Arco Iris
Encyclopedia
Arco Iris were a rock group from the late 1960s until the late 1970s in Argentina
, and one of the most influential in Argentine rock
history in more ways than just music. While tagged as an 'acoustic' Argentine rock band in the beginning, Arco Iris were pioneers (with Chilean band Los Jaivas
), infusing rock with regional folk music, as well as one of the first bands that projected their beliefs through their music and lifestyle (in their case around the art of yoga
). In the 1980s Arco Iris minus Santaolalla moved to the United States
to live in the mountains of California
, where they have been involved in the jazz-rock and new age music
scene.
Arco Iris frontman Gustavo Santaolalla
would emerge in the 1980s as one of the artists and producers that popularized rock music
beyond Argentina and aided the rise of Rock en Español
(with Miguel Mateos
, Charly Garcia
, etc.) by promoting rock acts all over Latin America
ex-Argentina.
.jpg)
and drop the English
name "The Crows".
"Arco Iris" first released two singles: "Lo veo en tus ojos" and "Canción para una mujer" (no relation with the Vox Dei
song with the same name). Months later, they released a second disappointing single and met former model Danais Wynnycka (a.k.a. Dana), who became their "spiritual guide", and began to live communally with her. Their next single, "Blues de Dana" (obviously dedicated to Danais Wynnicka, a model), reflected changes in the music as well.
The single won the Mar del Plata Beat Music Festival. On the back of this major exposure coup for the band, Arco Iris released what basically amounted to two full-length albums in a short time: their self-titled debut album (Arco Iris; 1969), and Blues de Dana in 1970, a compilation of all pre-1969 singles and both for RCA. Both albums' sound owed mostly to pop sensibilities inherited from "música beat", the prevalent sub-genre of Argentine rock at the time.
Horacio Gianello replaced Alberto Cascino at the drums, and in 1971 Arco Iris began releasing a series of singles. Eventually the band began working on their second album, which would be released in 1972 but now under the Music Hall Label. However, RCA also came out with a compilation of B-sides from the band, including some in the English language, creating some confusion even to this day about the order of the various releases.
Not confusing was the across-the-board success of the single "Mañana Campestre", which would be included in Tiempo de Resurrección, which also indicated the group's increasing tendency towards folk-symphonic rock. However, Santaolalla was able to maintain rock at a shoestring's length thanks to his distinguished electric guitar style.
The group released still another record in 1972, Sudamérica o el Regreso à la Aurora, and a double LP. It is generally considered the first rock-opera in Spanish. It represents the summit of the band in terms of orchestral achievement. The music offers a unique multi-influenced rock universe as few records anywhere, made of blues, folk, jazz, rock, and Latin, and it flows to be listened to as an entire piece. Even so, several of the singles can be enjoyed by themselves. It is hard to claim there is anything in rock music that approaches its sound, and for many it is a masterpiece of Argentine rock.
With Arco Iris one of the most critically acclaimed rock groups, Inti-Raymi was released in 1973. Following up the previous year was virtually an impossible task, yet this album while not superior was a worthy follow-up and continuing on the folklore-meets-electric guitar themes. But it also was tending more to a sophistirock style, which would be blown wide open in Arco Iris's 1974 Agitor Lucens V, where Santaolalla and the rest of the band accurately predicted the symphonic and progressive direction Argentine rock would take.
If the album title sounds alien, it should be no surprise then that the theme of this extraordinary work 'orbits' around an alleged pre-Columbian contacts between the civilizations of the Americas and visitors from outer space. Without losing their earlier identity, the music was more symphonic with long progressive instrumental segments and heavier use of keyboards. In 1975 the music from Agitor Lucens V was presented in
Paris, London, Rome and Buenos Aires with a ballet
directed by renowned Argentine choreographer Oscar Aráiz. The album's reception in music circles previewed Santaolalla's rise as one of the major rock and movie soundtrack producers of the late 20th century (eventually leading to Academy Award in the United States
and Premios Gardel in Argentina
).
But that year would also prove to be the end for Gustavo Santaolalla
as frontman, he would leave to create a new band, Soluna. Following Santaolalla's departure, Arco Iris would recruit Ignacio Elizabetsky in guitar and Mario Cortez in keyboards.
In 1977 they released their latest LP album Los Elementales. Without Santaolalla's exotic folk and electric influences, this album clearly has a different feel from previous Arco Iris records. It is much more of a jazz-rock work, and this would be the road the band would embark upon from that point on. The album was seen as a disappointment to those that were looking for the old Arco Iris sound, for it became a well received one among progressive rockers. It would also be the band's final 'classic' period release as well as the end of their career as a visible and "popular" musical group.
In 1978, the members of Arco Iris left for the United States, to live in a cabin in the western US state of California. There they shifted their career to one of jazz, and also new age music. In that vein the band has made several albums, including 1980's Cóndor and 1981's El faisán azul which was released in Argentina in 1986. But they also have worked alongside musicians such as Herbie Hancock
, Lalo Schifrin
and Chester Thompson
, among others, as a supporting group.
Ara and Danais continued to make music and release albums beyond 1981, including Peace pipes, In Memoriam and Peace will save the Rainbow, all in English. Danais (or Dana), died in 2003.
Meanwhile, Gustavo Santaolalla kicked off his solo career in 1982 with his debut album Santaolalla, which once again proved he was ahead of the curve. The album featured a sound that was far more lively, rocking, and frivolous, which predicted the New Democracy Sound that would explode in 1983 and 1984 and eventually lead to the Argentine Invasion overseas.
In fact Santaolalla would help make 'Rock En Español' massively popular beyond Argentina, and then go on to great things in Hollywood movie making in the United States music industry, as well as become one of the great producers of the current period. Which proves that Arco Iris is not only a historically significant group of the 1970s Argentine rock movement for what they did to the sound of Argentine rock, but considering that the members of Arco Iris went on to contribute in the musical development in many other nations, they also have laid a stake as one of the most important music groups from Argentina in the last 40 years.
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...
, and one of the most influential in 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...
history in more ways than just music. While tagged as an 'acoustic' Argentine rock band in the beginning, Arco Iris were pioneers (with Chilean band Los Jaivas
Los Jaivas
Los Jaivas are a Chilean musical group who perform in folk, rock, and progressive rock styles.-History:Los Jaivas appeared in Chilean music in 1963 as a progressive-rock-andino group, mixing rock with South American ancestral music...
), infusing rock with regional folk music, as well as one of the first bands that projected their beliefs through their music and lifestyle (in their case around the art of yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
). In the 1980s Arco Iris minus Santaolalla moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to live in the mountains of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where they have been involved in the jazz-rock and new age music
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
scene.
Arco Iris frontman Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...
would emerge in the 1980s as one of the artists and producers that popularized rock music
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...
beyond Argentina and aided the rise of 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...
(with Miguel Mateos
Miguel Mateos
Miguel Mateos is a rock singer/songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside of Argentina, he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s when he along with Charly Garcia, Soda Stereo, Enanitos Verdes, Virus, Sumo, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Rata...
, Charly Garcia
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...
, etc.) by promoting rock acts all over Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
ex-Argentina.
Original members
- Gustavo SantaolallaGustavo SantaolallaGustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...
: guitar and voice - Guillermo Bordarampé: bass
- Ara Tokatlián: flutes
- Alberto Cascino & Julio "Jimmy" Ledezma: drums
- Danais Wynnycka: chorus
History
The band's origins are traced to the late 1960s, when Santaolalla, Ara Tokatlián, and Guillermo Bodarampé recorded a three-song demo tape, and met producer Ricardo Kleinman (owner of the successful radio show Modart en la Noche ). Kleinman agreed to sign the group with the condition that they sing in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and drop the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name "The Crows".
"Arco Iris" first released two singles: "Lo veo en tus ojos" and "Canción para una mujer" (no relation with the Vox Dei
Vox Dei
Vox Dei is an Argentine rock band credited for recording the country's first concept album, The Bible. Its most prolific years were the 1970s, having recorded 10 albums.-History:...
song with the same name). Months later, they released a second disappointing single and met former model Danais Wynnycka (a.k.a. Dana), who became their "spiritual guide", and began to live communally with her. Their next single, "Blues de Dana" (obviously dedicated to Danais Wynnicka, a model), reflected changes in the music as well.
The single won the Mar del Plata Beat Music Festival. On the back of this major exposure coup for the band, Arco Iris released what basically amounted to two full-length albums in a short time: their self-titled debut album (Arco Iris; 1969), and Blues de Dana in 1970, a compilation of all pre-1969 singles and both for RCA. Both albums' sound owed mostly to pop sensibilities inherited from "música beat", the prevalent sub-genre of Argentine rock at the time.
Horacio Gianello replaced Alberto Cascino at the drums, and in 1971 Arco Iris began releasing a series of singles. Eventually the band began working on their second album, which would be released in 1972 but now under the Music Hall Label. However, RCA also came out with a compilation of B-sides from the band, including some in the English language, creating some confusion even to this day about the order of the various releases.
Not confusing was the across-the-board success of the single "Mañana Campestre", which would be included in Tiempo de Resurrección, which also indicated the group's increasing tendency towards folk-symphonic rock. However, Santaolalla was able to maintain rock at a shoestring's length thanks to his distinguished electric guitar style.
The group released still another record in 1972, Sudamérica o el Regreso à la Aurora, and a double LP. It is generally considered the first rock-opera in Spanish. It represents the summit of the band in terms of orchestral achievement. The music offers a unique multi-influenced rock universe as few records anywhere, made of blues, folk, jazz, rock, and Latin, and it flows to be listened to as an entire piece. Even so, several of the singles can be enjoyed by themselves. It is hard to claim there is anything in rock music that approaches its sound, and for many it is a masterpiece of Argentine rock.
With Arco Iris one of the most critically acclaimed rock groups, Inti-Raymi was released in 1973. Following up the previous year was virtually an impossible task, yet this album while not superior was a worthy follow-up and continuing on the folklore-meets-electric guitar themes. But it also was tending more to a sophistirock style, which would be blown wide open in Arco Iris's 1974 Agitor Lucens V, where Santaolalla and the rest of the band accurately predicted the symphonic and progressive direction Argentine rock would take.
If the album title sounds alien, it should be no surprise then that the theme of this extraordinary work 'orbits' around an alleged pre-Columbian contacts between the civilizations of the Americas and visitors from outer space. Without losing their earlier identity, the music was more symphonic with long progressive instrumental segments and heavier use of keyboards. In 1975 the music from Agitor Lucens V was presented in
Paris, London, Rome and Buenos Aires with a ballet
directed by renowned Argentine choreographer Oscar Aráiz. The album's reception in music circles previewed Santaolalla's rise as one of the major rock and movie soundtrack producers of the late 20th century (eventually leading to Academy Award in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Premios Gardel in 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...
).
But that year would also prove to be the end for Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...
as frontman, he would leave to create a new band, Soluna. Following Santaolalla's departure, Arco Iris would recruit Ignacio Elizabetsky in guitar and Mario Cortez in keyboards.
In 1977 they released their latest LP album Los Elementales. Without Santaolalla's exotic folk and electric influences, this album clearly has a different feel from previous Arco Iris records. It is much more of a jazz-rock work, and this would be the road the band would embark upon from that point on. The album was seen as a disappointment to those that were looking for the old Arco Iris sound, for it became a well received one among progressive rockers. It would also be the band's final 'classic' period release as well as the end of their career as a visible and "popular" musical group.
In 1978, the members of Arco Iris left for the United States, to live in a cabin in the western US state of California. There they shifted their career to one of jazz, and also new age music. In that vein the band has made several albums, including 1980's Cóndor and 1981's El faisán azul which was released in Argentina in 1986. But they also have worked alongside musicians such as Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
and Chester Thompson
Chester Thompson
Chester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
, among others, as a supporting group.
Ara and Danais continued to make music and release albums beyond 1981, including Peace pipes, In Memoriam and Peace will save the Rainbow, all in English. Danais (or Dana), died in 2003.
Meanwhile, Gustavo Santaolalla kicked off his solo career in 1982 with his debut album Santaolalla, which once again proved he was ahead of the curve. The album featured a sound that was far more lively, rocking, and frivolous, which predicted the New Democracy Sound that would explode in 1983 and 1984 and eventually lead to the Argentine Invasion overseas.
In fact Santaolalla would help make 'Rock En Español' massively popular beyond Argentina, and then go on to great things in Hollywood movie making in the United States music industry, as well as become one of the great producers of the current period. Which proves that Arco Iris is not only a historically significant group of the 1970s Argentine rock movement for what they did to the sound of Argentine rock, but considering that the members of Arco Iris went on to contribute in the musical development in many other nations, they also have laid a stake as one of the most important music groups from Argentina in the last 40 years.