Esplendor Geométrico - About becoming a cult band, if we actually are, it was neither intentional nor expected!

There are only a handful of groups in the industrial scene that have truly achieved cult following. Einstürzende have become an image, a t-shirt must have; whereas Throbbing Gristle are the icon of avant-garde culture through music. In the background, Spain's unique Esplendor Geométrico have been crawling up generation past generation to a quiet yet massive recognition. Their constructivist and strong images, united with a music investigation based on pulse and rhythm make Arturo Lanz and Saverio Evangelista's project one that renews itself with every record. "Pulsión" is the name of their latest release, and from different corners of the world, we got both members to answer some questions for Side Line. (By Catalina Isis Milan Schneider)

SL: Espendor Geométrico is not only one of the paradigms of industrial music, but also of music with a political load. Esplendor Geométrico's image and samplers seem to be as important as musical production. Are they?

AL: Regarding political views: every person has their own ideology, needless to say, and this makes you act differently in different situations. That is the way it is and we are no exception, though, we don't intentionally try to reflect this in our music. If it seems there is a political load it is because of the voices we use. However, they are not chosen for their message but for the tone and strength of the speech.

SL: Stalin in the 80s and revolutionary socialism and Islamism in current times. Does Esplendor Geométrico work as an inverted reflection of mass media?

AL: I hadn't thought about it. As I said, speeches in Arab are very sonorous. It doesn't matter what they say but how they say it.

SE: More than Stalin I would talk about Lenin, of the Russian revolution, of the constructivists. Also about the futurist. A collection of people, movements, countries, images that have always had a big influence on E.G because of their evocative depth.

SL: Listening to your music, it seems the relationship between machinery and revolution is inevitable. In your opinion, is industry related to political movements?

AL: Even thought it has nothing to do with our music, of course the assumed technical and industrial development conditions social development, and all ideologies that are related to this development. Historical materialism, for example, explains social and ideological changes in history based on technical development. Isn't' the daily use of internet and new technologies a permanent revolution?

SL: Being that both members of E.G live in different continents, how does the distance affect the creation of new material? Is the fact that one of you is living in an oriental culture reflect anyway in the music?

AL: I live in Beijing, China. Regarding the Chinese, we are not too different. I get along pretty well with them (my wife is Chinese). I don't think it reflects in the music in anyway. Regarding the composition of new material, we don't have a problem. I normally create the bases and introduces the voices and Saverio enriches the bases with sounds and perfects the sound in each song.

SA: Distance obviously influences [our work], but it also influences in the past, when Arturo lived in Mallorca and I lived in Rome. In this sense, technology really helps, with Internet distances have really gotten smaller.

SL: You have worked on "Pulsión" for almost a year, and since 2003 you hadn't released a record with only new material. Did you look for a coherence in the sound since the beginning of the recording or have you been modifying and rejecting material?

AL: There is no coherence between compositions, at least in any conscious way. It is Saverio and Andres Noarbe that choose which songs are included in the record. Personally, I don't really care.

SE: The way E.G Works has always been based on instinct; more on passion tan reason. But seen in hindsight, I would say this work has ended up being more organic, with a strong inner coherence.

SL: "Pulsión" is the perfect name for the record. Seems the main ingredient in E.G is the beating in the song and then the construction around it. Do you work over preexisting sounds or do you create them from cero?

AL: The bases are created from cero. The voices we use are manipulated and introduced.

SL: Do you work over bases first or the other elements?

AL: First the rhythm, then the arrangements.

SE: In general over the bases first, and then all other elements.

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SL: Regarding the samplers, do you choose them before or after creating the composition? Do they influence in its construction?

AL: They are chosen separately, without knowing in with song I will introduce them. When the bases are finished, I see which sampler of those I've been compiling is the suitable one.

SL: You also reissued some old material this year. Why did you choose this moment?

AL: I don't know. You should ask Andrés Noarbe, the director of Geometrik Records.

AN: We have always had a high demand of old E.G material, I suppose mainly because many people just discovered them now. I simply decided to reissue the records from the nineties, which had been out of catalogue for more than ten years (Veritatis Splendor, Balearic Rhythms, y Polyglophone). The eighties records have also been reissued many times.

SE:. Together with Andrés Noarbe (a friend and the historical producer of the band) we are giving a new push to the Geometrik label with new editions. Also, 'Pulse' will come out in an LP version with two unreleased tracks, and there will be more reissued and websites of both Esplendor and Geometrik.

SL: The relationship between Esplendor Geométrico and Geometrik is permanent. I imagine there is no type of pressure for the release of new material and that, in a certain way, you belong to the music industry under your own parameters. It is like viewing the music industry from the inside looking in. What opinion do you have on the mandatory results many groups have to give every certain amount of time to their labels?

AL: I imagine that if you live off music, these types of arrangements between the groups and the industry are necessary. In our case it's not necessary because we don't depend on Esplendor Geométrico for a living.

SE: Our position with Geometrik is privileged. We never had any sort of pressure from the label, only help. I don't know if we would have resisted for long if we'd had to produce every certain amount of time on demand by a label.

SL: At the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s when so many new styles were being created and you released 'Necrosis en la Poya', did you ever consider you were creating something new and would become a cult band?

AL: No. I didn't have that feeling. The only thing I was looking for and still look for is having fun when I compose, and especially live in concert.

SE: Taking in account what the scene was in the 'movida' of Madrid at that time, it wasn't to difficult to realize how different what Esplendor was doing was from anything anyone else was doing. About becoming a cult band, if we actually are, it was neither intentional nor expected.

SL: Do you see an end to Esplendor Geométrico?

AL: Never. I see the end when I die.

SE: I don't think about it. We are still very interested in what we do and, at the same time, there is still a lot of interest from the public regarding the group. You'll have to wait. I'm sorry.

SL: You've always had a very defined image and have very good relations with many graphic designers. Do you think that, in a way, the loose structure of your compositions makes the public or listener need images to understand them?

AL: I can't answer that question. When performing live I don't see the images and I enjoy myself regardless.

SE: On the contrary, I think E.G's music has a very definite structure. It is visceral and hypnotic and can introduce you to a certain type of trance. At the same time, I don't think there is too much to "understand" about it. The images, therefore, don't have an educational purpose. To be more exact, they refer to all the images that have inspired the group since its origins.

SL: What is your opinion on current music and what do you listen to normally?

AL: I listen to standard radio music. Normally I connect the i-Tunes radio and choose different stations with different styles depending on the occasion.

SE: I don't have a specific opinion on current music. To be honest I don't have that much time to follow what is going out there. And Arturo stopped following what other do in the electronic music scene many years ago.

Band: www.geometrikrecords.com/esplendor / www.myspace.com/esplendorgeometrico
Label: www.geometrikrecords.com