Colombian rock
Encyclopedia
Colombian Rock is a generic term that describes the different types of rock music
from Colombia
, the most common being based on Rock en Español
, but also, in recent years, being based on indie rock
, as well as the traditional focus of hard rock
Colombian bands.
, the influence of the foreign music of that decade, and opposition to the Vietnam war
. From that moment in time came the first rock bands in the country. The most famous band in those years where Los Speakers
from Bogotá. Their last and most famous album was The Speakers en el maravilloso mundo de Ingeson edited in 1968.
Some bands of the sixties: Los Speakers (1963 - 1968), Los Flippers (1965 - 1973), Los Yetis (1965 - 1969), Los Ampex (1965 - 1967), Los Young Beats (1966), Los Streaks (1967), Time Machine (1967), The Walflower Complextion (founded by americans 1966 - 1967).
After founding Los Speakers
, Humberto Monroy also found Siglo Cero (1969 - 1970) and the mythical band Géne-sis
(1972 - 1992), that edited some works through the 70's and 80's.
In the 80s, Kraken
became the first known heavy metal
band in Colombia, as well as the oldest still active band of the country, becoming the progenitors of many rising bands until today. Those included Ekhymosis
, from which Juanes
split for a solo career.
Bogotá
, Medellín
and Cali
were the cities where this movement started to grow, and they remain today as the main cradles for new groups and styles. Colombian rock is grouped with all Rock en español
, a movement led by Argentinian rock and Mexican rock
.
, Antioquia
, was a middle-sized city in a fast process of industrialization. Elvis Presley
and Chuck Berry
were the first ambassadors of American rock music. The society of the region
, more familiar with one of the main folk musics of Colombia, bambuco
, received it with mixed opinions until it became established as part of youth culture.
This musical movement was almost unrecognized in other parts of the country, due to the ongoing boom in literature
which marked a "new age" in Colombian culture for the next half century.
Bands like Aterciopelados
, Superlitio
, 1280 Almas, La Derecha, La Pestilencia, Ultrageno, La severa matacera
, Los de Adentro, La Prole, and Leon Bruno have some famous achievements in Latin-American music. The rock scene is beginning to grow as an important part of the Latin American and world music industry.
Colombia
, creating a representative kind of local metal known as Ultra Metal (Extreme and Anti-technical metal music).
This musical scene was characterized by gathering several genres of metal music such as Death Metal
, Thrash Metal
, Black Metal
, and so on; the most representatives bands of this world-class scene were Parabellum
, Masacre and Reencarnacion
, among others. This metal scene was widely known in this decade in Europe, particularly in Sweden
, Norway
, Finland
and Germany
, even Parabellum
and Reencarnacion
influenced the Early Norwegian black metal scene, moreover was and is broadly known in Japan and North America. Nowadays, this Colombian scene is respected in several countries particularly in underground and old school scenes.
, pop punk
, and alternative rock
bands. Despite the problems of gaining radio play, bands like Tres De Corazon, The Mills
, The Hall Effect
, Don Tetto, Donna Joe Radio, Zarco, Stayway, The Radio Flyer, the Ghetto Muppets, Proper Strangers (based in UK), and La Linea are starting to become more popular.
Internationally, new artists such as Locos por Juana (Based in Miami) recently nominated to a Grammy award , and Intrudia (based in Texas) have gained notoriety and represent the Colombian Rock in USA.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, the most common being based on Rock en Español
Rock en Español
Rock en español is the Spanish-language rock music. While the term is used widely in English, it is used in Spanish mainly to distinguish such music from "Anglo rock." It is a style of rock music that developed in Latin American countries and Latino communities, along with other genres like...
, but also, in recent years, being based on indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, as well as the traditional focus of hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
Colombian bands.
History
The exact moment in which Colombian rock was born is difficult to trace. However, it is clear that at some time in the 1960s a boom in rock music happened in Colombia, as a result of globalizationGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, the influence of the foreign music of that decade, and opposition to the Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. From that moment in time came the first rock bands in the country. The most famous band in those years where Los Speakers
Los Speakers
Los Speakers was a Colombian rock band from the 1960s.Much of their recorded material consisted of covers of popular bands of the era including the Byrds and the Beatles, as well as a couple of obscure Spanish group Los Brincos...
from Bogotá. Their last and most famous album was The Speakers en el maravilloso mundo de Ingeson edited in 1968.
Some bands of the sixties: Los Speakers (1963 - 1968), Los Flippers (1965 - 1973), Los Yetis (1965 - 1969), Los Ampex (1965 - 1967), Los Young Beats (1966), Los Streaks (1967), Time Machine (1967), The Walflower Complextion (founded by americans 1966 - 1967).
After founding Los Speakers
Los Speakers
Los Speakers was a Colombian rock band from the 1960s.Much of their recorded material consisted of covers of popular bands of the era including the Byrds and the Beatles, as well as a couple of obscure Spanish group Los Brincos...
, Humberto Monroy also found Siglo Cero (1969 - 1970) and the mythical band Géne-sis
Genesis (Colombian rock band)
Génesis was a Colombian folk-rock band, very popular during the 1970s. They are regarded as a significant part of the Colombian social progressive and hippy movements of the time. Génesis is considered a pioneer in fusing rock music with the native folk music of Colombia...
(1972 - 1992), that edited some works through the 70's and 80's.
In the 80s, Kraken
Kraken (band)
Kraken is a heavy metal band founded in Medellín, Colombia, in 1983. The current lineup consists of Andrés Leiva , Julian Puerto , Luis Alberto Ramírez , Rubén Gelvez , and Elkin Ramírez...
became the first known heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band in Colombia, as well as the oldest still active band of the country, becoming the progenitors of many rising bands until today. Those included Ekhymosis
Ekhymosis
Ekhymosis was a Colombian rock band formed by Juan Esteban "Juanes" Aristizábal Vásquez, along with friends Andrés García, Fernando "Toby" Tobón and José David Lopera from Medellín...
, from which Juanes
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
split for a solo career.
Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
and Cali
Calì
Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
were the cities where this movement started to grow, and they remain today as the main cradles for new groups and styles. Colombian rock is grouped with all Rock en español
Rock en Español
Rock en español is the Spanish-language rock music. While the term is used widely in English, it is used in Spanish mainly to distinguish such music from "Anglo rock." It is a style of rock music that developed in Latin American countries and Latino communities, along with other genres like...
, a movement led by Argentinian rock and Mexican rock
Mexican rock
Mexican rock music, often referred to in Mexico as rock nacional , originated in the 1950s with covers of standards by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers, among others, bands such as Los Rebeldes del Rock, Los Locos del Ritmo, Los Crazy Boys, Los Nómadas, and Javier Bátiz soon arose...
.
Elsewhere
In the 1950s, MedellínMedellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, Antioquia
Antioquia Department
Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range...
, was a middle-sized city in a fast process of industrialization. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
were the first ambassadors of American rock music. The society of the region
Paisa Region
The Paisas are a people who inhabit a region over the northwest Colombia in the Andes.The region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. Some regions of Valle del Cauca Department and Tolima Department belong to the cultural identity of paisas...
, more familiar with one of the main folk musics of Colombia, bambuco
Bambuco
Bambuco is a traditional music genre originated from Colombia. It has a beat structure similar to the European waltz or polska...
, received it with mixed opinions until it became established as part of youth culture.
This musical movement was almost unrecognized in other parts of the country, due to the ongoing boom in literature
Latin American Boom
The Latin American Boom was a literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s when the work of a group of relatively young Latin American novelists became widely circulated in Europe and throughout the world...
which marked a "new age" in Colombian culture for the next half century.
Bands like Aterciopelados
Aterciopelados
Aterciopelados , also referred to as los Aterciopelados on some albums and other promotional materials, are a rock band from Colombia. Led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, they have been one of the first rock bands from Colombia to gain international notice and is among the country's top...
, Superlitio
Superlitio
Superlitio is a Latin rock band from Cali, Colombia formed in 1997. Its members are Pedro Rovetto , Pipe Bravo , Alejandro Lozano , Armando Gonzalez and Dino Leandro .-History:...
, 1280 Almas, La Derecha, La Pestilencia, Ultrageno, La severa matacera
La severa matacera
La Severa Matacera is a Colombian musical group formed in Bogotá at the end of 1995 with the idea of forming a band which could mix all the influences of its members . The band has become one of the most representative rock bands in Colombia.- History :The first demo-tape, “Inmunidad”, was printed...
, Los de Adentro, La Prole, and Leon Bruno have some famous achievements in Latin-American music. The rock scene is beginning to grow as an important part of the Latin American and world music industry.
Metal Medallo and Ultra Metal
Along eighties it emerged one of the most representatives Colombian Underground metal scenes known as "Metal Medallo", this one arose in MedellinMedellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, creating a representative kind of local metal known as Ultra Metal (Extreme and Anti-technical metal music).
This musical scene was characterized by gathering several genres of metal music such as Death Metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, Thrash Metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
, Black Metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
, and so on; the most representatives bands of this world-class scene were Parabellum
Parabellum
The word Parabellum is a noun coined by German arms maker Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken and is derived from the Latin saying si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning If you wish for peace, prepare for war...
, Masacre and Reencarnacion
Reencarnación
"Reencarnación" is a song by Thalía, released as the fourth single from her album Arrasando.It was a hit single throughout Latin America. Its music video was also a hit....
, among others. This metal scene was widely known in this decade in Europe, particularly in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, even Parabellum
Parabellum
The word Parabellum is a noun coined by German arms maker Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken and is derived from the Latin saying si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning If you wish for peace, prepare for war...
and Reencarnacion
Reencarnación
"Reencarnación" is a song by Thalía, released as the fourth single from her album Arrasando.It was a hit single throughout Latin America. Its music video was also a hit....
influenced the Early Norwegian black metal scene, moreover was and is broadly known in Japan and North America. Nowadays, this Colombian scene is respected in several countries particularly in underground and old school scenes.
Colombian Indie & Alternative Rock
Since 2005, Colombia has seen a growth of new punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
, and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
bands. Despite the problems of gaining radio play, bands like Tres De Corazon, The Mills
The Mills (Band)
The Mills are a Colombian rock band based in Bogotá. The band's musical style is greatly influenced by britpop. Their first album, Babel, reached #1 at Colombian radio stations Radioactiva and La X...
, The Hall Effect
The Hall Effect (band)
The Hall Effect is aColombian alternative rock band that formed in Bogotá in 2004. Since 2007 they have found increasing national success, as the singles from their album Aim at me were placed in rotation in numerous national radio networks....
, Don Tetto, Donna Joe Radio, Zarco, Stayway, The Radio Flyer, the Ghetto Muppets, Proper Strangers (based in UK), and La Linea are starting to become more popular.
Internationally, new artists such as Locos por Juana (Based in Miami) recently nominated to a Grammy award , and Intrudia (based in Texas) have gained notoriety and represent the Colombian Rock in USA.
External links
- Fuente Rock Colombian Rock Source
- La Rebúlica De Rock
- Rock y Pop (Colombia.com)