, who joined the band as vocalist, guitarist & keyboardist. He had already achieved minor success with semi-glam outfit Slik and Glen Matlock's The Rich Kids, and in 1979 he was temporarily playing with hard rock band Thin Lizzy. Ure and Billy Currie had met while collaborating on Visage, a studio-based band fronted by New Romantic icon and nightclub impresario Steve Strange- ."Sleepwalk" is Ultravox's first single from their fourth album,Vienna, and their first with Midge Ure as frontman and was the first song the band recorded with Midge in early 1980. Rather than offering a demo tape of several songs to Chrysalis Records the reformed band opted to do a "finished" version of "Sleepwalk" with producer Conny Plank, a recording that clinched the band's record deal with Chrysalis Records. The original version was later remixed for inclusion on the band's album Vienna. There is no difference between the album version and the single version. The lyrics to the song were written by Warren Cann. It was released as a single in June 1980. Two nice popwave songs to start the weekend, Cheers!

here

NEW ORDER - Movement 1981

Exceptionally early this Wednesday and not really my time but somehow I want to introduce this slab, the extroverted debut of a band that has been with me since the early 80s: New Order, surely everyone of you knows well. They were formed 1980 by vocalist & guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris. Info: The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis; they were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. New Order's integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda, and worked in long-term collaboration with graphic designer Peter Saville. The initial release as New Order was the single "Ceremony", backed with "In A Lonely Place". These two songs were written in the weeks before Curtis took his own life. With the release of Movement in November 1981, the band initially started on a similar route as their previous incarnation, performing dark, melodic songs, albeit with an increased use of synthesisers. They viewed the period as a low point, as they were still reeling from Curtis' death. Hook commented that the only positive thing to come out of the Movement sessions was that producer Martin Hannett had showed the band how to use a mixing board, which allowed them to produce records by themselves from then on. More recently, Hook indicated a change of heart: "I think Movement gets a raw deal in general really - for me, when you consider the circumstances in which it was written, it is a fantastic record." Numerous albums & singles have been released and none of them sound like the previous ones, that's the great thing about the band, they develop and try out the equipment that is available and Movement is the beginning of a long musical diversity. Great music from a great band.

here

THE STRANGLERS - s/t EP 1977

I'm lazy to write today and so I pack something world-famous in wdthtc with the Stranglers, an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene and are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene. Formed as the Guildford Stranglers in Guildford, Surrey early 1974, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging UK punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock through the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. This EP has four brilliant songs and that's a short background, enough on the net about the gentlemen.

here

DAG NASTY - Can I Say 1986

Solid melodic punk stuff from Dag Nasty, founded in Washington D.C. 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, Colin Sears (drums) and Roger Marbury (bass), both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and Shawn Brown (vocals). Their style of less aggressive, melodic hardcore was influential to post-hardcore; their sound was partly influenced by The Faith and their Subject To Change EP ('83). Brian said in “Filmage”, the documentary about Descendents, that he started Dag Nasty as a direct inspiration from them. Shawn was the first vocalist with whom the band recorded unreleased versions of most of the material that later made up their first release "Can I Say", which featured former roadie and new singer Dave Smalley of DYS. Dave left the band to attend grad school at New York University before a summer tour with the Descendents. A new singer, Peter Cortner, was found after the band placed an ad in a local paper and the tour was kept. After touring half the US opening for the Descendents, the band went home and recorded new material that wasn't released until years later. After a few more local shows, the band broke up in the fall of 1986. Brian went to L.A. to start a new band with Doug Carrion and half of Doggy Style called Doggie Rock. After releasing one album under the Doggie Style name, Doggie Rock broke up and Brian reformed Dag Nasty in early 1987 with Peter, Colin & Doug replacing Roger Marbury, who declined to rejoin. Months later, the band recorded and released "Wig Out At Denkos", including re-recorded versions of the late 86' tape and new material.

1988 saw the release of their album "Field Day" on Giant Records which was distributed by Dutch East India. It was an ambitious album, often generating sharply polarised appraisals from fans: many hated it and many loved it. Field Day attempted to blend pop melodies with hardcore and metal riffs even further than previously attempted on Wig Out. The result was, at times, uneven but helped to usher in a new style of hardcore with more controlled playing, guitar effects, acoustic elements and slower tempos. The band split up shortly after touring for Field Day ended. Excellent debut, with "a singing which is delivered in a convincing emotive way and instrumentally there are some quality tasty riffs to dig into."

here

ATONAL - Keller Party Anti Pop (Demos '88) 2016

Now damn cool Punkrock from the Ex-GDR, Atonal from Freiberg, active from 1986 to 1998. They began under the name "Taktlos" and gave their first concerts in the hot days of 1987 in the context of the Berlin "Kirchentag Von Unten". In the same year the band was banned and renamed itself to Atonal, which even received official permission to play through "Classification", but they gave a shit about it and wrote still political and socially critical texts, so they were temporarily banned from playing gigs in the GDR (Fuck The System!). This trendy record was released/compiled in a collaboration of Hörsturzproduktion/Elb-Power Records in an edition of 300 copies and has fourteen raw recordings of the combo at the start. The band consisted of Liesel (vocals), Oberleder (guitars), Ian (bass), Henne (drums) and they made one album, a 7Inch + a few tapes and represented on some compilations. Even today, Atonal still give concerts every now and then. So this is an important audio document I think, from a time when it wasn't easy to live out one's own attitude to life, with a lyric sheet and bandinfo. Classic D-Punk!

here

SPORTEN ÄR DÖD - s/t LP 2019

Good morning dear folks, today we start for breakfast with fresh girl power and I promise you, your bread will taste particularly good. Sporten Är Död (translated as Sport Is Dead) were an all female Swedish new wave/punk band between 1980 and 1982 formed in Kungälv. The group consisted of Ulla Åkerström (vocals & guitar), Åsa "Paste" Wassberg (bass) and Eva Herngren (drums). The band were named after the words of a Swedish broadcaster, who would proclaim the sport is dead, when there was a cancellation of a sporting event. This record was released via Fördämning Arkiv, 300 copies and side A was recorded at Studio Nigaf on 11th April 1981 and released as the Sporten Är Död cassette, side B was recorded live @ Sprängkullen on 23rd May 1982. An excellent review which I can only underline: "This looks exactly as it sounds: three cool teenage punk girls making tremulous punk rock with songs dedicated to John Peel, Bruce from the JAM, and their favorite chocolate bar! This isn’t wild screaming KBD mania, they have a nervous restrained quality, which is not to say this sounds inept, just that it isn’t the manic punk insanity you might expect from a teenage Swedish band circa 1981. They called their band Sport Is Dead, and formed as a result of being fans of the Buzzcocks and the Undertones, and you can hear the nervous pop sensibility! I’ve seen comparisons to Dolly Mixture and Lilliput, but I would say that is not the case here, they are not as polished as the former and not as wild as the latter. They have their own contained punk concept and identity that doesn’t sound like a collage of other ideas. This is a reissue of their demo tape with a live performance on the B-side. It sounds great and is definitely worth picking up for all fans of that underground girl sound, the sound of youth inspired by the DIY ideal…" (LAYLA GIBBON, MMR) - Seventeen minimalistic smasher with a great booklet, solid release!

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

here

THE G.R.I.M. - Getting Revenge In 'Merica 1984

 

Tempo from the sunny American west coast, breeding ground for numerous good band and the Grim is one of them. Formed 1982 in Southern California, more precisely in Los Angeles, by Tim (vocals), Bob (guitars), Shaun (bass), Jordan (drums) and this is their debut mini-album on Mystic Records with eight fast catchy tunes. They made two more albums, the last one coming out in 2018 and they appeared on numerous compilations. This album is also known as the "orange album". Enjoy the weekend!

here

G.B.H - City Baby's Revenge 1982

City Baby's Revenge is the second studio album on Clay Records by G.B.H from Birmingham. The title is a response to the band's 1982 debut album, City Baby Attacked By Rats. The change of style can already be heard here and the album is a bit more rockier than its predecessor, but still worth listening to and with some classics on it. A short review: "City Baby's Revenge followed two years later in 1984, by which time the band had become one of the leading punk metal bands of the era. G.B.H. continued recording and releasing albums throughout the '80s, though their influence progressively waned as a new wave of bands such as Slayer emerged and pushed punk metal toward what became known as speed metal and, in turn, thrash. Despite its waning influence, G.B.H. soldiered on, recording new albums throughout the '90s and into the next millennium. By this point the band was often cited by both metal and punk bands as a huge influence, and a renewed interest in G.B.H.'s early recordings resulted. Keeping its original punk rock roots since its formation, unlike many other former punk bands, especially hardcore bands who later formed the Post-Punk genre of the mid to late 80s, the band has experimented with, alongside many other hardcore punk bands."

here

HYPE - Life Is Hard Then You Die! 1985

Now a band which I didn't know before and one thing in advance: I'm always happy to hear new bands/music and am enthusiastic when I like it and at the same time I'm amazed how many great bands the punk/hardcore movement has produced. I'm really grateful that I came into contact with this culture/music, I can't do without it anymore. Sounds a bit pathetic but that's the truth. Well, a bit info: From 1983 until 1989 Hype became the most established hardcore punk band from Oakville and one of Canada's leading hardcore punk acts. Hype had three primary members, that founded the band and were on both albums, on their debut were responsible Brian (vocals), Martin (guitars), Gerry (bass), Chris (drums) and they became the first Toronto hardcore band to release a full length album "Life Is Hard...Then You Die!" in 1985 with seventeen energetic cracker, splendidly played and with very appealing lyrics and first to tour that same year. In 1987 they released their second record "Burned" and completed another tour followed by a third in 1988. Hype was also a major force in the Toronto hardcore scene through.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

here