Modular

Mariana Badaracco: voice, vocoder, piano, bass, moog, organs, orchestral arrangements
Pablo Dahy: guitars, banjo, moog, drums, drum machines

2000
Brought together by their shared musical tastes, MODULAR is formed in Buenos Aires, named after the mythical analog synthesizer, “Moog Modular” (a machine that looks like a telephone switchboard covered by miles of wires that make it possible to try out infinite possibilities of electronic sounds from the space age) that brought about what would be called “Moog Records” and “Moog Music” in the late sixties and early seventies.

2003
They put out their first demo, “Fecundidad del Cosmos”, which includes, among others, such great songs as “Invasores del Espacio”, “Jardín de Pan” and “Generador de Gravedad”. This first step is solid proof of the directions their music will be heading: retro-futuristic airs and fantastic splashes with a touch of kitsch. They reclaim nostalgic sounds from the sixties, from psychedelic pop, from easy listening, music from movies from the sixties and seventies, groovy bossa lounge, orchestral pop, sunshine pop and vintage electronic, as well as many other styles, in addition to paying tribute to the so-called Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, which had Juan García Esquivel among its more prominent names. In order to recreate the sounds from that era, they use old analog instruments combined with digital technology and orchestration and recording techniques used in the sixties, a passion that shows clearly in the album cover’s geometric design and in the incredible arrangements. Yes, their philosophy approximates STEREOLAB’s (with whom they share a passion for the Moog Modular, as Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier show in their “Miss Modular”), because their references are so close, although MODULAR’s music has a more optimistic, colorful and direct vision than the European’s.

2004
“Viaje por el Planeta del Pasto” is their second demo, and the one that will get the attention of the Buenas Aires scene. The disc has, among other songs, “Máquina del Espacio”, “Encapsulados” and “Cinemascope“. They delve even deeper into the imagery from B-series and fantastical cinema of the 60s and 70s, and they stand out in a scene unaccustomed to groups with such a peculiar and characteristic profile.

2005
They begin to be seen onstage, at such well-known clubs as La Cigale and Bestial Club, with other local bands like JOHN-X. They put out a new demo, “El Triángulo de las Bermudas”, on which their psychedelic touches stand out, and, as with their other demos, it’s released for free online. The demo is a significant step forward, and among the 11 new songs we find such great ones as “Revolución de Vegetales”, “Perdidos en el Espacio”, “Hombre Hormiga”, “Playa Bikini” or “Flasheando”, as well as an homage to Robert Moog, creator of the synthesizer that gave them their name. Elefant Records makes contact with them for the first time, seduced by their sound that is the heir to the best of space pop, full of incredible arrangements and references to admired bands like STEREOLAB and LE MANS.

They get great reviews from national media, like the website Zona Indie, and they are even included on the compilation “Canciones Pegajosas” with “Flasheando”, in an album characterized by all songs sharing the Creative Commons license, which means copying, distributing, exhibiting and playing the songs is always authorized as long as there is no intention of financial gain and the author is acknowledged. Other well-known Argentine bands like HACIA DOS VERANOS, RUSIA and TURPENTINE also contribute to the album. They are compared to bands and musicians like THE HIGH LLAMAS, Giorgio Moroder and OS MUTANTES.

2006
They put another song, “Perdidos en el Espacio”, on the compilation “Mezcladitos de Kidart”, a project developed by a charismatic local musical activist, Pablo Pivetta, and that includes other bands such as RUBIN, TOULOUSE, APRIL SKIES and KELLIES.

Their music begins to be heard in other countries, and their affiliation for the Internet slowly comes to fruition, creating small legions of fans in countries like Chile, Brazil and Germany.

2007
Their influences abroad are definitively crystallized. First, they release “Playa Bikini” on the German compilation “When You Come, Bring the Sun”, on the Elisabett De label (the label responsible for German releases for people like Brett Anderson from SUEDE, SAMBASSADEUR, Malcolm Middleton of ARAB STRAP or COCO ROSIE), which includes contributions from such well-known bands as THE BUTCHER BOY, RONDERLIN and BOY OMEGA.

Second, they perform in Brazil in December, where they also include the song “Encapsulados” on the compilation “Porque Este Océano Es El Tuyo, Es El Mío”, on the Midsummer Madness label, that brings together independent groups like AMELIA, GEPE, RESPLANDOR and TELEGRAMA, from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, and which definitively opens the doors to many Latin American countries for them.

2008
While they crystallize their contacts with Elefant, MODULAR releases their fourth demo, “Micro Films”, which is without a doubt their most solid work to date, the most colorful and open, as the album cover shows with its esthetic similarities to the Pink Panther cartoons. The band increases its number of participants, fruit of its diverse contacts, with Matías Campo (bass), Diego Perez Arango (drums), Pablito Traine (English horn, trumpet, trombone) and Rodrigo Plaza de Ayala (guitar). “Micro Films” contains such outstanding songs as “La Poción del Dr. Hofmann”, “Ovni”, “Master en Tarot” or “Tour Fantástico” for all of which they record videos.

Zona Indie includes “La Poción del Dr. Hofmann” on its list of its 20 favorite songs of 2008. In addition, they participate in the tribute to THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO with the song “Femme Fatale”.

Their legion of fans in Latin America and Europe grows little by little and Mariana is invited to collaborate on vocals and choruses on the new album by Norway’s Alexander Von Mehren along with Pete Aves (THE HIGH LLAMAS).

2009
The release date of “Fantasías de un Robot Psicodélico” is definitively set for July. The album shows the work and advances of all those years and recovers some of the most interesting, already released songs so far, especially highlighting material from the “Micro Films” demo (2008) and “El Triángulo de las Bermudas” (2005). The result is a solid, essential album that shows the surprising and personal trajectory through indisputably addictive songs, and that means the full-length debut of MODULAR has finally arrived. From the sunny day surrounded by lalalas from “Perdidos en el Espacio”, a composition that could perfectly represent their sound - catchy melodies, songs with vital and elusive structures that bring to mind names like THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA of Burt Bacharach, washed with grandiose arrangements – to that “Picnic en al Arcoiris” on which Mariana is like a 21st century Jackie DeShannon, and to the kaleidoscopic landscapes of “Playa Biquini” that timidly hide touches of ye-ye and remind us of LE MANS at their most pop. On “Ovni” at first it seems like Toni Bennet himself is going to take the mic, to end up seeming like a score from “The Time Machine” (George Pal, 1960) or from a Martian movie by Ed Wood, and this cinematic tone is another of MODULAR’s greatest strengths, constantly giving the feeling of being in the middle of some science fiction story by H.G. Wells or Aldous Huxley. The touches of sitar on “Master en Tarot” are surprising, as are the sampledelic playfulness, the naturalistic (and vegetarian?) message of the instrumental “Revolución de Vegetales” and the precious “Hombre Hormiga”, or the circus-like tone of “El Bufón de Broadway”. And we can’t forget about “Flasheando”, one of their best songs and possibly the song that most clearly reflects their THE BEACH BOYS inclinations.

These and many other songs make up this impeccable letter of introduction, joyful and colorful, lively and happy, psychedelic and spatial, from one the most surprising groups of recent years. Let’s rejoice in the possibility of enjoying such a fantastic collection of songs as this debut album. And we mean fantastic in all senses of the word.

In summer, come to Europe, and they open the third edition of the british festival, Indietracks, where they act on the Elefant stage.

2011
“Sinfonías Para Terrícolas” started brewing right after the performance of MODULAR at the Indietracks Festival. Making the most out of their trip to England, Mariana and Pablo spent several weeks in the studio of Andy Ramsay (STEREOLAB) with demos of some of their songs and together with Andy and under the sound engineering supervision of Joe Watson (STEREOLAB, but also sound engineer for groups like THE HIGH LLAMAS, among others), they began to record the basslines, voices, percussion, piano, and synthesizers. Andy spontaneously offered to record the drums on some of the songs and experiment with Russian drum machines he collected over the years on tour with STEREOLAB – something which gave a fantastic and experimental groove to the album. Little by little, this unrepeatable, dreamy, incredible album came together- an event that we celebrate ecstatically- and was polished off in the Quark Studios and Microfilms Studios in Buenos Aires. Everything about this album is magical: it is fantasy, imagination, amazing anecdotes, excitement…

The influences that are part of MODULAR (for example, Piero Umiliani, Hugo Montenegro, Giorgio Moroder, Roger Nichols, TWIN CONNECTION, Margo Guryan, THE 5TH DIMENSION and Dave Grusin) are far from the habitual ones and not at all predicting. Joe Raposo(composer of some of the original songs of Sesame Street, of which they will participate in two tracks on a tribute album out soon) guided them to these mixes of piccolo and glockenspiel which curiously outline some of the melodic lines of the album. Brazil spreads out all of its exoticism (“Moog Safari”) in the hands of Mariana and Pablo, profound scholars and enthusiasts of the tune, evoking their most danceable and funk under the names of Eumir Deodato and Joao Donato (“Panamá Motel”). The psychedelic solitude also plays an important role, from the Beatles-type lines battered in spatial effects in “La Rebelión De Los Robots,” to the tune “El Clon De Paul McCartney” which will also enter in the cinematographic Music Library of people like James Clarke and Syd Dale (yes, the very ones who influenced STEREOLAB and BROADCAST). The sonorous experimentation acquires an evocative, powerful force in “Laboratorio Submarino,” where inheritances of the albums of Delia Derbyshire for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop are found. In “Zapatófono,” pop feverishly enters with an unconceivable tribute to Superagente 86, Maxwell Smart, winding through the sunshine pop of NUEVOS HORIZONTES and the sonic games of Giorgio Moroder. The elegance of lounge music also participates in an important way throughout the entire album, with outstanding mention of “Los Mentalistas” with the beautiful and precious aura of Bacharach. Since it could not be any other way, kraut dives in its poppiest aspect (HARMONIA, KRAFTWERK) and in the final orgy of “Samba Espacial,” a fusion is created between styles and sound, a clear representation of the level of imagination and creativity in which one finds the personal musical language of MODULAR and which so many admirers have prompted among specialists.

An album filled with swaying movements and hide-outs, changes of rhythm and twisted melodies, but always maintaining the sweetness and the evocative capacity which they have always celebrated, a perfect equilibrium between experimentation and pop. Russian drum machines, tape delays, unlikely effects with the melodies…After ten years as a duet, the formation of the group (Diego Pérez, Gabriel Sanabria, Nano Tonelli and Sebastián Murguiondo are the current additions to the group MODULAR) has achieved the perfect consistency that a sci-fi story needs by emptying out all the hollowness that the imagination is always prepared to dream and disseminate all the nuances of an album so that you can continue to listen to it over and over, yet still discover new details (some songs have over 100 tracks).

The spatial imagery and science fiction settled in their lyrics, bathed in surrealism which accentuates even more the teletransport sensation. As proof of their dedication, the group held a relaxation ceremony after each intense recording session: viewings of bizarre films from B series directors such as Jesús Franco, Russ Meyer, Mario Bava, George Romero, Joe D'Amato, Emilio Vieyra...All a declaration of intentions that filter in every pore of their compositions and their imaginary and unreal world.

With all this, the uniqueness and unbeatable aspects of this group, which grew up on the shores of Rio de la Plata, are apparent. A legend which will increase even more with “Sinfonías Para Terrícolas,” an album which combines sweetness and elegance, with extravagance and psychedelia, while always constantly maintaining a purely pop spirit. Marvelous.

Discography in Elefant:
ER-1138 MODULAR "Fantasías de un robot psicodélico" CD Digipak (June 2009)
ER-1160 MODULAR "Sinfonías Para Terrícolas" LP / CD Digipak (October 2011)