In its edition of April 16, the shows section of the newspaper Clarín published as a central note an interesting interview with the composer Andres Calamaro, made by the journalist Mariano del Mazo.
A week ago, the former leader of the remembered Los Rodríguez, published a box set called Andrés. Incomplete Works, which houses six CDs. and two DVDs. La caja celebrates 10 years of his solo career and reviews the decade 1997-2007. In it are counted more than 100 songs, almost half unreleased.
The release also includes four long hours of clips, concert records, interviews and TV interviews, plus a book with commentary of each of the songs. The art for the entire pack was produced by the Zona de Obras collective.
The note reveals the origin of such a production, his eagerness to embark on ambitious projects, the compilation of the material, his political ideology and the news of his family.
La full interview, below:
¿How did the idea of such a compilation come about?
He had already tried similar projects. Five years ago we had almost finished an anthology of unreleased, demos, rarities and music for the cinema. And each year he considered the possibility of a hit compilation album and "best recordings"; the fantasy of revealing my "unedited" or "Cambodian" adventures is almost a matter of "public interest" on the Internet. And last year I felt it was time to take stock because exactly ten years had passed between the recording of Alta Dirt and La lengua popular. I like round numbers: ten years after Paloma, I open her cage to see if she is a messenger.
How does the ego work in this kind of venture? It's all self-celebratory.
The ego luckily works well. This dose of esteem is important. When I recorded these things I was a 35 year old boy… I was supposed to show a high level. And now I listened well, even next to the true geniuses of music.
Did it cost you to inquire into those materials?
Less than I thought. It was intense but fun. He had quite a few classified things, and others that he didn't even remember existed. But it was not uncomfortable, quite the opposite: it was like meeting old friends and laughing at the savagery of yesteryear.
Where does Russian simile art come from?
The container is inspired by the Soviet Leninist aesthetic, the imperial wheat frames the box icons. There are also texts written in Russian; red stars and stars of David, coexist with the captain who is still looking for Moby Dick, with angels «play mobile». There is a lot of graphic content, thanks to the plural talent of Zona de Obras.
You also made a song called "The Common Manifesto"… Are you flirting with communism, are you a communist, is it pure aesthetics, or what?
The track is called The Common Manifesto and appears to be short for The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx, but it is an experiment with language, they are single words that never form a complete sentence. I never read Capital but for me, as for anyone, the ideas of the great thinkers of the 19th century are important, and Marx derived the metaphysical discussion into a social concern. I am not a militant, but we must be inspired by thought.
Do you consider yourself on the left?
Yes. I will not be a Marxist, but I like the world we have less. And I laugh at those who say you can't be on the left and have a nice life. These are typical blogger and "fachobook" comments. People don't even read the newspapers anymore but they give their opinion about everything and they find out from nowhere, some ball that they see happen, what they read in a blog or in the "solitary" media garcas, the same ones who sold us the most tragic ringlets of our history. Now anyone who has a K gene is "contaminated", be it Mario Pergolini or Hebe de Bonafini: It's the world upside down!
What do you think of the reappearance of Charly García?
I guess it's not going to stay like this forever. I sincerely believe that I should give you a professional opinion that I cannot give you, you should consult a psychiatrist, apparently he is averaging quite a chemical treatment. I knew of many rehabilitation cases, some unstable, some successful ... Joining the broken parts (of the great interior mirror) in eight months ... is impossible. I send you a message of affection.
Do you take your daughter on tours?
Some tours have dizzying schedules, trips and hotel changes, too much "rock 'n'roll bullshit" for the time of the girl, who is already a pre-adolescent of two years, who gives orders! But if I travel for a season and I can stay in a fixed place, then we all go… and we look like Miniature Cadillacs!
Source: Clarín