Gabinete Caligari

Gabinete Caligari in 1981. Photo credits: Elena R. Guilmain - Edi Clavo, sourced from Wikipedia

Gabinete Caligari is a Spanish rock band, part of the Movida Madrileña movement. The band had a long and relatively successful career which lasted from 1981 to 1999 and produced a total of eight albums, two official compilations and various singles.^[1]

The band's name references the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Their most famous songs are Cuatro rosas, Camino Soria, La culpa fue del cha-cha-cha and Al calor del amor en un bar.^[2]

Biography

Gabinete Caligari was formed in 1981 by Jaime Urrutia (vocals and guitar), a student of Semitic philology, Fernando Ferni Presas (bass) and Eduardo Edi Clavo (drums), students of the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid. They had previously played in Ejecutivos Agresivos (Jaime) and in Ella y los Neumáticos (Edi and Ferni) but, influenced by British post-punk, and by the personality of Eduardo Benavente, they delved into sounds darker than those that were usually played at the time.

The group's name refers to the 1920 German horror film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, a key film in German expressionism. In fact, the song Black Shadows alludes to said film. ^[2]

The origins of the group date back to 1977, when the band Rigor Mortis (in which Jaime, Ferni and Edi were members, along Eugenio Haro) was formed. This band performed live only once and quickly disbanded after Edi's departure. The band was renamed Los Drugos formed by the three remaining members, but this formation proved even more ephemeral than Rigor Mortis, with Jaime leaving to join Ejecutivos agresivos. The two remaining members of Los Drugos form Automáticos, which saw the return of Edi. This new formation is also short-lived and after the dissolution of Ejecutivos agresivos, Jaime, Edi and Ferni meet again to form Gabinete Caligari (which was briefly called Los Dandies). ^[1]

During the band's post-punk era, their image and attitude had a markedly provocative character and their songs had a subject matter including such topics as the interwar era, and sadomasochistic relationships. Some representative songs of that stage were "Olor a carne quemada", "¿Cómo perdimos Berlín?" or the iconic "Golpes".

Their first albums were characterized by constant reinvention. Around 1983 they kickstarted a new trend that was baptized as 'Rock Torero' - pop music influenced by traditional sounds (from Spanish folklore), such as pasodoble. This influence is already noticeable in his first album, in which dark songs such as "Héroes de la URSS" or "Grado 33" are mixed with others in this style such as "Sangre Española" or "Que Dios reparta suerte".

The band reach the height of their popularity with the albums "Camino Soria" and "Privado". From that moment on, their success slowly began to decline. Having failed to adapt to the musical trends of the time, in 1999 the group was officially disbanded, in part due to the lack of attention that the media had paid to their last two works, "Gabinetíssimo" and "¡Subid la Música!". ^[3]

In 2002 Jaime Urrutia began a solo career, publishing several albums. Edi Clavo and Ferni Presas founded the group Paraphernalia, which soon disbanded, although they have continued to rehearse together.

In 2016 Gabinete Caligari's first live album was published, a recording of a performance on February 11, 1984, which had remained in the DRO warehouse for more than 30 years. ^[4]

In March 2018, and as a tribute to their most emblematic album, a remastered version of the "Camino Soria" LP was published, as well as a book by Eduardo Edi Clavo with the same title (published by the Contra publishing house) in which the former drummer of the group narrates the genesis, influences and development of the album.

Discography

EPs and Albums

• Parálisis Permanente/Gabinete Caligari (Tic Tac, 1981/Remade by Tres Cipreses, 1983) (alongside Parálisis Permanente).
• Obediencia (Tres Cipreses, 1982). EP.
• Que Dios reparta suerte (DRO/Tres Cipreses, 1983).
• Cuatro Rosas (DRO/Tres Cipreses, 1985). Mini álbum.
• Al calor del amor en un bar (DRO/Tres Cipreses, 1986).
• Camino Soria (EMI, 1987).
• Privado (EMI, 1989).
• Cien mil vueltas (EMI, 1991).
• Gabinetíssimo (Mercury Records, 1995).
• ¡Subid la Música! (Get, 1998).

Compilations

• Los singles (DRO/Tres Cipreses, 1987).
• Héroes de los 80 (DRO, 1991).
• Sombras negras (DRO/Tres Cipreses, 1993).
• Grandes éxitos (EMI, 1993).
• La culpa fue de Gabinete (EMI, 2004).
• Grandes éxitos: Gabinete Caligari|Grandes éxitos (EMI, 2005).
• Lo Mejor de Gabinete Caligari (EMI, 2009).

Singles

• Golpes (1981).
• Olor a carne quemada (1982).
• Obediencia (1982).
• Sangre Española (1983).
• Que Dios Reparta Suerte (1983).
• Cuatro Rosas (1984).
• Haciendo el Bobo (1985).
• Gasolina con ricino (BSO Madrid Tránsito) (1985).
• ¡Caray! (1985).
• Al calor del amor en un bar (1986).
• Malditos refranes (1986).
• El juego y el juguete (1986).
• La sangre de tu tristeza (1987).
• Camino Soria (1988).
• Suite nupcial (1988).
• Tócala, Uli (1988).
• Sólo se vive una vez (1989).
• Amor de madre (1990).
• Amor Prohibido (1990).
• La culpa fue del cha cha cha (1990).
• La culpa fue del cha-cha-cha (mix) (1990).
• Lo Mejor de Ti (1991).
• Queridos Camaradas (1992).
• Como un Animal (1992).
• Viaje al Averno (1992).
• Delirios de Grandeza (1993).
• Truena (1995).
• Un petardo en el C (1995).
• En paro (1998).
• Nadie me va a añorar (1998).
• Underground (1998).

Video/DVD

• A Tope (1983).
• La culpa fue de Gabinete (EMI, 2004).
• La filmoteca del Dr. Caligari (EMI, 2004).

Concerts

• Gabinete Caligari en directo (2016).

References

1. http://no80s-gruposnacionales.blogspot.com.es/ Rigor Mortis, accessed October 22 2016
2. lahiguera.net. Nombre del grupo, accessed October 22 2016
3. Bravo, Eduardo (January 16th 2020). «Honestidad brutal: 15 grupos que dijeron que se separaban para siempre y lo han cumplido». El País. ISSN 1134-6582. Accessed January 16th 2020.
4. efe.com "Se edita un concierto inédito de los inicios de Gabinete Caligari", accessed October 22 2016

External Links (in Spanish)

1. Biografía de Gabinete Caligari in todomusica.com
2. Gabinete Caligari in historiasderock.com

Text adapted from the Spanish-language Wikipedia