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Mar de Copas

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Mar de Copas

Mar de Copas is a popular Peruvian rock band from Lima. The band is presently known as the best contemporary rock group from Peru since their 4th studio album in 1999: "Suna", with more local success than emblematic Peruvian groups such as "Los Belkings" and "Los Doltons".[1] They've emerged from the South American independent music scene of the 1990s.

Although the band has experimented widely with different music styles, including indie rock, dream pop and new wave throughout their career, their best known work usually falls into either of two distinct styles: folk-esque melodic rock (as heard in songs such as "La maquina del tiempo" and "Tras esa puerta") and electric-charged rock, significant genre of their fifth studio album "Si algo asi como el amor esta en el aire".[2]

Mar de Copas sold over 50,000 copies of their first 5 albums in Peru, where 5,000 copies are considered a "Disco de Oro" (Best-seller music award). No other Peruvian band has done the same. They are influenced by British and Spanish songwriters from the 1960s and 1980's, including music periods from "La Nueva Ola", folk and Britpop music style. Their lyrics are rich in poetry and metaphors. Most of their songs talk about ordinary lives, passion, depression, solitude, strength and falling in love.

Music critics specify that Mar de Copas ranks alongside their same genre predecessors: "Los Secretos", "Duncan Dhu", "El Ultimo de la Fila" and "Soda Stereo". The band is well known in Peru but not internationally, often regarded as a "cult band" by their fans. Their signature song is "Mujer Noche".[3]

History

Jose Manuel Barrios

Mar de Copas was founded by Manuel Barrios and Eduardo Leverone in 1992 right after splitting up their band "Los Inocentes". They worked with Miki Gonzalez and Felix Torrealva on their first album as "As de Copas". By then, Claudia Salem and Phoebe Condos, former friends, were invited to sing back vocals along the first 7 songs. Luis Garcia, previous sound engineer and former member of Narcosis, promised to sing the remaining songs and stay with the band as their singer. They finished 12 songs out of 16 by 1993, and changed the name to "Mar de Copas". The band signed a contract with "El Virrey" record company, and initially edited 300 cassette copies. The album was simply named "Mar de Copas".[4] Songs like "Fugitivo" and "Cancion" were inspired in trips they made to Punta Sal and Tarma respectively. Rodrigo Quijano wrote the song "Cancion", the last song usually played in concerts, and questioned traditional beliefs in life. Barrios and Leverone wrote western melodies in "Recompensa" and "Heroe del delito". "Faena" is attributed to bullfighting and "Mujer Noche" was edited for their first video. That August, the band played live for the first time at the "Phantom Pub" in Lima.

In 1994, El Virrey changed to Eureka Records. Felix Torrealva left the band and the new and current bassist Cesar Zamalloa took over on bass. Zamalloa played for Orgus, Cimarrones, Oblivium, and formed his own metal band called Ultramotor. Mar de Copas finished writing and editing 12 songs. The new album "Entre los Arboles" was finalized and recorded in chronologic order. By local success, "Mar de Copas" and "Entre los Arboles" were rapidly sold in CD format. The song "Pais de tus sueños" was inspired in the song "Vencidos" by Joan Manuel Serrat. Miki Gonzalez played 1st guitar on "Aqui en el borde del mar". Phoebe wrote the lyrics in "Blu Ice", and Barrios wrote "Morir un poco" attempting to duplicate his success in "Una historia mas" from the first album. The lyrics are always in discussion since Barrios sings a woman's suicide wish. After the album was finished, each member started alternate music projects that lasted until 1997.

File:WichoGarcia.jpg
Luis Garcia

Mar de Copas created their own recording studio (Villa Ruby) and independent label (Mar de Copas Productions S.A.). In mid 1997, the band finished their third album "III". They incorporated The Smiths' fade in/out music style in "Momentos de ti", a hardcore intro and an ending on Another one bites the dust by Queen. The songs "C.P.A.M" and "L.B." mean: "Carta para amigos muertos" (Letter for my dead friends), original name for the album, and "Luis Barrios" (Manuel Barrios' brother). "III" is considered the band's most solid work, an album with not one single. Mar de Copas gained great popularity with a new music style and synth-rock sound when playing songs as "Viento Marchito" and "Tu Voz". They wrote a song based on the Mexican Bolero called "Ni para rogar un beso" and their first vals: "A Dios". "De tierra" is a folk-grunge song based on social issues from the 90's. "L.B.", "Vaquera" and "Despedida" were included on the movie soundtrack of: "No se lo digas a nadie". In 1998, the band updated their first 2 albums with new tracks. Zamalloa wrote "Con el mar", and was added in the new edition of "Entre los Arboles". [5]

In 1999, Mar de Copas released "Suna" and 3 new videos. By then, they have influenced and produced for many bands in Lima such as: "Libido", "Campo de Almas", "TK", "Dolores Delirio", "Indigo", "Cementerio Club", "Wayo", "Voz Propia", "Daniel F", "Zen" and "Los Hnos. Brother's". "La maquina del tiempo" is often referred as an inspiration for Jose Arbulu/Cementerio Club and Salim Vera/Libido. "Samba" was inspired by Argentinean samba music. The song "Adios Amor" was inspired on the war between Peru and Chile. The theme is about a peruvian soldier who departured on his wedding night and died in the battle of Tacna. Mar de Copas had 4 hit singles this year. They achieved success mixing dream pop and rock in songs like "No puedo olvidarte" and "Suna". The original version of "Suna" is the last minute of the final version. "A tu lado" is greatly influenced in "Cocteau Twins". The band also recorded two Italian ballads: "Serenata" and "Desconcierto". [6]

Eduardo Leverone

In 2000, Mar de Copas was the first local band to play at the "Gran Estelar de la Feria del Hogar". Radio stations started playing back songs from their previous albums and "Tras esa Puerta" became number 1, 6 years later of release date. In 2001, the band moved to another studio in San Antonio Miraflores (Villa Ruby II). They had concerts week after week non stop for a year. In 2002, Mar de Copas released their first live double album "En Vivo". In November, Mar de Copas recorded a media album "Ramera" including their 4 videos, an electric version of a new song: "Ramera", a demo song by Barrios: "Cancion que dejo de andar", and 4 acoustic songs.

In 2004, Mar de Copas released "Si algo asi como el amor esta en el aire" and a month later presented the album in "El Parque de la Exposicion". They received their first "Disco de Oro" and had 4 number 1 songs: "Si algo asi como el amor esta en el aire", "Balada de un encuentro fugaz", "Perdido" and "Llevame". "El tiempo no pasa en vano" is often referred as Barrios best work as a writer. In October, the band recorded the first DVD Peruvian production "De Tierra" at the "Teatro Peruano Japones". Mar de Copas edited these songs for their upcoming album "De Tierra" with acoustic songs and 3 unreleased demos: "Cada vez", "Vacio" and "Luis". In 2005, the DVD was released including the concert, rare footage of the band, never before seen videos, demos and interviews. By the end of the year, Mar de Copas made the soundtrack of "Un dia sin sexo". In 2006, Claudia Salem left the band.

By the end of 2008, Mar de Copas played in Buenos Aires Argentina at Centro Cultural Buen Ayre. As of January 2009, Mar de Copas is working on their new 2 albums, one new studio album and a greatest hits collection. The release date is 2009. They always play to sold out concerts at "La Noche" Pub in Barranco on Fridays and Saturdays, at least once a month.

Members

Cesar Zamalloa
Current Members
Former Members
  • Felix Torrealva[8] (1993 - 1994) - Bass.
Secondary Musicians
  • Miki Gonzalez - Guitar on "Aqui en el borde del mar" and harmonic on "Dulce y veloz".
  • Victor "El Gato" Villavicencio - Piano and keyboards on “Prison” and “Cancion”.
  • Miguel Navarro - English Horn on "Cuenta la historia".
  • Jose-Javier Castro K. - Electric guitar on Mar de Copas’ acoustic performance at “Centro Cultural PUCP” (1996).
  • Abel "Capitan Pomada" Salcedo - Acoustic guitar on Mar de Copas’ acoustic performance at “Centro Cultural PUCP” (1996 & 1998).
  • Alonso del Rio - 12 chord guitar on Mar de Copas’ acoustic performance at “Centro Cultural PUCP” (1998).
  • Gerardo Cristobal - Acoustic bass on Mar de Copas’ acoustic performance at “Centro Cultural PUCP” (1998).
  • Jorge "Coqui" de Tramontana - Acoustic guitar on Mar de Copas’ acoustic performances at “Centro Cultural PUCP” (2001), “Teatro Peruano Japones” and “Colegio San Agustin” (2004). Electric guitar on Mar de Copas’ performance at “Don Jijuna” (2006).
  • Christian Molina - Acoustic guitar on Mar de Copas’ acoustic performances at “Teatro Peruano Japones” and “Colegio San Agustin” (2004). Electric guitar on Mar de Copas’ performance at the stadium of “Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos”, “La Noche”, “Lima Fest”, “Boss Xtreme Club”, “Salesiano School” and “Centro Cultural PUCP” (2006).

Discography

  • "Mar de copas" - 1993
  • "Entre los arboles" - 1994
  • "III" - 1997
  • "Mar de copas" (New Edition) - 1998
  • "Entre los arboles" (New Edition) - 1998
  • "Suna" - 1999
  • "12 grandes exitos" - 2000
  • "En vivo" (Double Disc) - 2002
  • "Ramera" (Multimedia Album) - 2002
  • "Si algo asi como el amor esta en el aire" - 2004
  • "12 canciones" - 2004
  • "De tierra" - 2004
  • "De tierra" (DVD) - 2005

Videography

File:Mdc caro01.jpg
Phoebe Condos
"Mujer noche"
  • The first official video made by the original members including former bassist Felix Torrealva. The new version of the song was recorded in 1998 especially to fit the video. The video has scenes from a concert at "La Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru" in 1993. "Mujer Noche" is a classic rock song in Lima and its original version was written and sang by Barrios. The video was directed by Hugo Martinez, edited by Giancarlo Paz and visual art managed by Patricia Salazar.
"Enloqueciendo"
  • The second official video was made as a 16MM movie. The real meaning of the song remains hidden by the constant changing video format. The video features cities in northern Lima, its coast and Barranco highlights. The script was written, directed, edited and produced by Rafael Besaccia.
"Suna"
  • The third official video is the first Peruvian band's attempt to make it with animated drawings. All the pictures are made by Rafael Besaccia with paint and brush on paper. The animations are based on classic techniques and visual poetry from the 20th century. Barrios states that "Suna" is an angel, and that the viewer will be able to follow and interpret the 1st person story throughout the video. At the end, there is an acoustic version of the song that was the suggested version of Suna, but the band decided to add it as the ending of the song.
"El rumbo del mar"
  • The fourth official video is full of pictures and recordings since 1992. It portraits how the band has changed over the years and how they started. Some of the scenes are live concerts in "La Feria del Hogar", "La Noche Pub" and "La Estacion" in Barranco; also, the entrance to Villa Ruby, live recordings and their fans. The video was produced and edited by Gerardo Cristobal.
"Mar de Copas" in the making of the video-Un dia sin Sexo
"Un dia sin sexo"
  • The fifth official video was the most transcendent video made for a Peruvian movie under the same name. The video features clips from the movie and former member Claudia Salem before she left the band. The song was number 1 for 7 weeks in Studio 92 (Peruvian radio station). The theme of the video is to portrait the band on a distinctive red theater with bright lights on the background. The video was produced and directed by Frank Perez-Garland.[9]
Other videos
  • There is an early demo video version of "Tras esa puerta" and 2 not official videos of "Fugitivo" and "Perdido" made by an independent director and by "La Pontificia Universidad La Catolica del Peru" respectively. Both unofficial videos are rarities that can only be found on the web.
"De tierra" DVD
  • First Peruvian DVD production, released in 2005. The DVD features a live unplugged concert played in 2004 with 17 songs that are not part of the usual concert lists. These songs are called "caletas" or rarities by their fans. The DVD also has never before seen material of the band, interviews, T.V. appearances and other concerts.[10]

Earlier Projects

  • "No Name" was a Beatle tribute band formed in 1981 by Luis Garcia, Mario Gomez, Joseph Newell, Daniel Padilla and Coco Mariazza.
  • "Narcosis" was a punk band that lasted 8 months and was formed in 1984 by Luis Garcia, Jorge Madueño and Cachorro Vial. Narcosis recorded 1 album "Primera Dosis" in 1985.
  • "La Banda Azul" was a pop rock band formed in 1986 by Luis Garcia, Miguel "Coyote" Denegri, Edgar Cuentas, Augusto Castro and Manuel Garrido-Lecca. They recorded 1 album with Luis Garcia on vocals "Cuestion de Lugar" in 1987.[11]
  • "Los Inocentes" was a band formed in 1987 by Manuel Barrios, Gustavo Jimenez, Arturo Rivas and Toto Leverone. They influenced Mar de Copas and Los Trece Baladas.
  • "Orgus" was a Heavy Metal band where Cesar Zamalloa played the guitar and lasted until 1990. The band was awarded second place on a music challenge between 120 local bands, made by the "Esquina" magazine. They played at "La Feria del Hogar" in 1998 and "Teatro Marsano".
  • "Cimarrones" was a rock band formed in 1990 by Daniel Flores, Constantino Alvarez, Cesar Zamalloa, and Chevo Ballumbrosio.

Alternate Projects

Los Trece Baladas: Set List
El Aire
  • Rock band formed in 1996 by Jose Javier Castro on lead guitar and vocals, Cesar Zamalloa on bass, Manuel Barrios on guitar and Constantino Alvarez on drums. Some other artists that have helped the band are: Luis Sanguinetti, Adrian Arguedas, Gonzalo Farfan, Carlos Criminal, Crinsom Sinclair and Armando Andrade. It has played with Mouse on Mars in May 16, 2008.
Circo Ficcion/Avispon Verde
  • Circo Ficcion was formed in 1996 by Cesar Zamalloa on bass, Ramon Perez-Prieto on guitar and vocals, Jorge de Tramontana on lead guitar, Constantino Alvarez on drums and Grimaldo del Solar on guitar. In 1997 Avispon Verde was formed by Rafael Morales on keyboards, guitar and vocals, Pierpa de Bernardi on drums and Cesar Zamalloa on bass. Both bands had only one album ever recorded.
Los Trece Baladas
Los Hnos. Brother's/Ultramotor
  • Los Hnos. Brother's was a Hard rock band formed in 1999 by Cesar Zamalloa on bass, Eduardo Chaparro on vocals, Jorge de Tramontana on lead guitar and Hector Quintanilla on drums. Ultramotor is a Hardcore formed in 2001 by Cesar Zamalloa on guitar, Constantino Alvarez on drums and Alfonso Montesinos on bass.[13]
Luis Garcia & Fernando Chirinos

Soundtracks

"No se lo digas a nadie"
  • The 1998 movie (Peru/Spain) directed by Francisco J. Lombardi featured 3 Mar de Copas songs: "LB", "Vaquera" and "Despedida". The novel was written by Jaimy Bayly and produced by Andres Vicente Gomez.[15]
"Y si te vi, no me acuerdo"
"Bala perdida"
  • The 2001 movie (Peru) directed by Aldo Salvini and produced by Iguana Productions had 36 original songs by Manuel Barrios and 2 by Luis Garcia who edited the songs a year later.
"Un dia sin sexo"
  • The 2005 movie (Peru) directed by Frank Perez-Garland and produced by Fabrizio Aguilar had 5 Mar de Copas songs (4 of which were unreleased): "Viejo amor, nuevo amor", "Lisa en el espejo", "Llevame", "Falso amor" and "Un dia sin sexo".

References

  1. ^ [1]: Peruvian Rock (spanish).
  2. ^ [2]: The complete history of Mar de Copas (spanish).
  3. ^ [3]: The Band (spanish).
  4. ^ [4]: Manuel Barrios profile (spanish).
  5. ^ [5]: Eduardo Leverone profile (spanish).
  6. ^ [6]: Mar de Copas Discography.(spanish)
  7. ^ [7]: Claudia Salem profile (spanish).
  8. ^ [8]: Secondary musicians (spanish).
  9. ^ [9]: Mar de Copas Videography (spanish).
  10. ^ [10]: Mar de Copas "De Tierra" DVD (spanish).
  11. ^ [11]: Luis Garcia profile (spanish).
  12. ^ [12]: "Los Trece Baladas" (spanish).
  13. ^ [13]: "Ultramotor" (spanish).
  14. ^ [14]: "Luis Garcia & Fernando Chirinos"(spanish).
  15. ^ [15]: Mar de Copas Soundtracks.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mar_de_Copas&oldid=289554279"