Dynamo (Soda Stereo album)

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Dynamo
File:Soda Stereo - Dynamo (Album cover).jpg
Studio album by Soda Stereo
Released October 1, 1992
Recorded Buenos Aires, 1991
Genre Shoegazing, Experimental rock, neo-psychedelia, dream pop
Length 56:27
Label
Producer Gustavo Cerati,
Zeta Bosio
Soda Stereo chronology
Rex Mix
(1991)Rex Mix1991
Dynamo
(1992)
Zona de Promesas
(1993)Zona de Promesas1993
Singles from Dynamo
  1. "Primavera 0"
    Released: 1992
  2. "Luna roja"
    Released: 1992
  3. "Ameba"
    Released: 1993
  4. "En remolinos"
    Released: 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[1]

Dynamo is an album recorded by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo. It is their sixth full-length album and it was first released in Argentina by Sony Music Argentina in 1992.

Considered one of the most core examples of a shoegazing album (and Hispanic shoegaze's high point by critics and fans alike), this is a very modern album that might have been accepted in anglophone music, and was quite visionary for those years. The album also maintained the drastic change of musical style previously experienced in their 1990 album, Canción Animal. This album may also be considered one of the most mature and evolutionary deeds of the band.

A highly experimental record, the album failed to reach its predecessor's popularity due to many factors, including lack of support from the band's label. It also alienated many fans, who had a hard time trying to cope with the unexpected shift in the band's musical style. Nonetheless, a few songs received a fair amount of radio airplay, including "Primavera 0" and "Luna Roja".

The release of Dynamo prompted a nationwide tour, including a six night residency at Arena Obras Sanitarias, then known as the "Temple of Rock" by the local press. The band invited several up-and-coming bands from the alternative scene such as Babasónicos, Juana La Loca and Martes Menta to fill the support slots at those concerts, thus giving exposure to a scene that would become influential (and in some cases commercially successful) over the years. In this respect it can be argued that in spite of an apparent commercial failure (it went Double Platinum within a few weeks), Soda Stereo were never as influential on the development of new bands as in the Dynamo era. It also established the band as a sort of forefathers of the 90s alternative scene in Argentina, even when their role was mostly as propagandists of sorts.[2]

Music

Dynamo showed a complete turnaround in the music of the band, towards an alternative style. It is primarily a shoegaze album, but is also founded on neo-psychedelia, dream pop, noise rock, psychedelic rock and electronic music.

It is often compared to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. Some critics refer to Dynamo as a kind of "hispanic Loveless". While both share multiple musical traits, Loveless was conceived in a culture that was experiencing a rise of alternative genres; Dynamo in turn, was released in the highly conservative Latin American music scene. Along Souvlaki by Slowdive and Nowhere by Ride are considered an essential part of the shoegaze movement.

Legacy

Dynamo is considered the hispanic shoegaze's maximum referent. Soda Stereo was a pioneer band in the experimental music in the music of Latin America, and Dynamo is considered a benchmark and influential album for many musicians and bands, not just for experimentation, but also because of the sound quality, virtuosity and musical complexity demonstrated by Soda in the realization of this album. So this album is positioned as a key album in the history of Latin rock.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gustavo Cerati, Zeta Bosio and Daniel Melero, except where noted. 

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Secuencia Inicial" (Initial Sequence) Cerati, Bosio 3:27
2. "Toma la Ruta" (Take the Route)   4:30
3. "En Remolinos" (In Swirls) Cerati 4:42
4. "Primavera 0" (Spring 0) Cerati 3:36
5. "Camaleón" (Chameleon)   4:43
6. "Luna Roja" (Red Moon) Cerati, Bosio 5:31
7. "Sweet Sahumerio"   Cerati, Bosio, Ficicchia, Melero 6:03
8. "Ameba" (Amoeba)   4:16
9. "Nuestra Fe" (Our Faith) Cerati, Melero 6:37
10. "Claroscuro" (Chiaroscuro)   4:05
11. "Fue" (Was) Cerati 3:52
12. "Texturas" (Textures) Bosio, Cerati, Ficicchia 4:45

Personnel

Soda Stereo
Additional personnel
  • Daniel Melero: sampler and keyboards, collaboration producer
  • Tweety González: sampler
  • Flavio Etcheto: trumpet
  • Sanjay Bhadoriya: tabla (on "Sweet Sahumerio") and Padanth Voice (on "Camaleón")
  • Eduardo Blacher: tambura (on "Sweet Sahumerio")
  • Roberto Zuczer: sitar

References

External links