Special Feature: Track-by-Track Through Grados. Minutos. Segundos. Pt. 2
Posted in Bootleg Theater, Features on October 6th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Way back in June, in this space, Spinda Records brought forth a track-by-track to coincide with the first chapter of its encompassing split-series 7″ compilation box set, Grados. Minutos. Segundos., the second shipment for which reportedly has gone out, bearing new material from Habitar la Mar and Acid Mess, Cró! and The Dry Mouths, and Saturna and Laverge, paired together across three new splits.
If all of this sounds familiar, you might be thinking of last week when The Dry Mouths‘ video for “More Oo Less Fluid” premiered here.
Spain is short neither on heavy nor passion for it, but a project like this comes along once in a generation, maybe, and even as I feel like I can’t hope to keep up with it, I find it deeply admirable. All the more so for the unforeseen circumstances of the world into which it’s being manifest. If you’re one of the lucky 240 who’ve bought in, enjoy it forever. For me, I’m just happy to have an excuse to post the links and note the bands involved and I’ll continue to do so as long as Spinda will have me. My hope is that will be all four parts, 12 splits total with 24 bands.
Huge. With the promise of more to come and continued thanks to Berto Cáceres, here’s the track-by-track for part two, as well as the full release stream:
Purchase here: https://spindarecords.com/grados-minutos-segundos
After the First 6 Stops, This Trip Around the Indie Music Scene Called ‘grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ Continues Now with 6 New Bands: Habitar la Mar, Acid Mess, Cró!, The Dry Mouths, Saturna and Laverge.
‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ is a no-return trip around the four cardinal points of the deepest underground music scenes in Spain. Thanks to a boxset full of previously unreleased tracks of 24 indie Spanish bands you’ll have the chance to understand how’s the sound of this new generation of independent musicians. You don’t want to be told about it, you want to be part of it.
Grados. Minutos. Segundos. Track-by-Track Pt. 2
HABITAR LA MAR – “Enrea” & “Ruina”
“[…] in both tracks we wanted to experiment a bit more with weird and dark sounds; we even broke some cymbals in order to get different sounds… we thought it might be stupid but the final result was interesting with new cool textures. Regarding lyrics, it talks about different people I met in the past in the area where I grow up… you know those guys who wanted to move forward and go out of streets for a better life, but the place sometimes made things difficult and they could even end up being worse than those others who complicated their life at first. It is also a tribute to Madrid rapper Darmo, a nice fella I respect and who’s very close to this idea of going out of the streets “[…]”
This was the first track to be written. Both guitarists Kike and Frego came up with it during the first part of the pandemic, and it was surprising ’cause we could see other musical areas to be explored by the band from now on. The text here is quite depressing… it’s about the idea that the end will be exactly the same for all of us… In fact, the first demo was initially called “Mictlantecuhtli” and it was covering all this stuff about King Mictlan, the dead in Mexican culture and this kind of things. I finished changing a little bit the concept so it was closer to the other track “Enrea” and that’s how I finished writing some lyrics in “calé” (language spoken by gypsies in Spain, similar to Romani) “[..]”
ACID MESS – “Algo grita”
“[…]” this is a song about toxic relationships happening on a daily basis, no matter the context. Do you know when you desperately need to get rid of something which causes you tons of anxiety but you do not know how to? That’s it, but also about the impotence of seeing someone close to you going through a difficult time and not being able to do anything as your advice or opinion won’t be accepted “[…]”
CRÓ! – “Buah”
‘Buah is a spanish word to express astonish, some kind of mesmerizing WTF. “Buah!” describes a laughing psychedelic trip during one (maybe several?) nights with different stops and feels that fit the music and vice versa. The music represents quite well the moment of the band where the multiple influences appear everywhere supporting the band own creativity; everything seems possible from Classical or Electronic to Forest Doom or Constructive Laughing. We would resume this in Galician language saying: “Buah, qué movida neno!”‘
THE DRY MOUTHS – “More Oo No Fluid”
“[…] Similar to our previous instrumental album ‘Memories from Pines Bridge’, this song is based on experimentation and jams, in this case heavily influenced by Middle-East melodies. “More Oo No Fluid” creates that tensed atmosphere in which you can get trapped forever whilst you wait for a storm which is coming but you don’t know when […]
SATURNA – “Volver a empezar”
“[…] “Volver al Final” was an idea conceived by Rod (bassist) some years ago while we were writing our last album ‘Atlantis’. As there were only a few riffs to jam with, the song was kept out because of its Andalusian Rock feel. But when Spinda Records offered us the chance to include just one song for the split series “Grados. Minutos. Segundos”, we began to see it as a particularly suitable track for the project, as well as a chance for the band to record something in Spanish. Actually, we took the chance to explore and pay tribute to all those great Spanish bands from the ’70s, such as Triana.
Based on a 6/8 time signature, we chose softer rhythm guitars to create more layers and breadth for a more open and psychedelic sound, exploring with reverse instrument signals and effects. We also counted with the participation of the amazing Tabatha Puig, whose keyboard sounds helped to achieve that vibe we were looking for.
Vocally, we added some dark poetic lyrics and flamenco influenced melodies and harmonies for a final touch that, for us, keeps the spirit of Saturna, as well having that freedom to to keep exploring “[..]”
LAVERGE – “Y.D.H.A.S.”
“[…] “Y.D.H.A.S.” (You don’t have a soul) exposes what lies under the skin. True intentions are often hidden under flags, signs of identity, social groups, political ideologies, images or simple kind phrases. Authenticity is an expensive thing today. To show happiness when you are sad is to lose your soul. Becoming a star by saying what you know you have to say at every moment with no regard for your own thoughts or emotions reduces your soul. To use anger for no true purpose other than to fit in with the angry people around you because without any ability to see beyond, is to have no soul. The 21st century seems to have been designed to be soulless. “Y.D.H.A.S.” sounds like a knife and hurts like reality [..]”
