Sui Generis
Encyclopedia
Sui Generis is one of the most important rock bands in Argentine
history, enjoying enormous success and popularity during the first half of the 1970s and a following that lasts to the present throughout South America
. Sui Generis disbanded on September 5, 1975 and despite the concerts that took place in 1980 and 2001, re-formation has been ruled out.
and "The Century Indignation", originally led by Carlos Alberto "Nito" Mestre
. The newly-formed band's member list consisted of, Charly (piano), Nito (flute), Alberto Rodríguez (drums), Alejandro Correa (bass) (later replaced by Rolando Fortich), Juan Carlos Bellia (guitar) and Carlos Piégari (guitar and vocals).
In its early life, Sui Generis experimented with psychedelic music
but would eventually refine and change its sound and is now generally classified as folk-rock. Infamously, at Sui Generis' first big performance, none of the members but Charly and Nito, appeared. Despite the poor showing, they went ahead with the show, García playing the piano, with Nito accompanying on the flute. Amazingly, the audience still loved them. García's simple songs of adolescence contained substantial poetic elements that showed through the limited instrumentation. After this they decided to continue as a duet with Charly composing songs and playing the piano, Nito playing the flute and both at vocals and guitar.
Soon after Sui Generis started to gain fame, García, then 20 years old, had to take a hiatus from the band to fulfill a stint in Argentina's mandatory military service. Unhappy in the service, he pulled outrageous stunts, such as reportedly taking a corpse in a wheelchair for a walk in the sun because "he was too pale." Eventually, García ingested a large dosage of amphetamines and faked a heart attack
, in an apparent attempt to cut his military service short. Garcia wound up in the hospital, and it was there that he composed two of the band's more famous songs: "Botas Locas" ("Crazy boots"), censored when first released, and "Canción para mi muerte" ("Song for my death"). Garcia was released from the military due to "mental health problems."
In 1972, Sui Generis released its first LP
, Vida
(Life), which became instantly popular, especially among Argentine teenagers. Confesiones de Invierno
(Winter Confessions), their second LP, was released in 1973. This album showcased higher production values and better studio equipment, and was also a huge commercial success.
(Little Anecdotes about the Institutions), reflecting the unstable nature of Argentine social and political institutions at the time. Charly
's initial concept was to write a song for every influential traditional institution: the Catholic Church, the government
, the family
, the judicial system, the police
, the Army
, and so on. However, two songs, "Juan Represión" ("John Repression") about the police and the military dictators (specifically the latest dictator Juan Carlos Onganía), and "Botas locas" ("Crazy Boots") about the army, were eliminated from the album by the music label, afraid of the growing political violence of the time. Two more had to be partly changed, "Las increíbles aventuras del Señor Tijeras", a song about the person in charge of the censorship of movies at that time, ("The incredible adventures of Mr. Scissors") and "¿Para quién canto yo entonces?" ("Who am I singing for, then?"), both about censorship itself, while "Música de Fondo para Cualquier Fiesta Animada", about the judiciary system had to be completely rewritten. Even though Charly achieved a different, more mature sound with Instituciones, the public rejected the change. They preferred the old folk-rock sound, and the album sold poorly.
In these years, Charly
met Maria Rosa Yorio
, who later bore his only son, Miguel García. Miguel released a solo album in December, 2005 as Migue García.
kept composing songs, and during 1975, he prepared for Sui Generis' Ha sido (Has been) album. The name is a pun on ácido (acid), a reference to LSD
. Later, Charly would say that the LP definitely referenced LSD
, because the songs spoke about going to the sea and looking at the colorful fishes – that is, an acid trip.
In 1975, Sui Generis' members began to have conflicts. "Nito" Mestre wasn't enthusiastic about the new style and project, the new members weren't accepted by the public and Charly was tired of Sui Generis' old style, which the fans and producers wanted. The Ha sido LP was never recorded, but some of the songs were included in the band's farewell live album, such as "Bubulina" and "Eiti Leda".
, with two shows for 20 thousand people, the biggest in the history of Argentine rock at the time. Many years later, Charly said that before the show he was going around the stadium, intimidated by the huge crowd. He claimed to have smoked 24 joints to calm his nerves. "In the 70's, weed
was like a religious thing", he later commented. A double LP was released that year, recording the live shows Adiós Sui Generis (Goodbye Sui Generis)
In 1976, Sui Generis also recorded an LP with Argentine musicians León Gieco
and Raúl Porchetto
(whose music resembled Gieco's in a softer pop version) as well as María Rosa Yorio. The LP was called "Porsuigieco
" (Mix of Raúl Porchetto, Sui Generis, León Gieco)
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...
history, enjoying enormous success and popularity during the first half of the 1970s and a following that lasts to the present throughout 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...
. Sui Generis disbanded on September 5, 1975 and despite the concerts that took place in 1980 and 2001, re-formation has been ruled out.
Hello Sui Generis
Sui Generis was formed in 1969 by the merging of two bands: "To Walk Spanish", originally led by Carlos Alberto "Charly" García MorenoCharly 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...
and "The Century Indignation", originally led by Carlos Alberto "Nito" Mestre
Nito Mestre
Carlos Alberto Mestre known by his stage name Nito Mestre is an Argentine musician, founding member - along with Charly García - of Sui Generis, member of PorSuiGieco, bandleader of Nito Mestre y los Desconocidos de Siempre and a recording solo artist...
. The newly-formed band's member list consisted of, Charly (piano), Nito (flute), Alberto Rodríguez (drums), Alejandro Correa (bass) (later replaced by Rolando Fortich), Juan Carlos Bellia (guitar) and Carlos Piégari (guitar and vocals).
In its early life, Sui Generis experimented with psychedelic music
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
but would eventually refine and change its sound and is now generally classified as folk-rock. Infamously, at Sui Generis' first big performance, none of the members but Charly and Nito, appeared. Despite the poor showing, they went ahead with the show, García playing the piano, with Nito accompanying on the flute. Amazingly, the audience still loved them. García's simple songs of adolescence contained substantial poetic elements that showed through the limited instrumentation. After this they decided to continue as a duet with Charly composing songs and playing the piano, Nito playing the flute and both at vocals and guitar.
Soon after Sui Generis started to gain fame, García, then 20 years old, had to take a hiatus from the band to fulfill a stint in Argentina's mandatory military service. Unhappy in the service, he pulled outrageous stunts, such as reportedly taking a corpse in a wheelchair for a walk in the sun because "he was too pale." Eventually, García ingested a large dosage of amphetamines and faked a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, in an apparent attempt to cut his military service short. Garcia wound up in the hospital, and it was there that he composed two of the band's more famous songs: "Botas Locas" ("Crazy boots"), censored when first released, and "Canción para mi muerte" ("Song for my death"). Garcia was released from the military due to "mental health problems."
In 1972, Sui Generis released its first LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, Vida
Vida (album)
Vida is the debut album of Argentine folk rock group Sui Generis, released on 1972.-Track listing:...
(Life), which became instantly popular, especially among Argentine teenagers. Confesiones de Invierno
Confesiones de Invierno
Confesiones de Invierno is the second album of Argentine folk rock group Sui Generis, released on 1973.The song "Rasguña Las Piedras" is surrounded by a macabre urban myth. The myth states that the song is a tribute to one of Charly García's closest friends, with whom he had a strong emotional...
(Winter Confessions), their second LP, was released in 1973. This album showcased higher production values and better studio equipment, and was also a huge commercial success.
Change of direction
1974 was a turning point for Sui Generis: Charly was sick of "the piano and the flute" sound, and decided that Sui Generis needed a change. He pursued a more traditional rock sound, with bass and drums, for which purpose he recruited Rinaldo Rafanelli and Juan Rodríguez respectively. The new album was originally titled Instituciones (Institutions), but Sui Generis' producer suggested they change the name to Pequeñas Anécdotas sobre las InstitucionesPequeñas anécdotas sobre las instituciones
Pequeñas Anécdotas Sobre las Instituciones is the third album of Argentine progressive rock group Sui Generis, released on 1974....
(Little Anecdotes about the Institutions), reflecting the unstable nature of Argentine social and political institutions at the time. Charly
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...
's initial concept was to write a song for every influential traditional institution: the Catholic Church, the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, the judicial system, the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, the Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, and so on. However, two songs, "Juan Represión" ("John Repression") about the police and the military dictators (specifically the latest dictator Juan Carlos Onganía), and "Botas locas" ("Crazy Boots") about the army, were eliminated from the album by the music label, afraid of the growing political violence of the time. Two more had to be partly changed, "Las increíbles aventuras del Señor Tijeras", a song about the person in charge of the censorship of movies at that time, ("The incredible adventures of Mr. Scissors") and "¿Para quién canto yo entonces?" ("Who am I singing for, then?"), both about censorship itself, while "Música de Fondo para Cualquier Fiesta Animada", about the judiciary system had to be completely rewritten. Even though Charly achieved a different, more mature sound with Instituciones, the public rejected the change. They preferred the old folk-rock sound, and the album sold poorly.
In these years, Charly
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...
met Maria Rosa Yorio
María Rosa Yorio
'María Rosa Yorio' is an Argentine painter, singer, songwriter, instructor and band leader.- Early work :...
, who later bore his only son, Miguel García. Miguel released a solo album in December, 2005 as Migue García.
"Ha Sido"
GarcíaCharly 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...
kept composing songs, and during 1975, he prepared for Sui Generis' Ha sido (Has been) album. The name is a pun on ácido (acid), a reference to LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. Later, Charly would say that the LP definitely referenced LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
, because the songs spoke about going to the sea and looking at the colorful fishes – that is, an acid trip.
In 1975, Sui Generis' members began to have conflicts. "Nito" Mestre wasn't enthusiastic about the new style and project, the new members weren't accepted by the public and Charly was tired of Sui Generis' old style, which the fans and producers wanted. The Ha sido LP was never recorded, but some of the songs were included in the band's farewell live album, such as "Bubulina" and "Eiti Leda".
Goodbye, Sui Generis
Finally, on September 5, 1975, Sui Generis said goodbye, in the Luna Park StadiumLuna Park, Buenos Aires
For any of the amusement parks of the same name, see Luna Park; for any other use of the term, see Luna Park Luna Park is an 8,000-seat arena, located on the corner of Corrientes and Bouchard Avenues, in the barrio of San Nicolás, east Buenos Aires city and near Puerto Madero...
, with two shows for 20 thousand people, the biggest in the history of Argentine rock at the time. Many years later, Charly said that before the show he was going around the stadium, intimidated by the huge crowd. He claimed to have smoked 24 joints to calm his nerves. "In the 70's, weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
was like a religious thing", he later commented. A double LP was released that year, recording the live shows Adiós Sui Generis (Goodbye Sui Generis)
In 1976, Sui Generis also recorded an LP with Argentine musicians León Gieco
León Gieco
Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco is a pop-folk music composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentine rock, and for lyrics with social and political connotations...
and Raúl Porchetto
Raul Porchetto
Raul Porchetto is an Argentine musician and song writer.- History :Porchetto emerged into the Acoustic movement of argentine rock during the early 1970s releasing his debut record in 1972 following the sub-genre's popular rise in the wake of the Acusticazo.By the mid 70s he would become a member...
(whose music resembled Gieco's in a softer pop version) as well as María Rosa Yorio. The LP was called "Porsuigieco
Porsuigieco
Porsuigieco was a Folk-rock "super-band" by Charly García, Nito Mestre , Leon Gieco, Raul Porchetto and Maria Rosa Yorio . The band was active only in 1975. The only album that they released was Porsuigieco. They performed live only two times...
" (Mix of Raúl Porchetto, Sui Generis, León Gieco)
Discography
- VidaVida (album)Vida is the debut album of Argentine folk rock group Sui Generis, released on 1972.-Track listing:...
(1972) (Studio) - Confesiones de InviernoConfesiones de InviernoConfesiones de Invierno is the second album of Argentine folk rock group Sui Generis, released on 1973.The song "Rasguña Las Piedras" is surrounded by a macabre urban myth. The myth states that the song is a tribute to one of Charly García's closest friends, with whom he had a strong emotional...
(1973) (Studio) - Pequeñas anécdotas sobre las institucionesPequeñas anécdotas sobre las institucionesPequeñas Anécdotas Sobre las Instituciones is the third album of Argentine progressive rock group Sui Generis, released on 1974....
(1974) (Studio) - Alto en la torre (1974) (Single)
- Adiós Sui GenerisAdiós Sui Generis (album)Adiós Sui Generis is a live album by Argentine folk rock group Sui Generis, recorded during the last show given by the band, on September 5, 1975, at the Luna Park.-Track listing:#"Instituciones"...
(1975) (Live) - Adiós Sui Generis, Parte II (1995) (Live)
- Adiós Sui Generis, Parte III (1995) (Live)
- Antología (1992) (Recopilation)
- Sinfonías para Adolescentes (2000) (Studio)
- Si - Detrás de las paredes (2001) (Live)