Perhaps, like me, you’re sitting on your hands — not literally, which would make it far more difficult to type — waiting for former Los Natas frontman Sergio Chotsourian to issue the previously announced full-length debut, Doom Nacional, from his hard-hitting new trio Soldati on April 24 through Argonauta Records. Perhaps, like me, you’re starting to get kind of bummed out at the fact that the record exists, singles have been streamed, and you haven’t heard it yet. Well, while you and I stew in our shared impatience, Chotsourian has dug back into the Los Natas archives — also apparently the public domain stock footage archives — and put together a video for the 13-minute jam-out “El Gobernador.”

These years past, the Los Natas discography is pretty murky. Tracks show up across multiple releases and in different forms, different recordings, and so on. “El Gobernador” was originally split into two parts and presented on the 1999 EP of the same name, with Chotsourian on guitar and vocals, Walter Broide on drums and both Claudio Filadoro Rimec and Miguel Fernandez contributing bass. That same year, the two parts appeared on a split with Spanish treasures Viaje a 800, and I’m not sure if that’s the same recording edited together, a different take or what. Not knowing, as ever, is only an excuse to hunt down both versions and find out.

This single-track version of the piece is from the double-CD compilation, Bee Jesus, on which it appeared as a not-insubstantial bonus track accompanying the band’s first two full-lengths, both of which happen to be back in print through Argonauta as well. As to where else it may or may not show up in the catalog, your guess is as good as mine, or, more likely, better. But this is a new video from out of the intricate and sometimes head-spinning catalog of the Argentinian heavy rock underground legends, and I’m more than happy to have an excuse to spend 13 minutes out of my day listening to Los Natas on basically any occasion. Some new visuals, even out of the public domain archive, qualify easily.

The clip was put together by Chotsourian himself. You’ll find it below.

Enjoy:

Los Natas, “El Gobernador” official video

VIDEO OFICIAL DEL DISCO DE LOS NATAS – “BEE JESUS”
PRODUCIDO POR GONZALO VILLAGRA
VIDEO REALIZADO POR SERGIO CH.

REC ORBITAL RECORDS
CARGO RECORDS
OUI OUI RECORDS
SOUTH AMERICAN SLUDGE RECORDS

Los Natas on Thee Facebooks

Los Natas website

South American Sludge on Thee Facebooks

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

I’ve heard enough Soldati since the band’s inception — that includes prior versions of a couple of the songs included on their debut album, Doom Nacional, as “La Electricidad del Arbol Caido” (posted here) and “Whisky Negro” (posted here) have been featured in the past; that’s not counting the band’s 2016 demo (discussed here) — to know that there’s no way the full-length’s first single represents the entirety of the release, but goodness gracious did they ever pick the right track to put out there first.

Driven by a classic, heavy push of a riff from Sergio Chotsourian, “Suicide Girl” evokes the guitarist/vocalist’s past in Los Natas while keeping a rawer edge that Soldati — who’ll release Doom Nacional on April 24 as part of Chotsourian‘s ongoing partnership with Argonauta Records, which has done his solo material as well as Los Natas reissues in the past — has come to represent. You can stream the song at the bottom of this post. And you should. It is righteous and mean.

Dive in:

LOS NATAS’ Frontman Reveals Album Details Of New Band Project SOLDATI!

Debut Album, Doom Nacional, coming this April via Argonauta Records!

There has been something going on behind the scenes of frontman Sergio Ch., guitarist and vocalist of the Argentinian rock trio Los Natas. Today, he revealed the hotly anticipated details about the upcoming debut album of his new band project, SOLDATI!

SOLDATI, (soldiers in latin), started their generators a couple of years ago already, but have finally revealed a first track taken from their upcoming debut album, Doom Nacional, slated for a release on April 24th via Argonauta Records. Listen to the first single, Suicide Girl, HERE!

Why soldiers? “Maybe we feel we’ve been fighting all our lives for freedom, happiness and mind peace.“ Band mastermind, Sergio Ch., explains. “Growing our children, surviving South America and blasting our heads with the sound and vive that makes us feel good, alive and free at least a couple hours a week. That’s what we live and stand for.“

“Musically I just undusted my old SGs guitars, 3 stomps and my 70s amps I used for Los Natas for more than 20 years. No changes. Just keep on the audio and the legacy I created back in 1994, maybe where I left it, at the doorstep of Los Natas’ album “Nuevo Orden de la Libertad”. He continues. “Not so stoned, not so hanged off, more straight forward in your face, with riffs and words. Just pushing the limits to get to our own truth. This is our debut full length album, where I think we could resume all the war inside our heads, it’s a beast on its own character and warmth. It’s also about love, hate, good and bad shit that happens to us every day. Trying to get in balance and live just for today. The present time. The golden balance of time.“

[ Artwork by Sergio Ch. ]

Doom Nacional Tracklisting:
01 From Skulls
02 Suicide Girl
03 Whisky Negro
04 La Electricidad Del Arbol Caido
05 Los Secretos De Shiva
06 Un Tren Al Sol
07 Solar Tse

Doom Nacional was recorded on analog tape machines, mixed and mastered by Patricio Claypole at Estudio el Attic in Argentina. Set for a release on April 24th 2020 with Argonauta Records as LP and CD, the pre-sale has just started at THIS LOCATION: https://www.argonautarecords.com/shop/en/cerca?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=soldati&submit_search=

SOLDATI is:
Sergio Ch. – Guitar & Vocals
Lucas Cassinelli – Bass
Alfredo Felitte – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/SOLDATIDOOMNACIONAL
https://sasrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SASRECORDSARGENTINA
www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords

Soldati, “Suicide Girl”

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before from this site (yes, you absolutely have, and more than once), but Natas‘ Delmar is a special album. The standard comparison I make is I would not trade the songs on this record for all the Kyusses who ever walked the earth, and any chance to hear any part of it is only something I find makes my day better. Every time.

I have a profound association with the album and its centerpiece, “Soma,” from the time I spent working in New York City at Metal Maniacs magazine, when such a thing existed. This was 2007-2008. I commuted by train from the Denville stop in NJ and the trip into Penn Station was well over an hour each way. But for the fact that nearly every penny I made at the gig went to the cost of traveling to and from it, and the loss of four hours of my daily life on the door-to-door, and the fact that the company that owned Maniacs was clueless about the value of the property, that fucking girl in the office with no indoor voice, the shitty jam bands that the other/bigger mag played on the office stereo, the fact that going to shows required going home first then returning to the city by car, and the generally oppressive nature of NYC on general, it wasn’t a terrible job. I continue to have nothing but love for Liz Ciavarella-Brenner, the editor with whom I worked most directly in the office.

On the whole, however, it was a situation that required one to take solace where and when possible. Delmar was a means by which I did exactly that. Every morning I put Natas on my portable CD player and listened through my Bose noise-canceling headphones (since deceased) and it allowed just the right amount of morning escape my probably-hungover self needed. I loved the record before that, but there was a bond formed on that train ride and it has lasted longer than that job, the magazine, or, really, print media itself. I continue to hold it in a regard I hold few full-length albums.

New video for “Soma,” you say? First official video ever from Delmar to honor the next re-press of the 2018 reissue through Argonauta Records, you say? Yes, obviously I’m going to post that.

Enjoy:

Natas, “Soma” official video

VIDEO OFICIAL DEL DISCO DE LOS NATAS – “DELMAR”
PRODUCIDO POR PICHON DALPONT VIDEO
REALIZADO POR SERGIO CH.

LOS NATAS is a trio formed during 1994 in Buenos Aires/Argentina. Their musical influences are numerous and varied, having the base of the raw and psychedelic sound of 1970s bands such as The Doors, Black Sabbath, The Who, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, among others. Los Natas propose a journey made of basic elements: valvular equipment and vintage instruments, they incorporate the use of the senses and perception of the listener as a part of a sonic trip.

They make music that changes constantly, supported by long jams that give them a different meaning every time they execute them having that way a sense of freedom in the way of interpreting the sounds, making this experience extremely related to the sensations that both the musicians and the audience receive every time a show begins. This is the essence of what people knows today as Stoner Rock.

Los Natas on Thee Facebooks

Los Natas website

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records on Instagram

At the time it came out four years ago in 2015, Sergio Ch.‘s first solo album, 1974 (review here), seemed to take shape directly from out of the third offering from his band Ararat, 2014’s Cabalgata Hacia la Luz (review here). The two shared several tracks, among them “La Familia y las Guerras,” and both had an overarching purpose in introspection, an intimate feel that manifested in experimentalist-tinged folk in one and brash heavy punk/rock in the other. Still, they were linked, and with Sergio Chotsourian‘s songwriting at the epicenter, they held a consistency that went beyond whatever sonic disparities there may have been. Different appeal, same level of quality between them.

Chotsourian has since gone on to form the trio Soldati and begin to dole out singles and other short releases ahead of an eventual full-length, and he’s also put out the second acoustic-ish album, 2017’s Aurora (review here), as well as several collaborative efforts of various stripes, but I still break out 1974 on occasion, and songs like “La Familia y las Guerras” are a big part of why. Arrangement-wise, there’s nothing outlandish about it, and it’s not as drone even as some of the material on the subsequent full-length would be, but it carries a nonetheless open feel and is spacious thanks to a bit of echo while still staying intimate in a close-up-to-the-mic vocal-style from Chotsourian, who if he didn’t record it live certainly gives a convincing facsimile of having done so.

As to why now would be a time to make a video for a song on a record that was released so long ago, I’d only ask the obvious question: “Who cares?” In addition to the aforementioned and long-bandied Soldati long-player, there’s been word that Chotsourian will do another solo offering under his own name, and that will be something to look forward to, but in the meantime, why not shut up and take what one can get? If that’s going for a backwards walk in some hot-looking desert space, then so be it. One could, of course, do a lot worse, both in the video and in life generally.

I’ve also included the full 1974 stream below, in case it’s been a while.

Enjoy:

Sergio Ch., “La Familia y las Guerras” official video

VIDEO OFICIAL DEL DISCO DE SERGIO CH. – “1974”
PRODUCIDO POR SERGIO CH.
VIDEO REALIZADO POR MILAGROS ARROM Y LUCAS MARTINEZ

OUI OUI RECORDS
SOUTH AMERICAN SLUDGE RECORDS

Sergio Ch., 1974 (2015)

South American Sludge Records on Thee Facebooks

South American Sludge website

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

This new Viaje a Ixtlán must be really good, and I say that not just because I dig space rock or because I dug the advance songs they threw out to the public ahead of time or whatever else, but because if I can be in as much of a fucking wreck of a state of mind as I am and still be like, “Wow, this is pretty cool,” then yeah, they’re clearly up to something. The Argentinian four-piece released the 2LP, or two-part, or double-album — I don’t really know, but each half has its own Bandcamp page — on May 20, and those two halves of Calma each comprise four tracks of sparsely-vocalized, synth-laden astro prog. I think it’s right on, and right now, I don’t think anything’s right on, so yeah, dig in. Both halves of the release are below streaming.

Karate chop:

Viaje a ixtlan lives in constant movement, through perpetual change, stepping out of our zone of comfort, researching and processing the sounds that enticed and influenced us.

Taking as a starting point dark and ambient musical passages, the band has developed a personal aesthetic where the typical song format fuses with the sonic experimentation and the electric volatility.

Starting this journey in 2013, the band surges from the necessity of Mariano Bertolazzi (guitars, synths and vocals) to defy the limits of his musical universe. This shapes the first album of the band: Vol. 1. The second album: Vol. 2 follows this steps and deepens them, taking the experimental approach of our first album further, enriching the sound with several layers of synthesizers and electric guitars unlike the first effort.

“Calma”, it’s the name of our new work, a double album where the tranquility and the fury find themselves face to face, leaving the listener in the middle of the ensuing storm.

The current lineup of the band is completed with Andrés “el Jeque” Raffo in Rhodes and synthesizers, Cherman in bass, and Lionel Fortunato in drums and electronic drums, Each of the 4 albums produced by the band is a leap in a different direction, embracing change as the only constant they have.

This ride is about advancing, proposing and changing. Defying the listener and inviting them to leave all behind.

Viaje a Ixtlán is:
Mariano Bertolazzi – Bass
Andrés “el Jeque” Raffo – Synth
Fernando Figueiras – Guitar
Leonardo Aldegani – Drums

https://www.instagram.com/viaje_a_ixtlan/
https://www.facebook.com/ViajeAIxtlan/
https://viajeaixtlan.bandcamp.com/

Viaje a Ixtlán, Calma I (2019)

Viaje a Ixtlán, Calma II (2019)

I’ve never actually seen 1971’s Twins of Evil, from which the footage for the new Soldati video was culled, but I kind of feel like I get the point anyway. There’s Peter Cushing, there’s super-red blood, there’s evil, there’s ’70s boobage, the end. I’m sure if you actually watch the full feature film, there’s a plot that’s about Satan or vampires or whatnot, but you know, the gist of it kind of still works out to be the same. I guess I’ve never really been much for the Hammer Horror scene, but, you know, I’ve never really had the chance to sit down with those movies either and really get to know them one from the other. It’s all just a blur of Christopher Lee and the aforementioned Peter Cushing.

But it makes decent video fodder, if nothing else. Soldati posted the single “El Fuego Quema” last month, and at that point, I noted how it was a departure for the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Sergio Chotsourian, bassist Lucas Cassinelli and drummer Alfredo Felitte, in that the latter two don’t play on it. It’s just Chotsourian, and in that regard, “El Fuego Quema” is way more like the solo work he does under the moniker of Sergio Ch. than anything Soldati have yet made public. As it turns out, that may remain the case, as Chotsourian says the awaited Soldati full-length, which is set to record this summer, will be in a more doomed vein. We may have a bit to go until we get there, but we know from Chotsourian and Felitte‘s output together in Ararat that that can work out just fine. I’ll take it however it comes, I guess.

And in case I need to say it, the clip is NSFW, unless you work at a place that’s all about ’70s boobage, in which case you should probably get a new job.

Enjoy:

Soldati, “El Fuego Quema” official video

VIDEO OFICIAL DEL SINGLE DE SOLDATI – “EL FUEGO QUEMA”

VIDEO REALIZADO POR LUCAS MARTINEZ CON IMAGENES DE LA PELICULA “TWINS OF EVIL” [1971]

SERGIO CH. – GUITARRA & VOCALS

GRABADO, MEZCLADO Y MASTERIZADO POR SERGIO CH. EN DEATH STUDIOS
ARTWORK POR SERGIO CH.
PRODUCIDO POR SERGIO CH.

SOUTH AMERICAN SLUDGE RECORDS

Soldati is:
Sergio Ch. – Guitar & Vocals
Lucas Cassinelli – Bass
Alfredo Felitte – Drums

Soldati on Thee Facebooks

Soldati on Bandcamp

South American Sludge Records on Thee Facebooks

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but it’s time for Soldati to hunker down and make their debut full-length. The three-piece led by Sergio Chotsourian, formerly of Los Natas and also of Ararat, and featuring Ararat drummer Alfredo Felitte and bassist Lucas Cassinelli (also Hospital) have issued a handful of singles at this point (discussed here, here and here) as well as their self-titled EP (discussed here), and “El Fuego Quema” works in defiance of everything they’ve done up to this point. Where until now they’ve decidedly been a rock band, “El Fuego Quema” pulls back on the distorted thrust and instead offers a bluesy acoustic guitar line accompanied by some percussion and harmonica. It’s more in line with something one might expect from Sergio Ch.‘s solo incarnation than what Soldati have heretofore put on offer, but then, the problem with that isn’t anything the band are doing or not — the problem is the limit of expectation.

Last time I posted about the band, I said much the same about their getting to work on album number one. Well, I don’t know what the plan is or when that’s happening or whether or not “El Fuego Quema” or any of the prior-posted tracks — “Aurora,” “El Nudo en la Soga,” or “El Latigo y las Riendas” — will be included when the time comes. At this point, there’s probably enough for an LP assembled from the prior digital one-offs and maybe a song or two from the EP if the band wants, but it could also be that there’s an entirely different batch of material that will be put together whenever they get there. What’s important for the moment, though, is that “El Fuego Quema” makes Soldati as a whole a less predictable outfit and greatly increases the scope of what they might do on that album. For those of us anticipating the arrival of such a thing, it’s good to know how far they can push Soldati and still be within the sphere of the band. Chotsourian has never been shy about sharing material between his songwriting incarnations — “Aurora” was the title-track on his second solo album — so who knows how it will all shake out with “El Fuego Quema,” but it certainly captures an atmosphere as presented here.

Please enjoy:

Soldati, “El Fuego Quema”

SOLDATI “EL FUEGO QUEMA”

SERGIO CH. – GUITARRA & VOCALS

GRABADO, MEZCLADO Y MASTERIZADO POR SERGIO CH. EN DEATH STUDIOS
ARTWORK POR SERGIO CH.
PRODUCIDO POR SERGIO CH.

SOUTH AMERICAN SLUDGE RECORDS

Soldati is:
Sergio Ch. – Guitar & Vocals
Lucas Cassinelli – Bass
Alfredo Felitte – Drums

Soldati on Thee Facebooks

Soldati on Bandcamp

South American Sludge Records on Thee Facebooks

I wholeheartedly feel like it is to the benefit of everyone everywhere that these two records stay in print for as long as possible. Especially if you haven’t heard them before, they’re absolutely essential, both for sheer listening and for educational value. Especially now that we’re a full decade removed from their last proper studio album — there have been a couple collections since then, but nothing new — it seems like their contributions to heavy rock are in danger of being forgotten in place of an easy “it all came from California” narrative that’s taken hold. Not only for their influence in South America, but across Europe and the US as well, and for the continuing quality of these records, they’re just gotta-have. Both of them.

So get both.

That’s my take.

Info and links follow, courtesy of the PR wire:

LOS NATAS announce album re-issues with Argonauta Records!

Argentinian psychedelic rock trio LOS NATAS has announced a batch of album reissues with powerhouse label Argonauta Records! The band’s first and critically acclaimed debut album, Delmar, originally released in 1998, has sold out every single copy to date. Argonauta Records is proud to reissue LOS NATAS’ pathbreaking album in a second repress, coming in exciting Vinyl editions and remastered from the original tapes, on the 28th of June 2019!

Following up to the successful release of their ’98-full length debut, a year later LOS NATAS released their second studio album, Ciudad De Braham. Still featuring the original master by Dale Crover, Argonauta Records will be as well re-releasing Ciudad De Braham in a first repress since 1999!

Says vocalist & guitarist Sergio: „Since I met Gero and all the Argonauta Records crew I instantly felt them as family, and being part of something bigger than you, in any music and artwork experience, feels great and like home. I think we share a common truth, we have never done this for the reward or the recognition of the crowd, we always did it as a necessary way to keep our demons out, and also to share our joys and personal wars with other people.

20 years later here we are, re-printing our two first albums ever, with this great crew delivering premium quality LP vinyl and CD to the world. Its a true fact and reality we could have never dreamed of when we were kids, just delivering heavy riffs and deep trips into soundscapes. Hope you all enjoy these great releases and being part of our family too, and keep on sharing it with you people as well. From Argentina I personally wish you the best. Just for today let your past behind, let your mind enjoy the little nice things, let you spirit shine with the ones you love and care.“

Delmar tracklist:
1. Samurai
2. 1980
3. Trilogia
4. I Love You
5. Soma
6. Mux Cortoi
7. Delmar
8. Windblows
9. El Negro
10. Alberto Migre

Ciudad De Braham tracklist:
1. Carl Sagan
2. Meteoro 2028
3. Tufi Meme
4. La Ciudad De Braham
5. Siluettle
6. Brisa Del Disierto
7. Paradise
8. Alohawaii
9. Adolescentes
10. 999
11. El Resplandor
12. Rutation
13. Polvaredo
14. Nadha

Formed during 1994 in Buenos Aires, LOS NATAS various musical influences draw from the base of the raw and psychedelic sounds of 70’s bands such as The Doors, Black Sabbath, The Who, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind among many others. LOS NATAS take us on a journey made of basic elements: vintage instruments and equipment to diverse, laid-back and groovy songwriting skills, while the band incorporates the use of the senses and perception of the listener to be part of a sonic trip.

LOS NATAS creates music that changes constantly, dedicated to long and intense jams that give their sound a different meaning and magic every time they execute them, with a sense of freedom in the way of interpreting their tunes, making this experience extremely related to the sensations that both the musicians and the audience receive every time a show begins. LOS NATAS is the pure essence of what should became and titled Stoner Rock.

Mark your calendars, when Argonauta Records will reissue both first albums by LOS NATAS in new and stunning LP + CD editions June 28th! The pre-order for both records, which belong in every well-sorted psych and heavy rock record collection, has just started at: www.argonautarecords.com/los-natas-announce-album-re-issues/

https://www.facebook.com/LOSNATAS/
https://twitter.com/LOSNATASTWITER
www.natasrock.com
www.argonautarecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/
https://twitter.com/argonautarex
https://www.instagram.com/argonautarecords/

Natas, Delmar (1998)

Natas, Ciudad de Brahman (1999)