Buh Records will be releasing Varsovia’s “Diseñar y destruir” LP in February 2021. “Diseñar y destruir” (Design and destroy) is the second album by the band Varsovia holding tracks recorded between 2015 and 2017. Varsovia is a project formed in early 2012 by Dante Gonzales (composer and former member of other well-known electronic acts such as Ensamble, Estación Perdida, El Hangar de los Mecánicos and Pestaña) and Fernando Pinzás.

The album reflects the second period of the band, which starts with the incorporation of Carla Vallenas as lead singer in the summer of 2015, replacing frontwoman Sheri Corleone. In contrast to their debut album, Recursos Inhumanos (Inhumane Resources) (2014), this production includes darker sounds on the one hand, while, on the other, it becomes closer to industrial music and EBM, keeping their direct and aggressive attitude.

The lyrics on this new album follow a concept, inspired by the political violence in Peru during the 80s such as the blackouts, terrorist car bombs or the uncertainty of living between two fires. “The events might have occurred decades ago, they become relevant today, due to the terrible conjuncture caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” so the band says.

Here’s the video for the title track of the album. Pre-orders for the album are available on Bandcamp.

About Varsovia

Varsovia is an electronic band formed in 2012 in Lima. It combines synthesizers with punk’s anger and noise experimentation. Its style could be described as ‘synth punk’ or ‘minimal synth’ with nods to darkwave, techno and industrial music. Since mid-2012, the band has played a lot of gigs within the local underground scene, standing out for its intense performances, mainly characterized by synth improvisation over heavy rhythms.

By the end of 2011, Fernando Pinzás was playing keyboards with a more synth-punk-oriented band called Televisión SS, and was looking to work on more electronic-oriented arrangements. Then he met experienced electronic musician Dante Gonzales (former member of bands such as Pestaña, Ensamble and Estación Perdida); a friendship was born between them and they started to make music together. After composing and recording several tracks, singer and guitar player Sheri Corleone joined them in this project (now she is in Amsterdam with her solo project Bang Bang Band Girl).

Their first album “Recursos Inhumanos” (Inhumane Resources) was released through Peruvian label Buh Records, managed by Luis Alvarado. For the recording, they used synthesizers, drum machines and guitars with effects. Upon this release, Sheri Corleone went to Europe to continue with her solo music projects, and was replaced by performer and friend of the band, Carla Gwen, in early 2015.

In 2018, Varsovia went on hiatus due to the temporary departure of Dante Gonzales, who started other projects. Fernando Pinzás joined the darkwave band Specto Caligo as bass player, among other musical projects.

In 2020, within the coronavirus worldwide crisis, Buh Records re-issued “Recursos Inhumanos” on vinyl and finally will release “Diseñar y destruir”. Previously, Carla Gwen had announced she would definitively leave the band. In October of 2020 Dante and Fernando were called to work on a soundtrack for “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, in commemoration of the 100 years of the film. This version was virtually exhibited at the ‘Al Este de Lima’ film festival.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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