Def Con Dos
Ultramemia

Summer (or rather Hell) 1997. I was in Almeria, Andalusia, Spain. August. Never in my life have I suffered (and loved) the heat so much. I was more than halfway through my three and a half months in Iberian land when I saw the walls of the city plastered with a super captivating graphic poster promoting a concert launched by the Bruto label. Two opening bands. I don't remember the name of one, the other was called Pesadillas Electronicas De Extremadura (Electronic Nightmares from Extremadura). Then the two names that matter. Narco first and Def Con Dos to close. Wondering what it was, I returned to my hosts' house for answers. Dismissed with a "toma," I was given a tape and immediately went to my room to listen to it. It was the album "Alzheimer" by Def Con Dos. Light-years away from my tastes but interesting. I was there to visit an entire country and get to know national bands. But I was, so to speak, stuck to the classics: Baron Rojo, Extremoduro, Heroes Del Silencio, Reincidentes.

With Def Con Dos, the genre and style (of life) change radically. The "Alzheimer" booklet looked like a civil guerrilla manifesto. Logos from the most diverse anarchist groups, mottos, graphics ranging from urban street to pro-Soviet. "Stuff from their social centers," I thought. Then I went to the concert. I guarantee, one of the most violent, drug-fueled, and exhilarating ones I've ever attended, with cascading stage diving without any security control. Band members smoking and drinking with the audience. The audience! Punks, rappers, belligerents, anarchists, rastas, red skins, and others. Boys and girls united by the thread of activism. Political, social, probably armed. I don’t know. I only know that it felt like experiencing a revolution. Speaking of band members, I happened to find myself next to the growler of cyber techno hard-core Narco who, intrigued by where I came from, started drinking with me until I got drunk. He eventually gave me their CD, the one from Def Con Dos, and a bunch of concert posters. The day after, upon waking up late, my immediate urge to recharge led me to head straight (and limping) towards the stereo. I unwrapped the DCD CD, and as the intro played the badass voice of a guy leaving a threatening message on the band's answering machine, I browsed through the booklet, which was even better laid out than "Alzheimer" and had more logos and mottos. I was struck by the one from the Agrupacion De Mujeres Violentas, feminists with guts. The music started, and I relived the previous evening. They aren't phenomenal, but honestly, in Spain, I didn’t expect to find young people so musically prepared and convinced to the core of their ideas. Ideas that mean alternatives. Alternatives that signify disdain for the mainstream.

"Ultramemia" is a voodoo cauldron placed on the nighttime fires of the suburbs. Inside there's the essence of music that speaks a thousand languages and one language only. Spanish, indeed. They sing in three. Many play. Their stage, the night before, was really extensive because it had to accommodate two guitars, a bass, drums, three vocalists, a DJ, and quite a few brass and percussion instruments. It seems that DCD have always wanted to blend alternative genres par excellence and those politically determined. The contaminations are manifold, and I truly have to make an effort and listen to bands not too close to me to be precise. Basically, I'm sure of one thing. The DCD took a lot from the Beastie Boys, but that doesn't mean they are like the BB. Quite the opposite. The singing is set in a rap / hip hop style with three different tones. It ranges from a low voice to a high and shrill one, intervening according to the intensity of the song. The genre is a pure fusion of distant music styles but linked by sonic and conceptual affinities, laid out on a unique thread. It ranges from rap to hip hop, punk to hardcore, free jazz to funky, from electronic to techno without disregarding some passages worthy of metal. All in a coexistence that feels like organized antagonist groups. A coexistence interrupted by too many instrumental and vocal interludes bringing the total number of tracks to 17 (ugh). But they don't bother because the lyrics, supported by these evidences, become even stronger. They talk about killer police, inconsistent church, monster parents, animals to save, women to respect, drugs, sexual freedom in a cluster of words that, however, do not fall into clichés because they are assembled in an original manner and metrically perfect. Some tracks are violent, rapid, and invective. Others are calm, sly, built on groovy brass. Others are chemical with references to the psychedelic beast atmosphere of raves. The final amalgam, therefore, turns out to be very urban, furious, anarchic, multi-verse, and openly aligned with those who defend human rights trampled by capitalism. It’s precisely this ideological stance (culturally very rich) that might distance those who think differently (today they sing “hipotecate tu,” talking about the right to housing and continuing to confront Iberian politics head-on), along with the Spanish singing, which might indeed disturb and annoy many. To those who aren’t politically positioned elsewhere, I recommend a listen that will definitely not be monotonous. Songs like "Ultramemia", "Que No Te Cojan", "Basta De Nacimientos", "Doctor Tricornio" and (especially) the funky "Promiscuidad" have their reason. And perhaps more than one. For me, it’s an album between 3.5 and 4. Let me know what you think if you know them.