The death of Spain’s dictator General Franco in the mid 1970s saw the birth of a movement of creativity and hedonism know as La Movida (The Movement). The spirit of liberation and experimentation that was unleashed saw the release of much pioneering music.
The group Esplendor Geométrico has its origins very much within this movement. Formed by former members of the seminal group Avidor Dro, which ran the independent record label DRO and was responsible for releasing much of the music associated with La Movida, they went on to develop and pioneer a hard and mechanical industrial sound. The bands’ name (Geometric Splendor in English) comes from a text by the Italian Futurist, and fascist, F.T. Marinetti; The association perhaps serving as a reminder that there is a dark side to the notion of endless technological progress as the ultimate human ideal.
The track itself was first released, as far as I can work out, in 1981 on a German compilation entitled Fix Planet! It has since been re-released on a number of compilations and in 2004 was released as an EP including a remix by The Hacker.
Esplendor Geométrico are still making music today, and this month sees the release of a new album, Cinética, to mark the band’s 40th anniversary.