Costa Rica

Alejandro José Capmany Ulacia, known as José Capmany, was a rock singer from Costa Rica, born in 1961. In his youth he studied at the College Saint Clare where he formed the group OPS & later Cycles D band. He is considered by most as the father of rock in Costa Rica, while his former teammate Enrique Ramírez often goes unnoticed.

In 1984 Jose teamed up with Ramirez. The story goes that Enrique & Jose met at a bar called Josephine. The artistic side of both was multiplied. They soon made ​​their first appearance as a duo called Grupo Autóctono Costarricense Enajenation Now!. Capmany sang & played guitar while Ramirez wrote & sang most of their earliest tunes. In 1986 the band integrated the trio Los de Abordo composed of Marcos Elizondo - guitar, Carlos ‘Calilo’ Pardo – bass, & Marcelo Galli – drums. That was the officially formation of the band Café con Leche. Ramirez, Capmany, & Company’s musical talent would soon draw the attention of the record label CBS Indica.

They released their first album, Rock, in 1987. The album was one of the most successful works of the original music from Costa Rica. Rock was the biggest hit in Central America in 1987. On it, Ramirez wrote & sang with Capmany 7 of the 11 tracks, some of them the biggest hits of the band. Then, on December 31, 1987 Enrique announced his departure from the band. That night at the Paradero Nahomi in Quepos would see the last performance of Ramirez & Capmany together.

When asked why he decided to quit the group, Enrique said, “Everyone asks me why I left the group . As Violeta Parra says in his song, ‘everything changes’, & I did,” he recalled.

When Sony re-issued Rock in 2002, all mention of Ramirez’s contribution was removed.

The band went on to release two more albums. In 1991 Café con Leche returned to the studio to record what would be Burro en Lancha which is perhaps the most important album of the band. By this time, the band had undergone changes in its original members: Javier Chaves had replaced Marcelo Galli on drums; Marcos Elizondo is replaced by Ricardo Nieto (who had played in Indigo & Trival Class among others) on guitar; & Manuel Obregon (who played with Papaya Orchestra & Malpais) is added on keyboards.

1994 saw the release of their first CD Un Día Cualquiera. Despite the great promotion that this album received with a couple of videos & an extensive promotional tour, the response to this release was much less than expected. More band changes had occurred: Carlos Pardo left to join Inconsciente Colectivo & was replaced by Luis ‘Lux’ Sandino (from the band Armageddon). Now Jose was the only original member of the band. Even Manuel Obregón only played on some tracks of the album. He was no longer part the group.

Then in 1996, Jose embarked on a solo career. On October 13, 2001 Jose Capmany, just 40 years old, died in a traffic accident.  He was traveling with his family to Dominical Beach when his car was struck on the Cerro de la Muerte (the Hill of Death) road. The massive Cerro Buena Vista, better known as “Hill of Death” is part of the Talamanca Mountain Range, located in the central mountain axis of Costa Rica. The driver of the car that hit Jose fled the scene & has never been identified. Two months later, on December 12, Enrique Ramirez, who suffered from depression, took his own life.

Café con Leche – Rock, CBS Indica 1020253, 1987.

all decryption codes in comments

Lado A –

Con Amour

Quiero Ser

Mama y Papa

La Modelo

Los Comerciales (a Todo Color)

Lado B –

Cancion de Cuna para un Rockero

Ya No se Mas (Oda a la Incertidumbre)

Corazon Claro

Oiga Pito

Una Cancion

La Historia Salvaje (Gloria)

Café con Leche – Burro en Lancha, CBS/Indica, 1994.

Lado A –

Buscando el Mar

Metele Pata

Otra Vez

Dame lo Mejor

Un Lugar

Mundo de Colores

Lado B –

No me Importa

Que se Siente

Corazones Rotos

El Barco

Rock n Roll (Nunca hice Otra Cosa)

Al Final

Café con Leche - Un Día Cualquiera, Indica 4464844, 1994.

Tracklist –

Si Te Veo

No Se

Tambores en la Noche

Erika

Zapatos Viejos

Vuela

Vas a Encontrarme

Poeta

Enciende

Guantanamera

Mundos Pequeños

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Los Cuchillos is a surf rock/garage band formed in 2005 in Alajuela, Costa Rica by Tony Cuchillos. They took their name from a fictional gang of motorcycle rebels Los Cuchillos. Tony was influenced by the sounds & culture of the 50s - 60s , mixed with thrash aesthetics of B horror & science fiction movies.



 

Tony (vocals & guitar) started making music influenced by surf rock, garage, & rockabilly. He wrote a couple of songs & got together with a couple friends, Melvin (bass) & Moritz (drums) to form Los Cuchillos. Their first song, “Nena Zombie” marked the bands style. They decided the song needed some female vocals so they recruited Carolina on vocals (later also on keyboards). Arnoldo was added on vocals & additional guitar to strengthen their surf rock sound. This gave the song the perfect balance & contrast between the shrill sound of the guitars & the female voice.

In 2007 they released their self-titled first EP. 

 Los Cuchillos – Los Cuchillos EP, 2007.

Tracklist –

Spacio Surf

Nena Zombie

El Monstruo de la Laguna

Muertos Vivientes

In 2008 they released their full length album, Monstronautas de la Era Atómica.

 Los Cuchillos - Monstronautas de la Era Atómica, 2008.

Lado A –

El Túnel Del Tiempo

Malibu Beat

Nena Zombie

Lobotomía

Lado B –

Muertos Vivientes

Toxoplasmosis

El Monstruo de la Laguna

El Hombre Loco

Following this period were a number of personnel changes. Moritz left the band & was replaced by Fabrizio Duran (who had been drummer for Los Pidgines). This addition gave more weight, dynamism, & energy to the rhythm section of the band. Then Melvin left & was replaced by Paulo on bass, who was then replaced by Nacho. By August 2010 Carolina had left the band & was replaced by Paul Hanson which then became the bands current line-up. The band has played many of the most important festivals in Costa Rica such as the Caricaco Music Fest, Costa Rock, Rock at El Farolito, & Rock Fest Costa Rica among others.

In March 2013 they played at the Vive Latino Festival in Mexico City. They are the first band from Costa Rica to be invited to Vive Latino.

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Here’s a little something I found while working on this journey that I find myself listening to quite often.

Anemonah is an alternative electro-rock band that started in 2008 in San Jose, Costa Rica. It is made up of Pablo Rossi – vocals, guitar, & synthesizer, Byron Xavez – vocals, guitar, & bass, & Alberto M. Guier – drums. Although the band is relatively new, they have received airplay on local Costa Rican radio, been featured on the online show "Introducing with Tom Robinson" at UK's BBC & opened for Depeche Mode in October 2009 on DM’s most recent visit to their country. Just something different from Central America.

 Anemonah – Cage EP, 2009.

Tracks –

Black 17

Cage

A Waste of Time

They All Stare

Insomnia

Plus a bonus track from their 2010 EP2 Random Paranoia

The False Prophet

Enjoy,

NØ