There is something fantastic, magical and unique about “Sinfonías Para Terrícolas,” the first album conceived by MODULAR on Elefant Records. It must have been the reknowned influence of the sci-fi flicks and Z movies from directors such as Jesús Franco, Russ Meyer, Mario Bava, George Romero, Joe D’Amato and Emilio Vieyra. It must be those recording sessions in London with Andy Ramsay (STEREOLAB), together with the technical supervision of Joe Watson (STEREOLAB, but also sound engineer for THE HIGH LLAMAS) which accomplished the recordings of voices, synthesizers, drums, basslines, piano and percussion. It must have been the millions of influences from the most remote corners of the world and the most unimaginable styles: from Brazilian funk (Eumir Deodato, Joao Donato), to British psychedelic music (THE BEATLES, BROADCAST), to German krautpop (KRAFTWERK), to soundtracks from impossible movies from the heart of California (James Clarke, Syd Dale), from the spaghetti western and the endless sounds of Italy (Piero Umiliani, Hugo Montenegro, Giorgio Moroder)to the almighty sound of Burt Bacharach. It must be the sonorous experimentation with Russian drum machines, pedals and tape delays, synthesizers which come from history museums and the over 100 tracks which have many of these compositions.
The fact is that “Sinfonías Para Terrícolas” is the album which should convert MODULAR in something more than a highbrow group. With the format of the band (asides from the heart of the project formed by Mariana Badaracco and Pablo Dahy, now they are joined by Diego Pérez, Gabriel Sanabria, Nano Tonelli and Sebastián Murguiondo), the group has achieved the perfect consistency that a sci-fi story needs by emptying out all the hollowness that the imagination is always prepared to dream and disseminate all the nuances of an album so that you can continue to listen to it over and over, yet still discover new details. Elegance, melodies, fantasy and experimentation without ever losing the excellent pop spirit. An authentic gem.
