Volumen Cero

Written by Rafael Acero Wednesday, 15 August 2007 09:57

Coming from a place reigned by Spanish Pop mogul Emilio Estéfan and his wife, this local band from Miami has made a difference by staying away from the Latin-tinged and often “overproduced” music that is distinctive of that area.

Even though they started working together in the mid 90’s as Orgasmic Bliss, it was not until 2001 that they were signed by Warner Música Latina as Volumen Cero. Since releasing “Andromeda”, their first independent album, they have become an essential part of the East Coast Latin Rock movement.

For the most part, their influences are quite evident within their sound- borrowing a bit from Brit rock, punk, power-pop. They even had the opportunity to work on a tribute album to The Cure, one of the bands that deeply influenced them.  Their other influences include Depeche Mode, New Order, Radiohead, The Pixies, The Clash, The Smiths, David Bowie, among others.

"Quiero Ver" | video from: albordemobilie

It was in 2002, with the release of “Luces”, that they became more than just a local act. The band started gaining air play on radio stations nationwide, but what really brought them into the limelight was the video for the single “Hollywood.”  Featuring none other than porn sensation Ron Jeremy and an inflatable doll, the video became a heavily rotated video on MTV Español. The impact they had with this “vingle” was such that they were invited to play with artists such as La Ley and Juanes, and they even earned a special program on MTV.

Their follow-up album was “Estelar”, an album that not only saw them evolve musically and lyrically, but also established and clarified the style they had going on, emphasizing on the raw sound of garage rock and the elegance of new wave. 

Always in an effort to grow and make each project better than the one before, they decided to relocate to Echo Park, which brings them closer to the melting pot that is Los Angeles. This has allowed them to expand their sound, and work on what they describe as Volumen Cero at its best. Volumen Cero was  the first band to ever perform an acoustic set at Al Borde’s Lounge, during the “Acoustic Sessions” series, in which only a few Al Borde readers were able to attend and interact with the band.

Volumen Cero is: Luis Tamblay, Marthin Chan Koo, and Josh Sonntag.

www.volumencero.com , www.myspace.com/volumenceromusic 

Rafael Acero
		About the author:
		The name is Rafael Alejandro, but my friends call me Rafa. I'm a proud citizen of the land of the macho men, las putas, los narcos, los cholos y mojados. Even though I don't believe in labels and I don't like to be defined by what I do or by who I do, I have no problem in accepting that I'm a big-time fruit. I'm addicted to chocolate. Music is my drug of choice. I'm a writer, dancer, choreographer, performance artist, an occasional a-hole, and a notorious drama queen. Aunque soy medio fresa, también soy un chilango incomprendido, y como tal- valemadrista a morir.