Stadia

Diseño Corbusier were a Spanish experimental group who mainly consisted of Ani Zinc (aka Neo Zelanda) and Javier García Marín, both of whom ran a label called Auxilio De Cientos. Their first release was a 1983 cassette titled Stadia, which was eventually issued on vinyl by Dark Entries in 2016 (curiously replacing the tape's original 12-minute B-side "Poema Funético" with several tracks taken from compilations). Influenced by Esplendor Geométrico, Cabaret Voltaire, and other icons of early industrial music and underground cassette culture, the duo's music was filled with sputtering drum machines, deranged vocals, and hallucinatory sample manipulation. While most industrial music tends to have pounding, factory-like rhythms, this feels more detached and abstract. Copious amounts of echo and delay are applied, so the drum machines always seem to be swirling and dancing above the ground, rather than relentlessly stomping. Brief flashes of operatic vocals and TV or radio transmissions cut into the mix, and the tape edits are jarring and blatant. The duo add their own vocals, and they're both menacing and silly -- the absurd squealing during "Flanco - Dama" disturbs, but also triggers fits of laughter from the listener. "Le Chat" features vocals spoken in French, and they're exaggerated enough to sound like Miss Piggy-gone-minimal wave. "Clónica" features mousy vocals over Throbbing Gristle-like synth drift and sporadic banging noises. The most upbeat song happens to be the one where Marín repeats the word "Harakiri" over a primitive, galloping beat and simple melodies. Supremely twisted and unsettling, this album is nevertheless quite fun and inventive. ~ Paul Simpson