A career which spans for more than 20 years, one EP and 18 albums have placed Attaque 77 as one of the biggest punk rock bands in Latin America. We spoke to the drummer, Leonardo de Cecco, and the bass player and backing vocals, Luciano Scaglione, to let you in on a little more than just their track record.

Founded in 1987 in Buenos Aires by a group of friends, their formation suffered a few changes before its current members settled. The decision to leave the band in 2009 by their founder and previous lead singer, Ciro Pertusi, citing personal reasons, left many fans disappointed. However, Mariano Martínez, who has been playing guitar since the band’s beginning, stepped in and took the lead singing position. This way, the three other members have successfully carried the legacy on.

They were launched into the limelight by their second album, the triple platinum ‘El Cielo Puede Esperar’, released in 1990. The hit single ‘Hacelo Por Mi’ became the opening song for a TV show of the same name, presented by famous Argentine TV personality Mario Pergolini. Escaglione regards this beginning as essential to the band. “Being on television, taken by the hand of Mario Pergolini with the song ‘Hacelo Por Mi’, was something that helped us reach the whole country and that way go touring throughout all of Argentina,” he remembers. These days, Martínez has publicly expressed that he believes ‘Hacelo Por Mi’ resisted the test of time and has become a classic.

Yet, one of the most requested songs during their gigs is ‘Yo Te Amo’ from their first discography which, despite delays that pushed the released date to early 1989, the original name of ‘Dulce Navidad’ was kept.

Their early start, however, was anything but sweet. It is said that they were kicked out of their first public appearance after playing eight songs by the manager of the pub, alleging one of the members was a minor. Later they got to perform at a club as a support act for band Descontrol, who were the ones who suggested the name “Attaque 77”, a homage to the late 70s punk movement in England.

At the beginning of their career, they wore denim jackets as a trademark and played a more traditional punk rock style which was quite raw, with lyrics about the working class struggles. With time, their lyrics varied in subjects, featuring things like animal rights for example, as two of them are raging vegetarians. Their composition also started to denote a more melodic tone.

“We believe the music we make has changed because we have grown whilst in the limelight,” De Cecco said. “When we started playing we were teenagers and now we have more years of experience on stage. The music we make keeps maturing and that is very important.”

Scaglione added: “Even though we’ve never abandoned our punk roots, throughout these years we tried different genres like pop, rock, ska, reggae, etc, and I think we were always successful in what we delivered.”

At first they were inspired by bands like Iron Maiden and Los Ramones. So what bands inspire them today? “I think the classics of always,” says Scaglione. “For example, Motörhead or ACDC, more than anything for their strength and determination to play rock until the end.”

The highlights of Attaque 77 include hit albums Amén (1995), Antihumano (2003) and Karmagedon (2007). Furthermore, in 2007 a compilation of songs played by many national and international bands was released in homage to their 20 year-long career. It is called Por Siempre A77aque (Forever A77aque) and it includes the participation of Eneas, Love Kills and The Rouwkers amongst others.

When discussing highlights, De Cecco thinks fondly of two songs aside from ‘Hacelo Por Mi’ which he believes marked their career: ‘No Me Arrepiendo De Este Amor’ (Otras Canciones, 1998) and ‘Arrancacorazones’ (Antihumano, 2003).

With a long-lived success story, we wondered what advice they would give to new bands out there. “Work hard on your music, rehearse, compose a lot of songs and don’t expect anything. Whatever comes is because it’s supposed to come. There are no formulas for success,” Scaglione explains. De Cecco has a different advice: “Keep going with your music and never give up. The important thing is to generate a new circuit of underground band like there were in the 80s.”

So what is next for Attaque 77? “We will be releasing our first acoustic album in the first half of 2012,” says De Cecco. “It’s a very interesting project in that it was recorded in Teatro Opera with 12 musicians on stage. It was almost like a rock orchestra on stage! The album will come out with a live DVD … This will be one of the highlights in our career, very emotive and different.”

Anything else? “We’ll also be composing and producing material for our next studio album,” Scaglione reveals. We know Argentina can’t wait for it!

Genre: Traditionally punk rock (but recently have ventured into ska, reggae, pop, rock and others).

Dates Active: 1987-present

In their own words: “People refuse to accept change. A good sign that we are going the right way is when fans get a little annoyed.” Mariano Martínez told SkaPunk.com.ar

Most Famous Song: “Hacelo por Mi”

Best lyrics: From the song ‘Cambios’: “Nada es inalterable, nada es definitivo, ya ves solo el cambio es lo único que permanece en el tiempo… incondicional.” (Nothing is unchangeable, nothing is final, you see, change is the only thing that stays in time… unconditionally.) 

Famous for: Being the punk band that lasted

Best to listen to: Whilst doing anything that allows you to hum.

IdeaMe is an online platform, which helps creators, be they inventors, artists, or designers, among others, to finance their projects through crowd funding. Each week, the Indy features and promotes one project every week, with the aim of helping the creators finance and achieve their dreams. This week: Bandalos Chinos.

Since 2009, Bandalos Chinos has come to define the word “fusion.”

Paying tribute to the classic sounds of Argentine rock bands — the guys peg Luis Alberto Spinetta, founder of Almendra, as a tremendous musical influence — Bandalos Chinos incorporate a solid rock n’ roll beat. The gritty grunge glam of British indie rock gives Bandalos Chinos a bit of spunk, while a particularly fun and energetic pop vibe and a catchy funkadelic beat transform the band’s tunes into something truly unique.

Three years in the making, Bandalos Chinos admits to a simple beginning marked by acoustic arrangements. Over time, however, the group has explored and developed their sound into what it is today.

Five musicians make up Bandalos Chinos: Matia Verduga on drums, Palo Travaglini on bass guitar, Iñaki Colombo on guitar, Tomas Verduga on guitar and vocals, and Goyo Degano on keyboard and voice.

Degano’s voice is effortlessly smooth and rich, while the guitars’ wah-wah pedal effect projects the band’s inner classic rock.

Bandalos Chinos are in the process of recording and releasing their first album. They started recording on 11th November of last year, with Mariano Oliva. After finishing recording this past May, they are currently in the editing and mixing stages, along with the help of Sergei Grosny. But, because they lack the funds to produce the master disc and copies, they are reaching out for potential donations with IdeaMe.

In return, Bandalos Chinos are thanking donors with digital copies of their CD, tickets to live performances, and meet & greets with band members.

Jessie Akin shows a day in the life of Folkhop, a band who busk for money on the trains through the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Folkhop is made up of two folk muscians – Francisco from Salta and Alejandro from Jujuy – and rapper Israel from Buenos Aires. Their music combines Argentine folk rhythms such as chacarera and samba with hip hop and the fusion of Buenos Aires’ street culture and folklore is also expressed through their lyrics. Both Francisco and Alejandro have been playing folk music for many years both in their native provinces and around Buenos Aires, and Israel has been rapping since he was 12 years old. The band, which can be heard every day on the Retiro-Tigre train, was formed two years ago, and they are currently recording a new album.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today Pedro Aznar celebrates his 53rd birthday, and he is still going strong. Since releasing his first album as part of ALAS in 1977, he has won awards throughout a successful career, both as a solo artist and through collaboration with other infamous names – and in a variety of genres.

His first big success came as a bassist with rock band Serú Girán. Headed by Charly Garcia of Sui Generis fame, the group soon became the first Argentine super rock band with bold releases like ‘Bicicleta’ in 1980, an album depicting the then delicate political situation in Argentina. For example, track ‘Canción de Alicia en el país’ used metaphors to subvert censorship and is regarded the song to best depict the social reality of the time.

He accepted by the North American jazz guitarist to join The Pat Metheny Group as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. After winning three Grammy Awards (‘First Circle’ in 1984, ‘Letter From Home’ in 1989 and ‘The Road To You’ in 1993), he began his solo career to explore his own ideas. He has since led a group releasing 14 albums – the latest being ‘A Solas Con El Mundo’ in 2010. He also collaborated again with Charly Garcia to record platinum-selling album ’Tango 4′, which was later named best rock album of the year by the Argentine Association of Entertainment Critics.

While also publishing poetry, writing film soundtracks and lecturing on many aspects of creativity and music production, he still tours heavily around Latin America and last month completed a tour of Argentina. His next concert is on 13th October at the Teatro Nescafé de las Artes in Santiago, Chile.

Youtube link:

Genre: Rock, jazz, Argentine folk.

Names of current band members: Julian Semprini (drums, joined in 2008), Alejandro Oliva (percussion, joined 2008), Hernan Jacinto (keyboards, backing vocals, joined 2009), Manuel ‘Coqui’ Rodriguez (guitars, joined 2010).

Dates active: 1977 to present.

Most famous song and it’s best lyric: ’Tu Amor’ with Charly Garcia. ‘Yo tuve el mundo a mis pies, y no era nada sin ti’ (I had the world at my feet and was nothing without you)

Famous for: Playing the fretless bass.

Best to listen to: After a few glasses of wine with friends.

 

The Rolling Stones captured the spirit and aspirations of a generation and became a template for every rock band that has emerged in their wake. The so-called ‘British Invasion’ of rock music in the US in the 1960s, made sound waves right down to the Argentine capital. Ratones Paranoico, branded the ‘Argentine stones’, were certainly no exception, but their music was more than a pale imitation.

Founded by lead singer Juan Sebastián Gutiérrez (“Juanese”) in 1984, the Ratones’ career spanned a twenty year period with a core four-piece band that included bass player, Pablo Memi, guitarist Pablo Cano and drummer Rubén Quiroga, under the aegis of cult producer Charly García. Juanese had previously played alongside Memi in the band ‘Las Puñalada Amistosa’.

Like that other iconic eighties band, Soda Stereo, the Ratones were instrumental in popularising the Rock en Español movement with their earlier tunes ‘Bailar conmigo’ and ‘Sucia estrella’.

Juanese, who in a 2009 Rolling Stones cover looks like a suspiciously self-styled, raven-haired Mick Jagger, cultivated a long-standing relationship with Andrew Loog Oldham, the former manager of the Stones. His influence and mentorship would cement the Ratones Paranoico’s career in the 1990s and lead to several concert performances alongside their British icon-counterparts.

“I listened to the stones since I was six or seven, but they were the only band I clung to.” Juanese once remarked. “And now we see fans coming to watch us, all with their Rolling Stones t-shirts, their absolute identification with the need for real rock ‘n roll.”

The next move was to shed their copycat image, adopting a Chicago blues beat with their debut album, ‘Los chicos quieren rock’, which features the insouciant, provocative lyrics of ‘Rock en las venas’. But the album was not initially a resounding success.

The Ratones would have to wait two years before they secured a core fan base with the 1989 album ‘Furtivos’, which included the hit single ‘Rock del Gato’.

It was during this period that Juanese made the provocative statement that their music had “nothing to do with national rock.”

“I don’t feel part of it,” he claimed. “I make rock and roll music and I am Argentine…but they’re separate.” It was under this premise, that they composed their second album, ‘Tómalo O Déjalo’, giving their fans the flippant ultimatum: ‘Take it or Leave it’.

On the back of their newfound success, they signed a contract with Sony Music in 1990 and coaxed Oldham to come to Buenos Aires to produce their next album, ‘Fieras Lunáticas’. The recording of the album, which included the hit single ‘Rock del Pedazo’ was finished in the US. Oldham’s additions include the melody of ‘Wah-Wah -(No puedo obtener) Satisfacción’.

In 1992, the Ratones opened for Keith Richards and the Guns N’ Roses at the Coca Cola Festival in Buenos Aires, and three years later on five occasions for the Rolling Stones during their tour of Argentina. Just before that period, they collaborated on the album ‘Hecho en Memphis’ with former Stones guitarist, Mick Taylor.

Juanese edited his first solo album, ‘Expreso Bongo’ in 1997, triggering rumours of the Ratones’ imminent breakup.

Nevertheless, a year later they were still performing ensemble on the porteño scene, although Fabián Quintiero briefly replaced Mimi on the bass.

In 2000, they released one of their most successful singles, ‘Para Siempre’ with Andrés Calamaro. A version dedicated to Diego Maradona was released a year later, claiming that the iconic football player was “the greatest thing there is / our religion, our identity.” It was a bizarre shift from the original version that had run “I am a rat in the city / I have no religion.”

A host of hit singles arose in quick succession in the next decade, including ‘Sigue Girando’, ‘El Balcón de Julieta’ and ‘La Fuga’, sparking off a second heyday.

Marking the Ratones twentieth anniversary, Pablo Guyot and Alfredo Toth produced a documentary of their work, entitled ‘Inyectado De Rocanrol Vivo’, filmed during several performances in 2005.

By the time their signature album, ‘Ratones Paranoicos’, was released in 2009, with the acclaimed tune, ‘No llores’, it was clear that the Ratones had finally moved away from their Stones template, embracing a more mainstream, jazzy style.

In August 2011, the band split but Juanese has continued to pursue his own solo career.

Their songs – like the catchy Vicio – continue to feature as theme tunes for TV shows, ensuring their lasting presence in the popular cultural imagination.

‘No Llores’ by the Ratones Paranoicos

Genre: Rock en Español

Dates Active: 1984-2011

Most Famous Song: El Rock del Gato

Best Lyric: “I don’t know whether to vote for Menem or De la Rua / I don’t know whether to shoot someone or stab them.”

Famous for: Making “Patria Stone” its own rock genre.

In his own words: “We don’t deal with replicas…with adopt a style with great responsibility. There were many people who always depended on the Stones, they were fixed on the sound, we were responding to this tendency and need.”

Best to listen to: At an Argentine eighties-themed party.

The lively crowd amasses out onto the dance floor in front of hanging red velvet curtains of the Roxy Live bar stage. Security lets me back as I hope to take some pre-show shots of the Latin folk ensemble, the Mahatma Dandys. Sneaking behind the curtains I see Pablo Gulis, the main singer, founder, writer and ronroco player for the band quietly sitting on an amplifier in the middle of the stage. I catch the dread-locked front man in the middle of a quiet contemplative moment, (something hard to come by playing with a group of 12 plus musicians) while he tunes his unique Latin folklore instrument. Before an indiscrete “hola” can escape from my mouth, Gulis greets me and takes me back to share a drink with the rest of the group.

As tranquil as the stage atmosphere had been when I met Gulis, I find the pre-concert backstage dressing room area a complete chaos of Mahatma Dandys preparing instruments, drinking fernet, beer, and inhaling cigarettes in between words of encouragement and final stage coordination. Gulis shows me through the maze of band mates and hands me a drink. Suddenly, the curtain goes up and the Dandys begin to take the stage, I follow up the stairs realizing that this improvised “no problema” attitude and welcoming collective atmosphere might just be what the Mahatma Dandys musical experience is all about.

A band unique in its approach to music and large company cast, the Mahatma Dandys have in their two years of existence survived by playing fun, boot stomping and hip shaking music with a communal focus. The band’s idea came when four musicians including Gulis decided to base their musical concept on sharing a great blend of Latin folklore inspired songs with any and everyone who heard them play. So in order to do this they had to play wherever possible.

“The general idea was to form a band that could play anywhere, a band that could play in the street, here, in the Roxy, in a bar; it’s what we all want. We didn’t want to be just a rock band that plays once a month. I wouldn’t have anything to do if not, I would get really bored,” says Gulis. “So we began playing, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sunday, like this all year.”

By developing a traditional and acoustic style, the Mahatma Dandys started to gain a small following through their street performances. The four initial band-mates practised many of Gulis’s songs and they took their jam sessions to the street and small local bars where they played non-stop for five months.

The mix of local exposure, and creative songs seemed to grab the attention of many fellow musicians, because it was not too long afterwards that the Dandys were able to recruit a solid company of 13 musicians with different musical expertise and instrumentation.

“We are a band that began with what we were and if there was someone else that wanted to they could join. We went around playing the few of us that we were, and the people listened to it,” says trumpet player Mati Linetzky.

The Mahatma Dandys musical style brought together many band members from distinct places, be it Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Chaco, or Entre Ríos, and the vibe has stretched international as they have two band-mates from Colombia and Italy. As a result of the large company of troubadours, their sound also incorporates an interesting variety. Their songs combine ronroco, bass, guitar, accordion, drums, percussion, trombone, trumpet, charango and guiro to provide lots of sound, and a chaotic stage presence.

“He told me he had an idea, and he wrote it out with images,” explains guitarist Baio Barros on band leader Gulis’s concept of the band. “I thought how beautiful, and now when I think about it they all involved having a huge mess of people on stage.”

After only five months the then 13-person band came together to record their only studio album ‘Las Cosas son Así’ in 2009. On the album the Mahatma Dandys combine slower paced and relaxed songs such as ‘Así, Así, Así’ with classic Latin cumbia songs like ‘Marcela’ and party rocking anthems like ‘Las Cosas Son Así.’ Gulis believes their music reflects much of the popular folklore classics from the 70s up to present day. He admits that the group doesn’t stick to any set era or style but tries to play a bit of everything.

While their musical style might not be exactly in unison, they try to sing their lyrics as unified as possible. The Mahatma Dandy’s don’t have a singular person who would be considered the singer of the group. Several band members point to Gulis as the leader, but even he humbly admits that the power of group lies in their collective singing. With group harmonies and a singing style similar to that of fellow Argentine group Onda Vaga, the Mahatma Dandys acknowledge that the their joined voices allows them to play in any situation.

“When we play something more traditional without the guys behind and those in the front singing, you don’t feel as alive,” says Linetzky, “but when everyone is singing and it comes out from all angles, it wakes up the lion, you know what I mean.”

This vocal emphasis in their songs allows the group to play in any situation whether it’s Plaza Serrano, Niceto Club, the Borda psychiatric hospital, a friend’s house party or a beach in Uruguay where they have toured during the last two summers.

However, no matter where they play, their message and method always stays the same. They try to stay away from more political messages and focus more on a universal and fun music and lyrics to attract fans. The band’s combination of calm and rowdy, rambunctious songs represents a bit of the reason for the band’s witty name the ‘Mahatma Dandys’ according to Gulis. He says that besides the play on words, the band name represents an ironic balance between the spiritual with the ordinary.

When I ask if any more of their street songs will be recorded to another album, they group neglects to say when, but Gulis mentions that another disc is in the works once the group plays more beautifully. Gulis also notes that the group can only record once they have the money to pay for studio time. A summer filled with a few lost instruments and broken equipment has caused them to rely on taking out loans to replace instruments in the meantime.

Group dynamics when playing music with such a large cast became an unavoidable subject to ask, especially because the Dandys have so many different individual personalities. Barros intrudes, “let’s begin with the more spicy questions, I’ll tell you the most hated guy in the group.”

As relaxed and pacifistic as the group may seem, they aren’t the first to admit that they have their arguments.

“We’re like a family, the principal objective is to continue being together like marriage, you fight, you fight, and fight, but all continue together,” says Gulis.

As the band begins to take the stage with beer bottles in hand, they all loudly direct each other around the maze of microphones, drum kits, and amplifiers. The commotion brings to mind a big family reunion. The drums strike and the trumpets roll out a parading introduction as they whip into a rowdy version of their song ‘Fuego’. A large collection of groupies dance love struck singing to the concert’s opening theme. The mess of musicians onstage and the vibrant atmosphere of the numerous band mates singing along seem reminiscent of a family, or maybe a brotherhood of musicians, however Gulis says the overall idea of the music is to generate a feeling between musicians and fans of a collective town.

I’ll be honest. I am no rock-music expert. My early experience includes observing cacophonous ‘jam sessions’ of my ex-boyfriend’s high school band. You know the kind, where you awkwardly nod your head to the part you think is the beat. After a while you don’t know if its the drums or your pounding headache that your foot is keeping time with.

I am happy – thrilled – to announce Lenny’s Wife and the Boys has neither the acne scars nor the talentless musicians I was familiar with. In fact, I would say they’re all rather good-looking adults with a gift for music and stirring up a crowd.

You don’t have to take it from me though. This May, the band had their first gig of the year. The packed tables of fans at Club Emergente did not deter other eager supporters. The rest lined the walls and squeezed into the standing room to watch the foursome rock-out.

Lenny’s Wife and the Boys got together three years ago. They all met through a convoluted web of connections and have become a tight knit group of international friends. There is guitarist and lead singer Alistair Lee from Britain, Julien Ferrat – bassist and Frenchman, Aussie Nick Olle on lead guitar and Lenny’s wife, Andrea Fasoli – who much prefers being called Andy, than referenced as her husband’s spouse. Not only the drummer, she is also the lone girl and Argentine in the band.

Put ‘em together and what do you get? My simplest description is a beautiful blend of Coldplay and Radiohead, with a touch of The Fray. Alistair sings his poetry with a perfect rock voice – raspy and haunting, with the kind of emotion that makes your heart ache. Their original songs are on the morose side – the lyrics are Alistair’s, while the musical compositions are a collective effort. But even with their sad words, there is a twinkle in their eye and a tongue-in-cheek attitude about them that kept me smiling through the concert. It’s obvious from their black t-shirts with silver “male” and “female” bathroom symbols, their gloomy and ironic new music video, and definitely by their covers.

They really do a great job at keeping the crowd’s spirits up. Right when you’re about to go home and have a glass of wine by yourself, Lenny’s Wife and the Boys come out swinging with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’, complete with Dana Carvey dance moves from ‘Wayne’s World’. I was definitely thinking “Schwing!” and from my vantage point (sitting on the floor, front row) I witnessed many leather boots a-tappin’. Even when they performed a pitch-perfect version of the Strokes ‘Someday’, without all the words memorized, they were charming and magnetic – like I was watching my ridiculously brilliant friends on musical fire.

This group has that “rock band” thing about them. Kind of grungy, with that “who gives a shit” spirit, as they take massive swigs from one-liter beers on stage. They have the ‘tude, the talent and the passion to take over the rock scene. Perhaps under-appreciated in this Spanish-only, cumbia world, I want them to quit their day jobs and get to being famous already.

It takes some nerve to tackle Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ on the ukulele-like charango but la puta madre this band has the balls to pull it off. Six girls, a shit tonne of attitude and free tequila on the door: tropi-punk rockers, the Kumbia Queers, are restyling the South American music scene, playing gigs everywhere from Ezeiza prison to Mexico City’s Gay Pride parade and they show no sign of slowing down. Hot off a Brazilian carnaval tour, the boisterous love kids of punk rock and cumbia are now gearing up for the international launch of their second record, ‘La Gran Estafa del Tropipunk’. Their tongue-in-cheek lyrics, foot-stamping rhythms and infectious energy are attracting a global following from Vienna to Vancouver and I’ve hitched along to find out what makes them tick.

The magnificent Ali Gua Gua (vocals), often spotted in broad navy stripes, red lipstick and a sailor’s cap, cut her teeth on the Mexican music scene in garage punk band, Ultrasónicas. Her collaboration with Pilar “Zombie” Jackson (guitar, chorus), Inespector (drums, percussion) and Pat Combat rocker (bass) of Argentine rabble-rousers ‘She Devils’; along wtih Juana Chang (charango, vocals, guitar) and Flor Lliteras (keyboard, chorus) six years ago, would seal the partnership of the two biggest female punk groups in their respective countries.

En vivo

The band has a strong gay following both at home and abroad but are quick to clarify that they don’t define themselves by their sexuality, so much as their personalities and strength of character. “We’re six different girls, we represent ourselves with all of the decisions that we have made in our lives,” says Patricia. It’s queer in the sense of crazy, Ali Gua Gua has said in the past, which anyone who’s seen them live can confirm.

Their song ‘Huracan’ talks about their music as “hurricane cumbia for lovers”, which really captures something of the KQ live experience. As usual the club is deserted until just before the band supposed to be on stage, when fans finally start tumbling inside, and, as usual, the band doesn’t turn up until about an hour later. By the time KQ sprint onto the stage, brandishing guitars and drum sticks to the sound of pounding cumbia beats, the Fernet-fuelled crowd goes nuts. There’s such a celebratory vibe and the girls are having such an unashamedly good time on stage that, in spite of themselves, even the cheto cool kids idling at the bar can’t help but join the fracas, cheering and bellowing to the lyrics along with everyone else.  

Onda cumbia and the genesis of Tropipunk

So how did Tropipunk evolve? As punk rock veterans, the band admits they didn’t really know how to play cumbia when they first started out. Ali played electro cumbia in Mexico previously and Ines had experience of cumbia sonidera, a Mexican strain of the genre mixed with electronic effects, but there was a lot of experimentation in the beginning. The good-time, rhythm-led carnival sound of cumbia music originally comes from Colombia but has since filtered down through South America to the point that it’s difficult to walk two blocks anywhere from Caracas to Ushuaia without hearing its tinny beats coming from windows and car stereos. Sceptical that punk rock and cumbia could ever be happy bedfellows, let alone attract a loyal following, I have to concede that the effect is absurdly catchy, the lyrics brilliantly irreverent and the sound completely unique. Listen to their ‘Isla con Chicas’ rendition of Madonna’s ‘Isla Bonita’  if you don’t want to believe it.

The girls basically invented the Tropipunk genre, learning melodies by ear and initially treating the whole thing as a massive joke. Six years later, nobody is more taken aback by their success than the group itself. “We started to play around with our favourite songs – we had a strong PR background and we moulded it to cumbia vibes and when we started playing it live it created a kind of explosion!” says bassist Patricia, who played an important role in the development of 90s counter culture in Buenos Aires, working for Resistance magazine and continues to play in acoustic duo Barflies outside of KQ.

Kumbia nena!

The band obviously didn’t take long to make the genre their own, leaving a long trail of footprints around the globe as they started spreading cumbia love with their first album Kumbia Nena. Early covers of their favourite songs, including The Ramones’ Sheena Is A Punk Rocker and Love Song by The Cure were so successful that they’re now writing their own material. They’ve played a number of prison gigs, including Ezeiza Women’s Prison, were first on stage in ‘Plaza Zócalo’ playing for a crowd of thousands at the climax of the Pride parade in Mexico city and recently performed in the beating heart of Recife’s carnival celebrations in Brazil. The band spends weeks travelling from gig to gig in micros, Greyhounds, planes, ferries, taking trains to Bahía Blanca and back and not hesitating to hitch a lift when the camioneta breaks down. Divas they certainly aint.

Based on a string of sold-out shows, an upcoming second bite at the European tour circuit this June and how hard it is to pin them down for an interview, it looks like things are pretty helter-skelter at camp KQ. “We started touring for three months in Mexico, which became like a crash course for what is basically our way of life with the band,” says Patricia, sounding as though they’re adept making it up as they go along. I wonder whether that “way of life” can get stifling after weeks on the road but Patricia knocks that on the head, saying success hasn’t altered the friendships the group was forged on. “We have an implicit understanding that each of us will drop our own projects to do what’s best for the Kumbia Queers and until we reach a point where that can’t be our way of life anymore, we’re going to keep on putting everything into it,” she says, “music aside, we love and respect and have a lot of mutual admiration for each other at the root of everything – KQ wouldn’t exist if we didn’t.” I ask whether they had anticipated today’s popularity when they first started messing around with instruments and their favourite songs. “The truth is we had no idea. We just came together, got on really well, and even better drunk and going to gigs and the rest came from there.”

After experiencing several bad ‘rock’ concerts in the city, I was tentative about subjecting myself to another round of screeching and hollering to the echoing thunder of drums. Luckily, Los Pakidermos transformed my narrow stereotypes that had dismissed the idea of good local Argentine rock. Almost entirely the opposite of their cumbersome and thick-skinned name-sakes, Los Pakidermos are dexterously aloof and charm the audience with their dynamic stage presence.

To describe the music as well-constructed and fun does not truly convey the energy the band exudes. Their self-formed description of layers of psychedelia, rock and R&B also is too limited. Opening the set for Bicicletas back in December, the band worked up a cool but frenzied storm on stage, putting the rather subdued crowd to shame. The venue, the grimy La Castorera, while adequately sweaty, dark and grungy – going hand in hand with the flavour of the music – did not do the band any favours by forcing everyone to sit at tables.

However, the inactivity of the audience only caused the band to play with more fury and enthusiasm: led by Rafael Ferraiolo the four piece band are a tight array of musicians, smoking, drinking and sweaty, as only a rock band can effortlessly pull-off. The pakiderms themselves are Emilio Paravisi on the drums, complete with an afro to sway in time to the beat; bassist Mauricio Figueredo; and excellent rifts by Lucho Ferro on the electric guitar. Behind a huge mop of curls Rafa charismatically takes centre stage, the archetypal lead singer of any rock band. His voice carries the animated tones, giving the music an edge to be taken seriously.

Taking inspiration from each of their varying home towns outside of the capital, Rafa tells me that they each maintain their separate projects which help inform and shape their collaborated tunes. Discussing the evolution of the band he tells me it has moved rapidly: “we became the band in January 2006, and two months later we were recording our first album,” he notes. “I see it as a positive thing that we haven’t stopped playing in five years…never stopping, always moving.”

With each album recorded in different situations Rafa comments on the spontaneity of the first album in contrast to the more methodical control of the second. “Our most recent album will be out in March 2011 and was recorded in three studios…the production workshop we share with Julio Crivelli and Nacho Valdez Rojas – members of Bicicletas – has created a very special friendship and a musical affinity”.

On the night I see them they are the support act opening the night. But they give a tough show to follow. Leaving the audience a bit more sweaty and energetic than when they arrived, they out-do the headliners who seem a little muted in comparison. To just listen to the music is to do it an injustice, the real experience is in seeing live, in a venue you can dance in, Los Pakidermos rocking up a storm.

The 1060s burst onto the Buenos Aires music scene back in 2009. Members Gibbs (vocals, guitar, composition), The Bison (drums), The Dance Otter (keyboard) and The Wiz (bass, vocals) hail from “all four corners of the gringo world” and cite as inspiration artists as diverse as Daft Punk, Suede, The Stone Roses and The Eurythmics, reflected in their musical mix of indie, dance, 80s and soul.

In contrast to their previous offerings – ‘Swine Flu Hype’ and ‘Gringo Starz’ – their latest four-track EP, ‘Alto Voltage Sessions’, was recorded in one studio take, giving the songs a live feel. ‘Changez’, written during a long wait in a Chinese airport, is guaranteed to get your toes tapping. The verses consist of laid-back, conversational vocals stretched over a funky, Jamiroquai-style beat whilst the more impassioned chorus shows off singer Gibbs’s throaty, impressive range. The drumming is particularly good though for a more anthemic sound the chorus could make use of more backing vocals and a simpler instrumental.

‘It Burns’, a song the band say is about “taking chances and living life a little more vividly”, contains some beautifully poetic lyrics (example: “It all started with a downpour/ streets glistening black, wet cobblestone moonlight.”) The catchy chorus features great backing vocals and a cleverly mounting guitar. ‘John Was Wrong’ mixes quick-fingered guitar with an electro synth sound that will take you back to 90s school discos. The vocals are minimised in the verses, so as to show off the full instrumental gamut, yet come into their own in the chorus, which promises to be a real concert crowd-pleaser. Indeed, The 1060s name ‘John Was Wrong’ as their favourite to perform. Band member The Wiz says: “It’s a song that everyone was involved with writing at some level, so I think we all have a soft spot for that one.” There is no denying the catchiness of this track. The debate as to who John is and how he was wrong continues…

The undoubted gem of the EP is ‘Red Door’, whose name is partially inspired by San Telmo’s very own La Puerta Roja, the bar where some of the band members met. Everything about this track is so right, from the fast-paced drums, the quick alternation between main and backing vocals and the lyrics which tell the story of a fictional, Bonnie and Clyde-style relationship. The chorus explodes in the same way as The Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor’. This song is guaranteed to have you hitting the repeat button again and again.