We
would have to go back to 1978 to find the origins of one of the most innovative
and risky proposals of the Spanish electronic - industrial scene, and one of the
few with international repercussion. In those days, a History student (Arturo
Lanz), a prison officer (Gabriel Riaza) and a graphic designer (Juan Carlos Sastre) were forming
part of a weird band called El Aviador Dro y sus Obreros Especializados
whose, with a look near to Devo, a corporative - futuristic -
revolutionary ideology and a music influenced by Kraftwerk, Pere Ubu,The
Residents, the synth-pop of the moment and some industrial drops, would
become one of the milestones of the Spanish movida madrileña in
the early 80's, and the first Spanish tecno-pop band, founding one of the first
indie labels. But before they would become famous in the country, Lanz, Riaza
and Sastre left the band in 1980 after releasing two 7'', due to the serious
internal discrepancies with the rest of the collective, and quickly organized
their own band, which they baptized with a name taken from a futuristic poem:
Esplendor Geométrico. In
1997 Daft label releases a double CD entitled Tarikat that compiles
material of the period 1986-1989. EG make some performances in several cities of
Europe to present the tracks that would take part of their next album in Geometrik,
the esplendid Polyglophone (Geometrik 1997), that has the visceral
component of older works. After this, Arturo Lanz goes to live to Beijing due to
job reasons. Unfortunately this makes the posible EG live performances difficult
to take place, anymay, in 1998 Lanz plays solo (as EG) in Poachers club in
Beijing, to an astonished and surprised audience (mainly punks !). 1998:
several artists of prestige in the electronic and industrial music field,
collaborate remixing or making covers EG tracks in the CD En-co-d-Esplendor,
published by the Japanese label GIFT, and including tracks by Coil, Chris & Cosey,
Sonar, Muslimgauze and the members of EG amongst others.
Hymen (Ant-Zen sublabel) releases Syncrotron,
a vynil with five tracks that are versions of some of the best tracks of Polyglophone. Esplendor
Geométrico continue active at present. Their influence in the current
electronic scene is clear, and some
times ackwoledged, in artists as Autechre,
Aphex Twin, Pan Sonic, and other more minoritary ones as Sonar, Winterkälte,
Noisex or P.A.L.. E.G., ignoring fashions and false "avant-gardes",
continue faithful to the impulse of creating sonic energy avalanches with the
only objective of satisfying their own ears and those of their passionate fans.
Their first work was a tape with four tracks, one of those -"Moscú está
helado" ("Moscow is frozen")- would be included in the "Fix
Planet" compilation, released by the german label Ata Tak, that opened
them the doors to the industrial and electronic european scene. Later, it would
be released the "Necrosis en la poya" ("Necrosis in the cock")
7'', whose 500 copies were pressed by the basque label Tic Tac in March 1981,
despite of being a self-production of the band. In these early works it can be
still perceived a light electro-pop flavour in its style, but not in content: the
crude and provocative lyrics in "Negros hambrientos" ("Hungry
niggers"), for example. Their following stuff, the "EG 1"
tape, with 300 selfreleased copies in September of the same year, contains some
tracks that put them in a nearby orbit to that of monsters like Throbbing
Gristle or the early SPK. Some other tracks – as "Muerte a
escala industral" -, start to show the obsesive-rhythmic forms that
would be established in their following recordings. Meanwhile, they were growing
further apart from the movida madrileña and, as a consequence, they
would begin to be ignored by the specialized press in Spain, reluctant to pay
attention to electronic proposals. After the release of "EG 1", Sastre
friendly leaves the band, though he has kept on collaborating in some cover
design. In March of 1.982, it is published the first vinyl LP, "Héroe
del trabajo / El acero del partido" ("Work heroe / The steel of the
party"), selfproduced and again released again by Tic Tac label, in
which it is perceived a new evolution, as they abandon the blowing lyrics of
their early works and channel their sonic torrent to more virulent courses: the
openning track is a good proof of this. After this LP, it follows a long and
alarming silence of three years (maybe caused by the residence of Gabriel Riaza
in Melilla – Nort Africa – and by job reasons), only broken sporadically by
appearances in some compilations.
But in 1985 EG reappear with renewed energies and a brand new second LP, "Comisario
de la luz / Blanco de fuerza" ("Comissary of the light / Blank of
force"), which inaugurates the Esplendor Geométrico Discos
label, founded by Gabriel Riaza in Melilla, coordinated by an old friend of the
band, Andres Noarbe. In this record, the rhythms and the sound becomes rougher,
and it is detected a greater maturity in the development of the tracks. The
duo's activity starts to be very intense, publishing the following year a tape
compilation titled "EG 1980-1981", that contains early
unreleased stuff and the full Necrosis en la poya 7''.
They also offer several live gigs, two of them reflected in EG en Roma (EG in
Rome) (1986) and EG en directo: Madrid y Tolosa (EG live: Madrid and
Tolosa) (1987). In the following LP, Kosmos Kino, which would see
the light at the beginning of 1988 and also collects a new live performance in
Madrid, their rhythm obsession is definitely consolidated, a work with the power
of live sound, becoming more percussive to acquire then an unexpected dance
appearance ("Trybuna Robotnizca I"). In spite of this, EG
avoids the rage that the electronic body music was causing in Europe and the
coast of Valencia. At the end of same year their following studio work will see
the light, the Mekano-Turbo LP, considered by some people as their
creative peak, and in which some Arabic influences are shown for the first time
in their less visceral tracks, contrasting with the violent discharges of "Ven
a jugar" ("Come to play"), "Rotor" or "Belew",
in which Lanz´s voice returns, this time with a unleashed fury that fits
perfectly with the harder rhythms.
In 1989 the last reference of Esplendor Geométrico Discos is released, a live
LP entitled Live in Utrecht. After this, the EG works would be published
by Andres Noarbe's label, Geometrik,
and other european labels like recaptures the Arabic influences of their
previous Mekano-Turbo and it represents a new turning point in the sound
of the duo, as in the cruder and distorted in "Trafica" ("Dealer")
or "Descontrol" ("Discontrol").
In 1990, Saverio Evangelista, EG promotor in Italy, enters the band, taking
charge of the visual aspect of the band, that becomes again a trio. Also a new
CD is published by Geometrik, Control remoto 1.0 (Remote control 1.0),
shared with a side project of Evangelista that offers a magnificent cyber-techno
set in a style near to Clock DVA or Lassigue
Bendthaus. In the sound of EG we now perceive an excellent quality that it helps
to emphasize the excellent rhythmic base of "Anal device" or "America".
The next year, 1980-1982, the
long-awaited double CD with their early stuff is released, containing their
first tape, EG 1, the first LP, Héroe del trabajo / El acero del
partid" and the Necrosis en la poya 7''.
Later Linea Alternativa publishes Arispejal astisaro CD, which compiles
excellent unreleased stuff recorded two years before, that it results even
better than Sheikh Aljama, with a more pure sound and an impressive
rhythmic richness. In 1994, is re-released the essential Mekano-Turbo on
CD. In that same year also a new studio album is released by Geometrik label, Veritatis
Esplendor, in which EG show themselves more relaxed than in previous
occasions, even accesible – in "Ensayo de compresión" ("Compression
trial")-, although moments like "Poder de ruptura" ("Break
power") or "La meta del servicio" ("The goal of the
service") remove any doubt.
In 1995, Gabriel Riaza leaves the band definitely, again reduced to a duo, and
the second LP (Comisario de la luz / Blanco de fuerza) is re-released on
CD with the title of 1983-1987, with the adittion of four powerful tracks
taken from an American double album, released by RRRecords, shared with P16.D4,
Vivenza and Etant Donnés. Also by the Dirk Ivens label Daft Records, publishes Nador
CD, which contains unreleased 88/89 tracks and some alternative versions of
already known tracks taken from Mekano-Turbo and Sheikh Aljama. In
1996, Tokyo sin fin is released, a CD collecting excerpts from EG's live
performances in Tokyo during June of 1995, already without Gabriel Riaza, with
an excellent sound quality.
In 1996, three new works are simultaneosly published: a three-track CDS, named Treinta
kilómetros de radio by Daft Records; the new studio album, Balearic
rhythms, released by Geometrik, and a new CD compilation, 80's tracks,
published by Apocalyptic Vision, which collects some tracks taken from different
collective compilations and a few unreleased tracks, everything recorded during
the eighties.
Between 1998 and 2000, Geometrik
re-releases part of the classic EG discography digitally remastered and with
unreleased tracks of that time: Live in Utretch, the mytical cassette EG-1
the first LP ,El acero del partido / Héroe del trabajo, Mekano
Turbo and Kosmos Kino
Compuesto de Hierro (Geometrik 2002) is the last EG album published to this
moment, besides of his first anthology Anthology 1981-2003 (Geometrik
2005), a double CD with a selection of some of their best tracks comprising all
their career and also 3 unreleased tracks of 2003.
Carlos Salvado,
November 1996. Revised by Andres Noarbe (2005)