Location: Medellín
Country: Colombia
Genre: Punk
Full Length: La Gonorriental Vol.1 - El Día que el Punk Madrugo
Format: Vinyl, cassette, CD, digital
Label: Pais de Mierda Records
Release date: April 13, 2019
I had to do a fair amount of research on punk in Colombia since, knowing little about the scenes in that country, I needed background information for this compilation and the label that released it last year. Not only are there scenes in Colombia and other South American countries, but they’re thriving, diverse scenes that stretch from city to city, comprised of punks one writer described as of “the Mohawk, tattoo and piercing variety.” No followers of fashion trends or people who think being punk means you have to be disrespectful and hate your family. These people simply make their own decisions and follow their own rules, not caring who it pisses off.
Naturally Colombian punk scenes are as exclusive as in the US, and punk’s DIY aspects are as big a part of what’s going on. There’s virtually no information about Pais de Mierda Records on the net, at least none I found, except at the link above. But a Google search of Colombian punk will be as rewarding as listening to “La Gonorriental Vol.1 - El Día que el Punk Madrugó.” Pais de Mierda Records is an extremely obscure label promoting bands from the Colombian city of Medellín where unemployment, military dictatorships, drug wars, terrorism and clashes between local punks and police involving tear gas and military tanks are everyday occurrences.
Punk in Medellín began in the midst of a drug war in the 80s. Rather than a musical alternative, it was largely an alternative to taking part in the escalating violence between drug cartels and the government. Besides offering relative safety from capture and torture by drug dealers, early bands like IRA, Raxis and Complot intended it to be a catalyst for change through alternative modes of thinking. Like English punk, it started and remained underground, and lasted to this day with some overseas mainstream exposure from Victor Gaviria’s 1990 movie “Rodrigo D: No Future,” Colombia’s answer to “The Outsiders” and the German movie “Verlierer.”
“La Gonorriental Vol.1” resulted from a collective effort that began in 2018 to research the sociological conditions that Colombian punk seems to thrive under. It displays a local Medellín scene that’s fiercely self-sustaining and accepting of anyone who wants to form a band. Even if homeless and playing in a park. Taking inspiration from Discharge, The Exploited, GBH, DRI and Bad Brains, Indecent Bastards, Primera Dosis, Los Plones, Gonorrea de Banda, 1910 and the other bands appearing on this comp play music as harsh as their country’s sociopolitical atmosphere and speak out as passionately about it. Apparently they’re risking a lot, so casual punks and informed activists should give them a listen and contact the label for correspondence and mutual support. –Dave Wolff
Naturally Colombian punk scenes are as exclusive as in the US, and punk’s DIY aspects are as big a part of what’s going on. There’s virtually no information about Pais de Mierda Records on the net, at least none I found, except at the link above. But a Google search of Colombian punk will be as rewarding as listening to “La Gonorriental Vol.1 - El Día que el Punk Madrugó.” Pais de Mierda Records is an extremely obscure label promoting bands from the Colombian city of Medellín where unemployment, military dictatorships, drug wars, terrorism and clashes between local punks and police involving tear gas and military tanks are everyday occurrences.
Punk in Medellín began in the midst of a drug war in the 80s. Rather than a musical alternative, it was largely an alternative to taking part in the escalating violence between drug cartels and the government. Besides offering relative safety from capture and torture by drug dealers, early bands like IRA, Raxis and Complot intended it to be a catalyst for change through alternative modes of thinking. Like English punk, it started and remained underground, and lasted to this day with some overseas mainstream exposure from Victor Gaviria’s 1990 movie “Rodrigo D: No Future,” Colombia’s answer to “The Outsiders” and the German movie “Verlierer.”
“La Gonorriental Vol.1” resulted from a collective effort that began in 2018 to research the sociological conditions that Colombian punk seems to thrive under. It displays a local Medellín scene that’s fiercely self-sustaining and accepting of anyone who wants to form a band. Even if homeless and playing in a park. Taking inspiration from Discharge, The Exploited, GBH, DRI and Bad Brains, Indecent Bastards, Primera Dosis, Los Plones, Gonorrea de Banda, 1910 and the other bands appearing on this comp play music as harsh as their country’s sociopolitical atmosphere and speak out as passionately about it. Apparently they’re risking a lot, so casual punks and informed activists should give them a listen and contact the label for correspondence and mutual support. –Dave Wolff
Track list:
1. 1910: Ferrocarrill
2. 1910: La Oracion del Machete
3. Cuerpo Demente: Degeneracion en Generacion
4. Cuerpo Demente: Historias
5. Eskizo Frenikos: Policia Asesina
6. Eskizo Frenikos: Resistir
7. Exilio: Funcion Cotidana
8. Exilio: Rey de Ajedrez
9. Gonorrea de Banda: Barney
10. Gonorrea de Banda: Cerdos
11. Gonorrea de Banda: No Quiero Ser
12. Les Plones: Algo va Mal
13. Les Plones: Hasta Morir
14. Les Plones: Te lo Voy a Hundir
15. Primera Dosis: Destruyamos
16. Primera Dosis: Toreros Asesinos
17. Eskroto de Res: Medellin no es Vida
18. Eskroto de Res: Sornos Hippies
19. Terapia en Dkdencia: Ociupa y Resiste
20. Terapia en Dkdencia: Tanta Mierda Junta
21. Tifoidea: Estupida Nacion
22. Tifoidea: Reluctando Miseria
23. Buddy G-Man: En el Diablo no Confio
24. Buddy G-Man: El Pogo de los Zombies
25. Indecent Bastards: Un Bastardo Indecente
26. Indecent Bastards: Pocos y Ogullosos
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