Bocanada (Puff) is the second solo album by Argentine musician Gustavo Cerati, released by BMG International on 28 June 1999. Considered by critics and fans as a highlight in Cerati's career,
/ref> His first album release after the breakup of Soda Stereo, Bocanada followed Cerati's time with the groups Plan V and Ocio, two projects that focused on electronic music. "Raíz" was the album's first cut played in radio stations, "Puente" being the first music video to be released; Bocanada had the most music videos produced of any Cerati album to date.
Background
During the final stages of
Soda Stereo, when the problems within the band became more evident, as well as their imminent breakup, Gustavo Cerati released his first solo studio album,
Amor Amarillo(1993). Cerati described it as a "very impulsive but not premeditated" album. At the time of its release, Cerati stated that he wasn't thinking about developing a solo career. He said that all the solo albums and releases before Bocanada were made purely for "pleasure," believing that his career was already established with Soda Stereo. Despite this, during the production of the album, Cerati began to save ideas for Bocanada, describing one of its songs, "Pulsar," as "the starting point of Bocanada." After their breakup and brief farewell tour, El último concierto in 1997, Cerati began to plan his solo career, making albums not just for pleasure, and referring to Bocanada as his "first solo album."
Recording
On Bocanada, Cerati takes a turn towards electronic music, with most of the sound being trip hop, downtempo, and neo-psychedelia. In line with other genre pioneers like Massive Attack and Portishead, many of the songs use one or more samples from various artists. Despite the overall electronic sound, the album's most recognizable single, "Puente," is one of the few songs that eschews electronic music as its foundation, instead featuring a more conventional pop-rock sound. Around the time of Soda Stereo's breakup, Cerati had already composed songs with electronic sounds and using computers, some of which ended up on this album.The album was largely created using an Akai MPC, which was essential for the sampling and composition process. These samples were also processed through a Midi Mutator, and he considered these new computerized elements as important to the production as the guitar.
[1]Flavio Etcheto, artist and musician, assisted Cerati in essential ways. He participated in all the songs and co-wrote "Alma" and "Perdonar es divino," in addition to contributing loops, samples, and backing vocals. He also acted as an organizer and advisor for Cerati in the formation of his first solo band.
Pro Tools software was also used. Cerati commented on this:
“This album involved a deeper understanding of the computer. I was able to get more out of it. Until Amor Amarillo, I was working without a computer. But when I bought the Macintosh, I started experimenting, and by Sueño Stereo, many of the arrangements were created entirely within the machine. The idea behind that album was "let's put everything into the computer"; it's a natural reaction when you encounter a system and think, "What an incredible number of possibilities!" However, I also noticed that this abundance of possibilities complicates things when you have to make a decision. What's the most creative approach? To choose a couple of things and develop an idea from there.”
Composition
Bocanada opens with “Tabú” which introduces sounds with
Electronic music,
Sampledelia and
Jazz elements. It demonstrates the ability and prose of the recording techniques and structures of the songs, as proven with “Puente”, an
Alternative rock and
Electronic music song with a pop sensibility that stretches to other songs on the album. This album also shows Cerati’s desire to explore electronic music as a whole. Bocanada is mainly a
Dream pop,
Trip hop, Psychedelia and Electronica album with strong influences from art rock and downtempo. Other genres appear as influence such as
Sampledelia,
Breakbeat,
Plunderphonics and
Jazz.
Track listing
All songs written by
Gustavo Cerati, except where noted.
Personnel
- Additional personnel
-
Flavius Etcheto: Sampler in all tracks minus Raiz and Verbo Carne.
-
Leo García: Sampler, Backing Vocals in Engaña, Puente and Aqui y Ahora.
-
Martín Carrizo: Drum kit.
-
Fernando Nalé: Bass guitar in 4, 6, 11. Double Bass in 3, 5. Fretless bass in 13.
-
Tweety González: Organ in Beautiful.
-
Alejandro Terán: Arranger in Verbo Carne.
-
Eduardo Bergallo: Engineer, mixing
-
MacKinlay: Second engineer
-
Eduardo Iencenella: Assistant
-
Clive Goddard: Mixing
-
Barry Woodward: Editor, The Townhouse, London
-
Bunt Stafford-Clark: Mastering, The Townhouse, London
-
Gaby Herbstein: Photography
-
Oscar (Roho): Hairstyle
-
Sofía Temperley: Photoshop
-
ROS: Design direction
- The London Session Orchestra
-
Gavin Wright: Director
-
Peter Cobbin: Engineer
-
Joel Gregg: Assistant
Charts
Certifications
