Esplendor Geometrico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Esplendor Geométrico | |
|---|---|
 EG live in Tokyo 2007
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Madrid, Spain |
| Genre(s) | Industrial Noise |
| Years active | 1980 - present |
| Label(s) | Geometrik |
| Associated acts | Most Significant Beat |
| Website | Esplendor |
| Members | |
| Arturo Lanz, Saverio Evangelista | |
| Former members | |
| Gabriel Riaza, Juan-Carlos Sastre | |
Esplendor Geométrico is a Spanish industrial band. The band was formed in the early 1980s by Arturo Lanz, Gabriel Riaza, and Juan Carlos Sastre, who had all been members of El Aviador Dro Y Sus Obreros Especializados. They took the name "Geometric Splendor" from GEOMETRIC AND MECHANICAL SPLENDOR AND THE NUMERICAL SENSIBILITY (Italian:Lo splendore geometrico e meccanico e la sensibilità numerica), a text of the Italian futurist, F.T. Marinetti.
[edit] History
In 1981 the band released their first single, "Necrosis en la Poya", in the Tic Tac label, followed by their debut LP, Héroe del Trabajo / El Acero del Partido in 1982. In 1985 the band formed their own label, Esplendor Geométrico Discos, and released their second LP, Comisario de la Luz / Blanco de Fuerza. Their highly recognisable style of harsh industrial rhythms was developed on two further albums - 1987's Kosmos Kino and 1988's Mekano Turbo, the latter considered by many to be the definitive EG release. After the 1989 live album Live in Utrecht, future releases would appear on the Geometrik label.
1991's Sheikh Aljama saw overtly Arabic influences in the music, while Veritatis Splendor (1994) and the Balearic Rhythms (1996) saw a partial softening of their traditionally abrasive sound. By then the band was a duo, consisting of Arturo Lanz and Saverio Evangelista, the latter having joined the group in 1990 while also continuing to maintain his other project Most Significant Beat. 1997's Polyglophone saw EG return with a vengeance to the full-on assault of their previous work and, the following year, artists such as Coil and Chris and Cosey contributed reworkings of classic Esplendor Geométrico tracks to the remix album EN-CO-D-Esplendor. In 2002, the Chinese-influenced Compuesto de Hierro was released, while a double CD compilation, Anthology 1981 - 2003, hit the shops in 2005.
Lanz now lives in Beijing and Evangelista in Rome but the group remains very much active and has been making selected live appearances of late, including a recent appearance in Kyoto, Japan, with Peter Christopherson of Throbbing Gristle and Coil, DAF's Robert Görl and CoH. April 2007 saw the release of a new album, 8 Traks & Live, featuring eight new audio tracks and a DVD containing the band's performance at Madrid's DeciBELIO festival in June 2006. Although often ignored in histories of industrial/electronic music and with many of their releases extremely difficult to find, EG have exerted a strong influence, not only in industrial music but within the wider electronic field. Their influence is especially detectable in the sound of artists such as Autechre and Pan Sonic.
[edit] Discography
- Necrosis en la poya 7" (1981)
- EG-1 cassette (1981, reissued on CD in 2000)
- El acero del partido/Héroe del trabajo LP (1982, reissued on CD in 2000)
- Comisario de la luz/Blanco de fuerza LP (1985)
- 1980-1981 cassette (1986)
- En Roma cassette (1986)
- En directo: Madrid y Tolosa cassette (1987)
- Kosmos kino LP (1987, reissued on CD in 1996)
- Mekano-turbo LP (1988, reissued on CD in 1994)
- Madrid mayo '89 cassette (1989)
- Live in Utrecht LP (1990, reissued on CD in 1999)
- Diez años de esplendor 2 x cassette (1990)
- Sheikh aljama (jeque de aljama) CD (1991)
- 1980-1982 2 x cassette (1993)
- Arispejal astisaró (powerful metal) CD (1993)
- Veritatis splendor CD (1994)
- 1983-1987 CD (1994)
- Nador CD (1995)
- Tokyo sin fin CD (1996)
- Treinta kilómetros de radio CD-EP (1996)
- Balearic rhythms CD (1996)
- 80's tracks CD (1996)
- Tarikat 2 x CD (1997)
- Polyglophone CD (1997)
- Syncrotrón mini-LP (1998)
- EN-CO-D-Esplendor (remixes) CD (1998)
- Compuesto de hierro CD (2002)
- Moscú está Helado (remixes) CD (2004)
- Anthology 1981-2003 2 x CD (2005)
- 8 traks & live CD / DVD (2007)
