Posted in Whathaveyou on July 20th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Not really a ton to go on in terms of hard-hitting details about the upcoming debut album release for Mía Turbia, but it’s a signing announcement and you know I’m all about good news. The Andalusian outfit took part in Spinda Records‘ massive, glorious, landmark split 7″ box set collaboration/art-piece highlighting the Spanish heavy underground, Grados. Minutos. Segundos. with the single “Centro de Gravedad” (featured here), and their first full-length will also be issued through the nationally-focused imprint, as well as Gato Encerrado Records and Nacimiento Records. Side note, I couldn’t find any links for the latter, so I didn’t include them. If I’m missing something, I hope someone will offer a gentle correction.
The record is called El Camino and in addition to the single — which was offered as a split with no less than Atavismo — it will be the follow-up to the band’s 2017 debut EP, I. No word on a release date, but one assumes there will be time for such things. For now, kudos to the band and the label on linking arms to move forward. Right on.
From the PR wire via Bandcamp and socials:
***NEW BAND ANNOUNCEMENT – MÍA TURBIA ***
Happy to share with y’all that Andalusian psych-rockers MÍA TURBIA are joining our family. Their long-awaited debut album ‘El camino’ will be co-released together with Gato Encerrado Records and Nacimiento Records. All details very soon…
“Centro de gravedad”, a track extracted from ‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’, a compilation boxset by Spinda Records that you can get at spindarecords.bandcamp.com/album/grados-minutos-segundos
This track is part of a 7″ split vinyl record together with Spanish band Atavismo.
Music by Mía Turbia Lyrics by Miguel Ortega
Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Miguel Ortega in Jaén (Spain) in 2021
MÍA TURBIA: Miguel Ortega: drums Antonio Ortiz: guitars, vocals José López: bass
Completely understandable if perhaps the thought of undertaking an exploration of the Spanish heavy underground across 12 seven-inch split releases, limited in number, shipping in four separate batches — the third went out last month — and all tied together through mosaic artwork and a unity of purpose seems overwhelming. It’s a lot, and in terms of there being 250 copies made once and that’s it, not a lot of it. But the thing you need to understand about Spinda Records‘ Grados. Minutos. Segundos. compilation is that, with exclusive material from 24 Spanish bands, it’s not just speaking to the current moment. It’s presenting a document for future history.
Think of the box like a time capsule celebrating the vitality of Spain’s creative community. Some of these bands are new to me too, and to pretend otherwise would be missing the point. Coordinated by Spinda big-boss Berto Cáceres, the set speaks to a history in punk rock and DIY, but fleshes it out beautifully in presentation and class, just as the music too has grown up. I’m not in the business of telling you how to spend your money — I’m not in the business of anything, as it happens — but the truth is this is something special, that doesn’t come along every day, year or decade, let alone minutes or seconds.
There’s still one more shipment to go out in March and I’ll hope to wrap this track-by-track series then (past installments are here and here). Thanks again to Berto Cáceres, here’s the track-by-track for part three and the stream of the whole thing:
After the First 16 Stops, This Trip Around the Indie Music Scene Called ‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ Continues Now with 6 New Bands: Atavismo, Mía Turbia, Santo Rostro, Cemënteri, The Soulbreaker Company and Domo.
‘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. 3
ATAVISMO – “Psicopatías del 2021”
“This track is a new vision of an old creation from the past. New language, new performers, same minds at stage. “Psicopatías del 2021″ is bringing our insanity down to the deepest abyss, to be eaten by our own demons and again like a new status of reality. Space-rock and psychedelia dancing together around a crazy sublet beat, while the strings machines are killing the common sense of the harmonies. Enjoy!”
MÍA TURBIA – “Centro de gravedad”
“For this compilation we wanted to write something a bit closer to space rock and all these things inspired by Hawkwind, plenty of synths and tape delays. The track itself came from a previous demo, but twisted it, added some vocals and we got it – we kept things on the dirty side. The song talks about about a lonely traveller who goes down into the depths of the ocean. The world that surrounds us is sometimes so wrong that to be isolated is the only solution.”
SANTO ROSTRO – “Annual”
“We’ve been playing live this song since 2019 and it’s purely Sabbath – we love it! We set up everything in a warehouse close to our rehearsal place and we recorded it live. Then on the studio we added another guitar and some vocal overdubs and we got it. Pretty straightforward, and it sounds live and fresh, if that makes any sense nowadays.”
CEMËNTERI – “El verano más corto”
“Trying to do something different, we went from a noisy intro at the beginning to the quietest music we’ve ever written. Singing spoken-word in this part is also unusual for us. However the end of the song is quite punk and noisy and we personally like this contrast. In terms of lyrics, this song is Covid-19 related. “El verano más corto” (the shortest Summer) goes about how fast the Summer of the year 2020 went and how disappointing it was at the end. After being locked at home for 8 full weeks, we thought Summer could bring great news, but the fact was that it was still crap, with everybody scared and out of their minds – everything was so depressing.”
CEMËNTERI – “El ritmo frenético”
“In here we also tried to do something different and definitely we managed to add something fresh to our style without losing our personality. African influences and a more funky-dance sound get together with punk rock. Drums follow afro-beat stuff whilst guitar goes closer to Tuareg-rock before merging into punk rock half way through the track…
Lyrically the song is an invitation to dance, to go into a room completely packed and surrender to the power of music, the vibration of the bodies and the physicality of music. We finished the song after Covid-19 first lockdown and by that time dancing was completely forbidden and everybody must be seated in bars and live shows. The message was poignant – we were writing about something that we took for granted for decades and we lost it quickly.”
THE SOULBREAKER COMPANY – “Kill the Devil (with his dick)”
“The song tries to create a serious atmosphere since it talks about that kind of men, referring to them as “the Devil” that use sexual workers (In the lyrics a fiction story where that “devil” is killed with his own dick). In terms of melody and harmony, we tried to create a continuous rock beat with unexpected tempo changes which are not very usual in our compositions. This, together with the claps and some extra voices, makes this song a rarity within our discography.”
DOMO – “Aldorassa”
“Aldorassa is one of the highest peaks in the Scandinavian Mountains. When composing our music, we mostly get our inspiration from nature, from its most ancestral and wild side. We truly believe there is a connection between melodies, riffs, rhythms and the vastness of the rocky sceneries shaped by the erosion and passage of time. When we return to dust, music, like mountains, will be everlasting.
Posted in audiObelisk on December 7th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The third shipment of vinyl records from Spinda Records‘ massively ambitious seven-inch box set compilation series Grados. Minutos. Segundos. has gone out, and to celebrate, the Spanish imprint overseeing the project bringing together 24 acts from Spain’s native heavy underground is premiering the inclusion from one of the country’s forerunning psych-prog acts: Atavismo. “Psicopatías del 2021” is a reworking of a song by Mind! — in which Atavismo‘s Pow and Pot and Matt played — called “Cucumbers From Mars.” The original track appeared on Mind!‘s 2013 prog opus Stunde Null (review here), and though the Atavismo take is shorter — it would have to be to fit on a 7″ record — the result is no less spacious and the smooth fluidity of the tones, groove and production are definitively Atavismo‘s own. Considering it’s some of the same players, it’s interesting how much it sounds like a different band.
If you haven’t been following Spinda‘s Grados. Minutos. Segundos. series — hey, it happens; everybody’s busy — it is a work of singular passion and regional pride. A total of 12 two-sided 7″s are being included, shipped out in installments of three singles, each one shared by two bands, which adds up to 24 different acts included in a limited one-time pressing and digital release. The art is beautiful and distinct, and the sense of curation that’s overarching for the whole affair is not to be taken lightly. Even amid an always crowded field of releases, it is something special.
As dug in as it is, it’s not going to be for everybody. I know that. But it’s important work, not just for highlighting acts from the Spanish heavy underground — though definitely for that too — but for the dedication to form. Plus it’s got new Atavismo, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s plenty to get me on board with just about anything. The band’s most recent outing, 2018’s Valdeinfierno (review here), is certainly due for a follow-up, and my understanding is that such a thing is in the works even as they unveil this new single. Nice to imagine another record from them coming sometime next year, though of course that’s wishful thinking on my part and I have no confirmation.
For now, I’m happy to host this premiere, and to continue to offer reminders about Grados. Minutos. Segundos. for as long as the series goes.
After the first 12 stops, this trip around the indie music scene called ‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ continues now with 6 new bands: Atavismo, Mía Turbia, Santo Rostro, Cemënteri, the Soulbreaker Company and Domo.
Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ will be made of 12x 7″ vinyl records (to be released in 4 batches from June 2021 to March 2022), being each of them shared by 2 bands with apparently no connection at all.
But in this limited-edition boxset you won’t only find bands coming from Spinda Records roster as it is also open to others in order to get a solid project for the fans to enjoy. From the psychedelia of Acid Mess, Atavismo, Arenna or The Soulbreaker Company to the heavier sounds of Rosy Finch, Adrift, Domo or Santo Rostro; without forgetting the alternative rock of Medicina, Habitar La Mar, The Dry Mouths and Laverge; the hard rock of Partícula, Saturna or Kabbalah; the progressive rock of Moura, Pyramidal, Híbrido or Cró!; as well as new bands such us Cemënteri, Here The Captain Speaking The Captain Band, Battosai, Mía Turbia or Mondo Infiel. Fitting 24 bands in the same project can be tricky, and it is; but Spinda Records are here to have fun… Spinda Records is here for “fiesta”.
The project is limited to 240 hand-numbered boxsets, designed by The Braves Church and including 12x 7″ vinyl records, booklet, download code and stickers, as well as a tee-shirt and tote bag on its deluxe and freak editions. There won’t be reissues, so when they’re gone, they’re gone!
Mind!, “Cucumbers From Mars”
Various Artists, Grados. Minutos. Segundos. (2021)
