EL POETA DEL RUIDO

Arguably the king band of Mexico's avant-rock, Decibel stated their radically challenging musical vision from the very first seconds of their very first release "El Poeta del Ruido". All members of the basic quartet formed by drummer Castañeda, violinist Sánchez, bassist Schmidt and keyboardist Robledo double and alternate in several other instruments (reeds, woodwind, synths, percussion, etc.), and are not precisely shy on the use of console and magnetic tape effects in order to enhance and/or focus the massive weirdness encapsulated in their collective ideas. The presence of guests on string and woodwind instruments also helps to make this inscrutable repertoire a bit more colorful than your usual RIO album. Solid and bold, Decibel's RIO offering is evidently open to influences from Henry Cow, Faust (their concrete-friendly side), Univers Zero (their "1313" debut album had already been released), plus the mandatory references to Cage, Stockhausen and the Fluxus movement's Dadaist approach. The namesake opener begins with mocking sounds of birds before the instrumental tour-de- force brings a delicious set of mischievous dissonances and playful tensions based on piano, clarinet and violin over a superhumanly busy rhythm section. This is UZ on speed mixed with Magma on crack! And that climax,... just unbelieveable! While this delirious sonic travel was heavily rooted on instrumental interaction, the next few pieces are decidedly focused on digital manipulation. The two sections of 'Orgon Patasísico' state an atmospheric approach to sonic mystery in a hermetic framework of noise and minimalism. This deconstructive paradigm is continued in 'Fakma' and 'El Fin de los Dodos': the former is a chaotic, creepy exercise on impending doom; the latter states a more cosmic stance, still bearing dark doom in its nuances. 'Terapia de Farikato' starts with a languid piano prelude that occupies the first 80 seconds; then, the full ensemble displays an exquisite musical travel set under a controlled, somber dynamics. 'Manati' returns to the random, ethereal deconstruction of tracks 2-5: its own peculiarity is that it evolves into a series of ethnic ambiences somewhere along the road. In moments like this is when you discover that RIO can also be a refreshing kind of music. 'El Titosco' completes the official repertoire with a brief retake on the band's extroverted side. The CD edition includes an important number of bonus tracks. 'Notas sin Dueño' finds the band exploring zheul terrain quite enthusiastically, while 'Mucilago Binomial' elaborates a fusionesque stance for the band's robust RIO trend. 'Mensaje desde Fomalhault' is a weird soundscape of whirlwinds that eventually lands on a Faust-like madness of piano, percussion and vocal extravaganza, all of them recycled through the heavy use of tap manipulations. 'Fragmento del Poeta del Ruido' is just what the title implies, a new arrangement, less frantic, of one of the motifs inserted in the original 'El Poeta del Ruido'. The diminished speed allows the band to work on the track's potential density more thoroughly: the featured synthesizer adds a mesmeric nuance to the whole ambience. 'Algo!' is pure minimalistic noise, while '¿Acaso Estoy en un Lecho de Rosas?' states a powerful free-form display of drums and synthesizer effects. 'Improvisación en Blanco y Negro' establishes a sort of homage to "In Praise of Learning"-era HC, while 'Falso Jericó' reinstates the sense of radical chaos Decibel-style. Attention all members of the RIO federation: Decibel's "El Poeta del Ruido" is a must.