Espasmodicos

Espasmódicos was a punk band formed in Madrid in the early 1981. They were influenced, above all, by the first wave of punk and hardcore punk from the United States, as well as, to a lesser extent, by the English punk of the late seventies.The career of Espasmódicos was short but intense (they disbanded in 1983). They recorded just ten songs spread over two EPs and a compilation, the seminal 'Punk, Qué? Punk' released in 1983 by DRO. Despite the scarcity of their recordings and the few concerts they played (barely a dozen, including two appearances on Spanish Television), Espasmódicos are, to this day, one of the most important and influential groups of the first wave of punk in Spain.

 

 

José Mota, Enrique Arnal and César Sánchez, three friends from the Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña, decided to form a punk band after listening to “Holiday in Cambodia”, the second single by Dead Kennedys. After changing their names (José became J. Siemens, Enrique became Kike Kruel and César became CSG71) and drawing lots for the instruments they would play, the line-up was defined: J. Siemens on guitar, Kike as singer and CSG71 on bass. Soon they started rehearsing (sharing venues with bands like Zoquillos, Glutamato Ye-Yé or Ramoncín) and looking for a drummer. 

 

The first drummer of Espasmódicos was Carlos Torero, who joined the band in 1981. The band's influences broadened with the signing of Carlos. While the first three were into hard rock, hardcore punk (Dead Kennedys, MDC, Circle Jerks, Black Flag) and the first wave of punk (Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks), Carlos was a follower of new wave and jazz-rock bands. Their first recording appeared in early 1982, in the form of a 7” EP entitled 'Recomendado Para Molestar A Su Vecino'. The EP consisted of three songs: “Enciendes Tu Motor”, “Ni Eficiencia Ni Progreso” and “Están Deseando Que Te Pongas A Temblar”. The EP had a hard and compact sound, thus showing the band's fondness, mentioned above, for American hardcore bands. For the first song they counted on the saxophone of Karlox (then member of Polansky Y El Ardor), in an intervention unusual in the punk of the time. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]