Sumo (band)
| Sumo | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Post-punk , reggae |
| founding | 1981 |
| resolution | 1987 |
| Last occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
Luca Prodan |
guitar |
German Daffunchio |
Drums |
Alejandro Sokol |
bass |
Diego Arnedo |
saxophone |
Robert Pettinato |
Sumo was an Argentine post-punk and reggae band in the eighties (1981 to 1987) and is one of the most important bands in Argentina during this period.
history
The group was founded by Luca Prodan . Prodan was born in Rome in 1953 and had a Scottish mother and an Italian father. In London he met members of Joy Division . He accepted an invitation to visit a farm in the province of Cordoba (Argentina) to get rid of his heroin addiction and to come to terms with the death of his friend Ian Curtis . After a while, he moved to Buenos Aires in search of an alternative music scene .
In Argentina ruled that at that time the military . Even so, Prodan found musicians who shared his reggae rock vision. The first line-up for Sumo consisted of Prodan ( vocals and guitar ), Germán Daffunchio (guitar), Alejandro Sokol ( bass ) and Prodan's English friend Stephanie Nuttal ( drums ). At the beginning of the Falklands War , Nuttal went back to England and Sokol took over the drums and Diego Arnedo now played the bass. Later the saxophonist Roberto Pettinato joined.
Sumo sang mostly in English and wasn't played on the radio very often . Nevertheless, alongside bands like Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota and Los Violadores, they developed into an integral part of the underground scene .
The music of Sumo had different sides: hard rock with an experimental touch, influenced by British post-punk groups such as Joy Division or The Fall , funky post-punk guitars and strong Dub -like bass lines (comparable to A Certain Ratio and Gang of Four ), and a typically British mix of reggae and ska . After an interlude while Prodan was in Europe , the group devoted itself entirely to rock from 1984, and the Hurlingham Reggae Band was split off. Ricardo Mollo came on guitar and Alberto Superman Troglio took over the drums.
Sumo grew in popularity in the mid-1980s, and Prodan's fierce nature was well received by teenagers - but he also had gentler features. He suddenly shouted "Fuck You", sang a biting song about blondes and praised the normal men who drank their ginebra in a bar . Many of his texts were characterized by irony , puns and allusions to drugs , parties, sex and other aspects of the wild life, but stayed away from the political and economic developments of the time. Spanish-language texts were added later .
His rock and roll lifestyle and alcohol consumption did not leave Prodan's health without a trace . He died of a heart attack on December 22, 1987 , two days after the last Sumo performance. The band broke up and went into the two groups Divididos (led by Mollo and Arnedo) and Las Pelotas (Sokol and Daffunchio).
Discography
- 1983: Corpiños en la madrugada
- 1985: Divididos por la felicidad
- 1986: Llegando los monos
- 1987: After chabón
- 1989: Fiebre
- 1991: The Collection
- 1992: Corpiños en la madrugada (commercial reprint)
- 1997: Greatest Hits
- 2000: Obras cumbres