Electrodomésticos

(This is an article I wrote recently about a new Chilean documentary film entitled Electrodómesticos: El Frio Misterio which focuses on the Chilean music scene in the 1980s, a time obviously not too well documented thanks to the severe military oppression that enveloped the country back then. Electrodómesticos were one of the main bands back then and I've managed to catch them live a couple of times recently. Obviously they're older, but the music sounds modern and pulses with originality and scope. The musicians are very adept and each of the four members seems to play an equally important role within the group dynamic. Anyway, here's the article I wrote and some videos.)

In the 1980s Chilean society lived under the imposing shadow of military rule and nowhere was this more apparent than in the cultural vacuum that enveloped the country as thousands of musicians, artists, writers, and so on lived abroad in exile. But in spite of this creative exodus a generational sub group of young people emerged into the Santiago underground and developed an alternative scene of musical resistance that, out of sight and mind to most people, provided a crucial release for the frustrations of Chile’s repressed youth.

            It is this backdrop which provides the opening scenes of Electrodomésticos: El Frio Misterio, a documentary focussing on this rebellious movement and its main participants. Formed in Santiago in 1984, Electrodomésticos were key players in the establishment of the underground scene, taking direction from the British punk movement and utilising experimental sound effects. Combined with influences as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Talking Heads and Kraftwerk, the band went on to forge a musical legacy that today sees them regarded as one of the most important Chilean rock bands of the last thirty years.

The film, directed by Sergio Castro San Martin, tracks the origins of the scene in the frenetic atmospheres of clandestine galpons in Santiago such as Matucana 19 and Off Bellavista. The intensity of these venues is immediately apparent in the pulsating energy that surges through both crowd and musicians. The ropey quality of old archive footage, rather than detract from the film, give a raw authenticity that portrays a hitherto largely-unseen side of eighties Chile.

One of the key lines sums up the reality of the time: ‘Pinochet existed but we invented our own reality’. With these low-key gigs the only available escape from the cultural suppression in which young people were trapped, the scene took on a far deeper significance than simply another musical fad. For many young Chileans, this was when they lived.  

Charting the band from its origins through to the present day, the film looks at the paths taken by principal members Carlos Cabezas (guitar and vocals) and Silvio Paredes (bass). Electrodomésticos broke up in 1991 as Cabezas went on to release numerous solo albums while Paredes formed seminal electro-group Los Mismos, before a short-lived reunion in the early noughties. With contributions by numerous friends and associates of the band, it is as much a cultural history of the period as a typical band documentary.          

El Frio Misterio provides a compelling look at a band who surely would have gained more widespread acclaim had they not been constricted by the circumstances of the time. For those unfamiliar with the group, this is still an absorbing film, as the music, the sweeping landscape shots, and the socio-political commentaries resonate loudly of creativity and solidarity through music. It is undoubtedly, however, the first half of the film with its juxtaposition of the raucous underground scene with military brutality on the streets that truly captivates. Winner of last year´s Santiago In-Edit documentary festival, this is an intriguing film for anyone with rooted interests in Chilean music.

Electrodomésticos: El Frio Misterio

Directed by Sergio Castro San Martin

On limited release

http://electrodomesticos.promedia.cl/