In July 1999, Gustavo Cerati came to Córdoba to support the launch of Puffhis second solo album that had been released a few days before and which celebrates its 25th anniversary this Friday.
The move by the multinational BMG was limited to a few interviews, including those reproduced below.
But before doing so, it is worth remembering that a kind, talkative and very willing Cerati allowed us to transcend the mere promotional issue of the first work he was considering after the formal separation from Soda Stereo.
Next, as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Puffthe talk with Cerati published in the Arts and Entertainment supplement of The voice of the interior.
–Just as “Dynamo” served to point out a sonic path to Argentine rock in the ’90s, can “Bocanada” become a mandatory reference for soloists of the next century?
–It may be, although Puff I don’t have that philanthropic intention. It does give space to people who have their own choices. Unlike putting together something with a hired band, which would be the typical situation for a soloist, I surrounded myself with creative people. I insist, it’s not the basic intention of the album, but it can work to project new people. My closeness with the people who made the album, and also with those who aren’t there but have something to do with it, is the broadness of criteria for making music. The feeling I’m left with is that Argentine music cries out for attitudes of that kind. everything, rock. If it works for that, it’s fine.
–On several occasions you have said that you are very close to the marketing of your work and, at the same time, you boast of not having made a complacent album in terms of the market. How did you manage to reconcile these, if you will, incompatible aspects?
–It is not a complacent record, that is true, although its priority is to please me. It really pleases me, it has the substance that I want it to have. Marketing is a later circumstance, which seeks to evaluate how people perceive this record. And there is something somewhat perverse in this, which is the following: on the radio they insist on a single, generally paid for (I don’t know how it is in Córdoba, but in Buenos Aires everything is paid for), which determines that you listen to the same song, 10 times a day. That makes the core of perception very closed, which is why, in addition, all possibility of alternative is lost. My purpose is for people to listen to a song and know that it is not just that what they are going to buy but a record. Here a single is not sold, you don’t go to the record store like in London and ask for that song. In the 80s, things were not like that, the whole record was played. So, I want to open the game in that aspect. But I am clear that mine is a utopian struggle; this is utopian marketing. But I have to do it. If I don’t take care of these kinds of things, I have no right to complain later if something goes wrong.
(The Voice / Archive)
–Although it is known as utopian, is there a need to oust the Latin pop that is so in vogue?
–It would be a somewhat ridiculous crusade. Although it must be acknowledged that people like Ricky Martin, of whom I cannot hear a single chord, have perfected that style, that is music generated almost from the outset of marketing. And mine is not. I don’t know if the crusade you are referring to is my own.
–I ask because you may hold a certain power; You can tell the record businessmen: “Look, with Soda Stereo I projected Argentine rock to Latin America.”
–Puff It’s not an album to compete with Ricky Martin, I don’t think that’s the case. In any case, people who place a certain expectation on the things I do, who believe that I can be massive, feel quite relieved with what I did. I worked freely, embracing the idea of opening a door and making a hopeful album. From the place where I do it I can take advantage of that, and it’s good. In that sense, the idea that, through me, people become interested in other things gains strength. Soda Stereo always operated that way. It has been like a massive screen for people to investigate elsewhere. I feel that I made a different approach to current Argentine music, and my strength makes the album play on the radio. I take advantage of that power. From there, he began to consider a crusade… If he did so, he would be obsessive. The idea is that Puff live with whatever it is, and not leave it aside. Many speak of a void since the separation of Soda, and that has to do with the lack of restlessness of the musicians, the lack of inspiration… Anyway.
-In the ‘90, when Soda Stereo began to deteriorate, a strange harmony between art, politics and the media was unleashed in Argentina, becoming a symbol of the Menemist era that had overexposure as a method. Are you a pop star who knew how to ignore “the dome”?
–I’m still a pop star (laughs). It’s true that such a level of mozzarella made me feel strange, but I don’t know… Maybe the musical dominance of Soda Stereo (I don’t say this in a petulant way but taking the group as an ambassador, winner of surveys and salesman) provoked a response from Redondos, neighborhood groups, rock and roll. I see it as very dialectical. This panorama is not very open It’s also coming to an end; it reached its peak with the Rolling Stones and from there it’s only going down. All of this is related to politics, because Menem brought with him this confusion, which made us “the stars.” From a commercial point of view, Soda Stereo is withdrawing at the worst moment, just when records are starting to sell more. In some way, we missed a market. Now, I only long for people’s culture to begin to rise in this fierce capitalism and for the level of poverty to shame those who pull the strings, not the poor who carry it with dignity. Another moment has to come. And my record is hopeful.
–I never imagined that I was going to include neighborhood rock in this analysis.
-I can’t put myself in the role of judge of other expressions, but… One of the things that bothered me most about the attitude of the people of Los Redondos was their strict judgments. What were they judging? From what place? There was a trend that, in quotes, can be called the “countersystem.” If Soda is white, we are black. He’s fine, anyone can think what they want. But we weren’t “white” either. Personally, I feel more like a warrior than a star or a lucky guy.
–Do you have to experience eternal adolescence to survive in pop?
–I am approaching 40 years old and I feel that a very adolescent spirit lives in me. Puff It has nothing to do with something mature even though there is experience and the fruit of continuous learning. Be careful, my experiences do not have to be a model. Sometimes I experience mediocre moments; I don’t feel like I’m making art all the time. I don’t know… I understand myself more with the younger ones, and they also understand what happens to me, beyond what I vampirically suck from there. When new groups come out, and they ask me to produce them, I feel like I represent them at some point. They feel admiration for the paths I take. For Leo García, for example, it was so important to be in Puff He played it until he could pick a toothpick. He told me, “I want to be there because this is an important record for music.” You can take that with a grain of salt, but it’s important that someone you admire tells you something like that. Yes, I admire things that have a certain level of rupture, because that’s where art comes in. And the musicians of my generation are very static.
More information
Soda Stereo without Cerati: is it worthy?
