Gustavo Cerati - Biography
By J Poet
The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Gustavo Cerati may be the most important artist ever to emerge from the world of rock en Español. His first band, Soda Stereo, remains the most commercially successful group in the history of the genre, and his solo albums since leaving the seminal act have included rock, electronic, and symphonic works. Not only is Cerati one of the best lead guitar players in rock, he’s also an excellent, expressive singer.
Cerati was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1959. He started playing guitar and writing songs in grammar school and by age 12 was leading his first band, a trio that played parties and school dances. They performed covers of bands like King Crimson, The Beatles, Bowie, and Pink Floyd. In high school, Cerati became director of his church choir, adding to his knowledge of harmony and voice control. Cerati was pursuing a degree in marketing at the University of El Salvador when he met bass player Zeta Bosio. They studied the music of The Police, XTC, and Elvis Costello and started planning a band of their own. Meanwhile, Cerati was playing guitar in rock, blues and jazz fusion combos. When he found drummer Charly Alberti they got serious and formed Soda Stereo. Another friend from college helped them put together their presentation—make up, hairdos, stage production—and Stereo Soda hit the stage in 1983 at the Airport Stud Free Pub. It wasn’t long before they were one of the biggest bands on the underground circuit. At the time, Argentina was in the last stages of the military dictatorship, and as democracy was restored spirits in the country began running high.
Soda Stereo was signed by CBS Argentina (today Sony/RCA/BMG International) and in 1984 released their eponymous new wave influenced debut, Soda Stereo (Sony Discos Argentina.) The album was a hit, but their second album, Nada Personal (1985 Sony Discos Argentina) was the launching point for the band. On the support tour, they sold-out four shows at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium, as Nada Personal went double-platinum in months.
Having become superstars in Argentina in a short time, the band then sought to expand past its borders. Signos came out in 1986 (Sony International), and the album exploded throughout Latin America. Cerati’s confidence as a writer and guitarist was burgeoning, and he began to branch out from his more obvious influences in favor of his own style, as evidenced in hits like “Signos,” “Persiana Americana,” and “Final Caja Negra.” Latin America saw “Sodamania” take hold, and Signos went double-platinum in Argentina and Chile. They became the first Argentine band to tour Latin America in the album’s wake, before releasing the live album, Ruido Blanco (1987 Sony International), which documented the energy of their live shows.
David Bowie’s guitarist Carlos Alomar produced Doble Vida (1988 Sony International), an album that sold over a million copies on the strength of the hits “Lo Que Sangra,” “Corazon Delator,” and “En La Ciudad de la Furia.” The video that they made for “En La Ciudad de la Furia” was nominated for Best Foreign Video on MTV USA.
Soda Stereo would finally make their first US appearance with a sold-out show at The Palace in Los Angeles. Canción Animal (Sony International) came out in 1990, and the subtle changes to the band’s sound were embraced by an even wider audience. The album sported some of the strongest songs in Soda Stereo’s catalogue, including the hits “De Música Ligera,” “Entre Caníbales,” “Un Millón de Años Luz,” and “Té para Tres.” They toured Europe in its support, and played a free show in the streets of Buenos Aires that drew over 250,000 fans.
After the Animal Tour, Cerati got together with keyboard player Daniel Melero, who had produced Canción Animal, and released Colores Santos (1992 Sony International), a live in the studio effort. The album cwas noted for having more electronic leanings than the rock sounds they’d been known for, and it was credited to both musicians. Colores Santos spawned the hits “Vuelta por el Universo,” “Tu Medicina,” and the title track.
The next Soda Stereo disc was a departure from the band’s expected vibe. Dynamo (1992 Sony International) came out the same year that Colores Santos did, with Melero again working as the producer on the album. Although it contained the hits “Primavera Cero” and “Fue,” its experimental electronic edges and change in direction put many fans off.
Cerati’s second solo album, this time credited to him alone, was Amor Amarillo (1994, RCA International), and it included four hits—“Lisa,” “Te Llevo para Que Me Lleves,” “Pulsar,” and “Bajan.” The latter is a cover of an old Luis Alberto Spinetta hit.
Though Sueño Stereo (1995 RCA International) was another strong seller and produced the hits “Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como un Revólver,” “Paseando por Roma,” “Zoom,” and the Echo & the Bunnymen-sampled “Efecto Doppler,” Soda Stereo called it quits in 1996. That same year, MTV Unplugged: Comfort y Música Para Volar (1996 RCA International) was released, a recorded live set that occurred at the end of their first major tour of the United States.
With Soda Stereo behind him, Cerati contributed to acts like Ocio and released the electronic projects Plan V (1996 RCA International) and Plan V vs Black Dog (1996 RCA International), an EP shared with the British dance band Black Dog. It would be a few years in the making, but Cerati started his solo career in earnest with Bocanada (1999 RCA International), an electronic pop album that included “Engaña,” “Río Babel,” “Puente,” and “Paseo Inmoral.”
His next album, + Bien (1999 RCA International), was the soundtrack of a film Cerati put together with director Eduardo Capilla, an all-instrumental mix of acoustic guitars and electronic textures. For the live 11 Episodios Sinfónicos (2001 RCA International), Cerati dropped his guitar to front a symphony orchestra and sing Soda Stereo hits over classical arrangements. Some of the hit songs that he tackled were “Persiana Americana,” “Canción Animal,” and “Signos.”
In 2002, Cerati put out Siempre Es Hoy (2002 RCA International), a moody blend of rock and electronica featuring some sizzling guitar work and hits like “Karaoke,” “Cosas Imposibles,” and “Artefacto.” The album was remixed by a bevy of international DJs on the 20-track Siempre es Hoy/Reversiones (2002 RCA International.)
Cerati visited the States in 2005 to produce Shakira’s Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005, Epic) and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2. (2005 Epic). Fijación Oral won him a Grammy award in the Best Production on an Alternative Latin Album category. He followed-up the achievement with Ahí Vamos (2006 RCA International), a solo effort that signaled a return to his rock roots. Ahí Vamos included six hits—“Un Lago en el Cielo,” “Crimen,” “Uno Entre Mil,” “La Excepcion,” “Me Guedo Aqui,” and “Medium”—and was full of guitar heroics and soulful singing. It went platinum in Argentina on the day it was released and won him two more Grammys in the Best Latin Rock Album and Best Latin Rock Song categories, the latter for the track, “Crimen.” In 2007, Cerati won another Best Latin Rock Song Grammy for “La Excepcion” from Ahí Vamos.
Cerati spent 2007 and 2008 touring the world to support Ahí Vamos, playing North and South America and Europe. Soda Stereo reunited in 2008 and played to over one million people in North and South America and the United States.
