Technology is an inevitable part of our lives. We are glued to our devices on a daily basis, sometimes as much as 10 to 12 hours a day, getting more and more reliant on the web connections. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and everything else that surrounds us – almost every aspect of our lives is being disrupted by technology. Absorbed in a different world, a world where our friends and families are nothing a distant noise and annoying distraction, we often get confused. With technology as an enabler, we seem to go from one place to another in a super efficient fashion, avoiding the randomness of life in the process. Havig such thoughts on keeping digital technology under control, and working for us and not against us, our today’s guests from Argentina, electronic garage punk rockers WWW have crafted an interesting, intense, action packed EP called “Mundo Virtual”. Cuerdas Fuera Records (Spain) and Under The Gun Records (USA) jsut released it on vinyl 7” and we are pleased to give you some more details about their wicked work.
Released in July 2021, this five-song work was defined by Maximum Rocknroll magazine as “irritating punk”: overdriven synths and distorted vocals are loaded onto frenetic drum machines that not even high-speed fiber optic internet can match. A lo-fi sound that in recent times was called Devocore or Egg-Punk by connoisseurs of underground rock’n’roll. The most interesting thing is surely their dystopian gaze of a near future, where there is no escape from virtual reality and the artificial emotions that technology offers us. The EP also includes an original version of “Fernando anda en skate” by Flema, one of the most influential bands in Argentine punk rock.
WWW was formed in 2017 in Buenos Aires (more precisely in San Miguel and José C. Paz). Juani A (from StevexJobs and PSOAS) and Gonzalo A (from Talacactus and PSOAS) gave birth to this project that speculates with the sounds and ideas of the not too distant future. From their love to video games and the endless source of knowledge that the World Wide Web provides us, to the isolation and complex social interaction on the social networks. In 2019 they released their first EP “Tecnoadicciones del siglo XXI para post-adolescentes que viven en internet”, composed by Juani A, and recorded by Juan Piedra Morando at Nerf Studios and in a room above a car mechanic workshop. In 2018, Juany B and Iris C joined their shows, to add the impact of live drums and the frenzy of synthesizers.
His most recent work “Mundo Virtual” has already been released on cassette tape in the UK by Richter Scale, and in Argentina by Fichines Ruido Zafarla, Ingobernable Records, and Los Pájaros Records. This January 14th it will be released on 7″ vinyl in Spain thanks to Cuerdas Fuera Records, and in the United States by Under The Gun Records. You can reserve your copy at stringsout.bandcamp.com and utgrecords.com.
In April 2022 the band will be making their first tour, that will take them to many places in Europe. Among the higlights they will participate in the MDA Festival, whose slogan “Let’s make Barcelona wild again” brings together the most interesting bands from the punk scene in that city.
WWW is part of a growing egg-punk / devocore scene in Argentina, where the punk movement has been stuck for several years in the same old bands, repetitive punk ballads, and hardcore beatdown. Another of the pioneer groups that bring these new sounds to Latin America is Subterráneos, a solo project by Gabriel Dolce, oriented towards punk and new wave. His first release was “Demo 2016”, and later on with a backup band they released “Demo 2017”, whose cover was made by the one and only Jimmy Smith, the man behind one of the best YouTube channels related to the new garage punk. Subterráneos’ most recent work is “Demo 2021”, a two-song single where he returns to his roots.
Gabriel Dolce is also the man behind Repulsion Switch, another project close to the eggpunk sound, which released “Demo 2021” last year. Another group close to this genre is Rudix, a duo that takes their home recording methods towards a lo-fi 2.0: they recorded their demo with a cell phone, and then mixed it with the Bandlab app. In two days it was ready to be heard online.
Another project to highlight is Desborde, a hardcore / synth punk group with a male and a female singer and heavy political lyrics. It is one of the most interesting new proposals of our region. In the neighboring country of Chile there are also exponents of the genre, such as Pizza Boys who last year released “A La Mierda with Papa John‘s … Here Are The Pizza Boys”, and Moplo, who since 2019 are bringing us joy with their lo- fi punk at full speed.
We leave you a playlist where we recommend other garage / synth / egg punk groups from all over the world.
There are about 30 bands for all hardcore punk nerds to enjoy!
