Luis Alberto Spinetta is an Argentine musician. He is one of the most influential rock

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 musicians of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and together with Charly García

Charly García

Charly García is a singer-songwriter, pianist and keyboardist from Argentina with a long career in rock music, forming successful groups such as Sui Generis and Serú Girán, cult status groups like La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and as a solo musician.-Early years:Charly García was the eldest son in...

 is considered the father of Argentine rock

Argentine rock

Argentine rock , is composed or made by Argentine bands or artists, in the Spanish language. For nearly half a century it has been a major popular genre, and it is considered part of the popular music tradition of Argentina alongside Argentine Tango, and Argentine folk music.The moment when...

. He was born in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, in the residential neighbourhood of Belgrano

Belgrano, Buenos Aires

Belgrano is a leafy, northern barrio or neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Location :The barrio of Palermo is to the southeast; Nuñez is to the northwest; Coghlan, Villa Urquiza, Villa Ortúzar and Colegiales are to the southwest....

. As a kid he listened to all kinds of music: folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

 and tango

Tango music

Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...

, and a little bit later, rock. In 1967, in the midst of a repressive political climate, he formed a band called Almendra with school mates.

Contrasting with the backwards and authoritarian government of General Juan Carlos Onganía

Juan Carlos Onganía

Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was de facto president of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as military dictator after toppling, in a coup d’état self-named Revolución Argentina , the democratically elected president Arturo Illia .-Economic and social...

, Argentina and especially Buenos Aires was undergoing a cultural blossoming based on new art expressions; the new generation, the sons of the middle class

Middle class

The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

, was immersed in an effervescence that would not reappear in Argentina until 1983. Spinetta was part and later an exponent of that blossoming and rebellious youth that would express itself both through the arms and the arts. Spinetta devoted fully to the latter path, although he briefly became involved with left-wing political movements.

Music

It was 1969 and his band, Almendra, recorded their first album. The band started recording and playing intensely and it became successful almost overnight. Almendra composed its own songs and the lyrics were in Spanish (something radically new). The subtlety and beauty of their sound would be one of the milestones (maybe the first) of Argentine rock. After two albums that enjoyed radio diffusion and deserved fame, the band split. Spinetta composed and recorded a new solo album, but an inadequate environment (he would later say that the mood of Argentine rock and rockers of those times were too "heavy" and negative for him) and the vast changes that success effected on his life made him leave the country.

After a lengthy stay in Europe, he returned to Argentina and formed a new band: Pescado Rabioso

Pescado Rabioso

Pescado Rabioso was a band or musical enterprise of Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta from 1971 to 1973. In spite of its short life, it is still considered an important piece of Argentine rock history.-Discography:...

. It was destined to be as mythical as Almendra. With a far more powerful sound and expressing the tension in the streets of an increasingly violent Argentina, Pescado recorded its first album in 1972. It was both a continuation of the creative stream of Spinetta and a drastic change in the style of his music and lyrics. The band recorded a second album; although a third one carried its name, Pescado was by then dissolved; Artaud

Artaud (album)

Artaud is the fourth full-length album by Pescado Rabioso. The title is in reference of Antonin ArtaudAlthough Artaud was officially billed as the third Pescado Rabioso album, the Argentinean group had actually broken up by the time it was recorded...

, recorded in 1973 and mostly a solo album by Spinetta, was a major breakthrough. Partly based on the writings of Antonin Artaud

Antonin Artaud

Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...

, Spinetta exorcised many of the demons of his past in this album. This process would open the door to a new era in his music.

In 1974 he formed a new band, Invisible

Invisible (band)

After the break-up of Pescado Rabioso, Luis Alberto Spinetta founded Invisible with Carlos Alberto "Machi" Rufino and Héctor "Pomo" Lorenzo...

. With his new band he recorded three albums; Invisible, Durazno Sangrando (together with Artaud, hailed as his best album ever), and El Jardín De Los Presentes. With Invisible, he left the powerful and rough sound of Pescado; the new tunes were more harmonic

Harmonic

A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...

, soft and mellow, yet his work remained essential and revolutionary. Following this line, he embarked on a solo project, A 18´ del Sol, after dissolving Invisible in 1976–77. By then, ten years later after starting his career, his style had become a delicate amalgam of old and new; the old pop and (proto) heavy rock had merged with various elements of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and bossa nova

Bossa nova

Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...

. That unique flavour would become his style during the next half decade.

After recording and editing a failed album in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1979 (the only album that Spinetta lamented ever doing), with lyrics in English and destined to the US market

Market

A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...

, Spinetta returned to Argentina and started a prolific era: he would record two albums with a short-lived Almendra Revival (one with original songs and the other live), and embarked on a new project: Spinetta Jade.

The 1980s and beyond

Spinetta Jade would prove to be a successful and innovative band; Spinetta was joined by some of the greatest Argentinan musicians of those and all times to help him build the new sound he was building since Invisible. The product: a blend of jazz and rock that was unseen in Argentina and that escaped the boom of symphonic rock

Symphonic rock

Symphonic rock is a sub-genre of progressive rock. Since early in progressive rock's history, the term has been used sometimes to distinguish more classically influenced progressive rock from the more psychedelic and experimental forms of progressive rock....

 that reached both the world and Argentina in the early 1980s. These four albums, Alma de Diamante (1980), Los Niños que Escriben en el Cielo (1981), Bajo Belgrano (a homage to the neighbourhood where he grew up, 1983) and the unforgettable Madre en Años Luz (1984), represent a defined style as well as the footprints of Spinetta's evolution. Towards the last two albums, the sound became a little bit more "pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

", and embedded with electronic elements (samplers and synthesisers with "artificial" textures). Something worth remarking: the overpowering influence and fame of Spinetta in the Argentinian rock world was only equalled by that of Charly García

Charly García

Charly García is a singer-songwriter, pianist and keyboardist from Argentina with a long career in rock music, forming successful groups such as Sui Generis and Serú Girán, cult status groups like La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and as a solo musician.-Early years:Charly García was the eldest son in...

. Many fans and critics shared the feeling that the two musicians represented antagonistic styles and values. To show otherwise, Spinetta and Charly (with their respective bands at the moment, Jade and Serú Giran

Seru Giran

Serú Girán was an Argentinian rock supergroup. From 1978 the group consisted of Charly García , David Lebón , Pedro Aznar , and Oscar Moro . It is considered one of the best in the history of Argentine rock, both musically, and conceptually and staging...

) joined efforts and gave what was probably the most important show in the history of Argentine Rock.

After dissolving Spinetta Jade in 1984, Spinetta shortly engaged in an album to be made together with Charly; yet, this would-be mythical work was abandoned. Of this interrupted work, two songs remained: "Rezo por Vos" and "Total Interferencia".

By 1982, Spinetta had restarted his solo projects, and from then on would never leave them. Kamikaze (1982) puts together a number of previously unreleased songs (one gem is an early song he composed in 1965 called "Barro Tal Vez"). In Mondo Di Cromo (1983) Spinetta prefigures the style of his solo projects during the second half of the 1980s. His new production, from 1986 to 1993, would include four solo albums (Privé (1986), Téster de Violencia (1988), Don Lucero (1989), Pelusón of Milk (1991)), a joint album with Fito Páez

Fito Páez

Rodolfo "Fito" Páez Ávalos is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, Spanish language singer and film director.-Early career:...

, another giant of Rock Nacional (La La La (1986)), and the soundtrack of the movie "Fuego Gris" (named after the film, 1993). It is hard to describe this collection of wide albums with a single adjective

Adjective

In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....

. The style, the sound, the themes that Spinetta picks and uses with the dexterity of a veteran musician are broad enough to encompass rock, pop, some tango, jazz and bossa; they all sound 1980s like; they all sound Argentinian and reflect the difficult years of the new democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 (1983 onwards) and the contemporary thought about Argentina that is being made. Hope and failure, they are covered with the Porteño melancholy maybe more than Spinetta's previous work.

After a long silence, mainly due to Spinetta's conflicts with recording companies, he finally opened a new period in his music with his new band: Spinetta y los Socios del Desierto. Three years (1997–1999) and four albums later, Spinetta had created yet another legend in Argentinian rock. Two studio albums, the double Socios del Desierto (1997) and Los Ojos (1999) would bring along a new sound, much more dry and 1990s sounding. The band made an MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...

, Estrelicia (1998), that because of its softness and acoustic nature, wildly contrasts with their live album, San Cristóforo (1998). As Spinetta said at the beginning of the first concert, "Fans de lo acústico, abstenerse" ("Fans of acoustic music, refrain"). The speed and roughness of the sound recalls Pescado's sound. Also, in 1998, Spinetta chose the featured songs and artwork of a Greatest Hits album called Elija y Gane, edited the same year.

The band dissolved quietly towards the end of 1999. Spinetta started a solo era that spawns until the present. Silver Sorgo (2001), Obras en Vivo (2002), a live album, Para Los Árboles (2003), Camalotus (2004), a single of three unreleased songs and one remix, and Pan (2006) combine maturity with boldness. The changing and mostly tragic landscape of current Argentina powerfully affects the background of these works. In them, Spinetta has showed that his creative flame is anywhere but near of being extinguished.

In 2005, the he received the Konex Award

Konex Award

Konex Foundation awards, or simple Konex awards are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation to Argentine cultural personalities.Created in 1980, where conceived as a way to reward the Argentine personalities and institutions of different fields, as well as to stimulate the beginners.Even though...

 for best Rock soloist of the 1995-2005 decade.

A number of books and TV documentaries have been devoted to him. Argentinian writer Eduardo Berti

Eduardo Berti

Eduardo Berti is an Argentinian writer born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1964. He has lived in Paris since 1998. He also works as a cultural journalist....

 published a book about Spinetta, which includes a long conversation with him. Also another Argentinian writer Juan Carlos Diez published an interview's book about him, it's a very intimist work.

Family

He has four children: Dante, Catarina, Valentino and Vera. All four are devoted to music. Dante Spinetta

Dante Spinetta

Dante Spinetta is an Argentine singer/composer who was part of the defunct duo Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas.- Biography :...

 had a successful band in the 1990s (Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas

Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas was an Argentine funk duo formed in 1991 by Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur. In 2001 Dante and Emmanuel split to continue their solo careers...

) and is currently working on various solo projects.

Almendra

• Almendra (1969)
• Almendra II (1970)
• El Valle Interior (1980)
• Almendra en Obras I/II (1980, live)

Pescado Rabioso

• Desatormentándonos (1972)
• Pescado II (1973)
• Artaud
  Artaud (album)
  Artaud is the fourth full-length album by Pescado Rabioso. The title is in reference of Antonin ArtaudAlthough Artaud was officially billed as the third Pescado Rabioso album, the Argentinean group had actually broken up by the time it was recorded...
  
  (1973)

Invisible

• Estado de coma (1974, SP)
• Invisible (1974)
• La llave de Mandala (1974, SP)
• Viejos ratones del tiempo (1974, SP)
• Durazno Sangrando (1975)
• El Jardín de los Presentes (1976)

Spinetta Jade

• Alma de Diamante (1980)
• Los Niños Que Escriben En El Cielo (1981)
• Bajo Belgrano (1983)
• Madre en Años Luz (1984)

Spinetta Y Los Socios Del Desierto

• Socios del Desierto (1996)
• San Cristóforo (1998, live)
• Los Ojos (1999)

Solo

• Spinettalandia y Sus Amigos - La Búsqueda de la Estrella (1971)
• Artaud (1973, released as an album of Pescado Rabioso)
• A 18´ del Sol (1977)
• Only Love Can Sustain (1979)
• Kamikaze (1982)
• Mondo Di Cromo (1982)
• Privé (1986)
• La La La (1986, with Fito Páez
  Fito Páez
  Rodolfo "Fito" Páez Ávalos is an Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, Spanish language singer and film director.-Early career:...
  
  )
• Téster de Violencia (1988)
• Don Lucero (1989)
• Exactas (1990, live)
• Pelusón Of Milk (1991)
• Fuego Gris (1993, soundtrack)
• Estrelicia (1997, MTV Unplugged)
• San Cristóforo: Un Sauna de Lava Eléctrico (1998, Live)
• Elija y Gane (1999, greatest hits)
• Silver Sorgo (2001)
• Argentina Sorgo Films Presenta: Spinetta Obras (2002)
• Para los Árboles (2003)
• Camalotus (2004)
• Pan (2006)
• Un Mañana (2008)
• Spinetta y las Bandas Eternas (2010, Live)

External links

• Official Page (Spanish)
• Biography at Rock.com.ar (Spanish)