Cintas Chromo’s Audio Encyclopedia Of Weird Spain
1.19.16 by Scott Scholz

Your average modern American might come up with Pablo Picasso or trendy tapas restaurants if pressed for examples of cool stuff from Spain, but the underground music scene going down from Valencia to Barcelona right now is among the most vibrant in the world. Wild synth zoners, updates to early industrial soundscapes, and impactful harsh noise are all well represented in the catalogs of killer labels like Cønjuntø Vacíø, Verlag System, and Atrocious Symphonies.

But if you’re just getting into this scene, there is no better introduction than the “Enciclopedia Chromo” series from new cassette label Cintas Chromo. Like succinct audio-encyclopedia entries, this series of mostly C20 tapes gives international listeners a taste of the range of deep jams coming from contemporary Spain, the perfect starting point for figuring out which artists you want to dig into some more. Already up to five “entries” in just a few months, this series is off to a fine start, with more excellent releases in the works. Featuring black & white cover designs with matching spines, these will eventually make for an attractive-looking travelogue series that’ll be easy to locate for quick reference on your shelves, too.

Volume 1 in the series features solo work from Julio Tornero, a member of the vibrant Polígono Hindú Astral. These brief jams are a great start to the series, uniting a diverse palette of cosmic synths, slightly abrasive industrial overtones, and percussion sequences somewhere between Cabaret Voltaire and EDM.

Noisegg, a solo project of Huevo, the bassist for Cementerio and Derrota, is featured on volume 2. This music veers between industrial and harsh noise textures, bookended by opening/closing tunes that have persistent modular melodies that feel like a doom/sludge variation on Perturbator.

The lone C40 in the series so far, Volume 3 is from Sentionaut, an imaginative synth-slinger who also plays in Dekatron III. These are killer krautrock-infused jams, featuring thoughtfully layered synths, uptempo percussion, and a great melodic sensibility. If you’re into latter-day Tangerine Dream or great synth albums from labels like Field Hymns, you’ll find a lot to love with Sentionaut.

On Volume 4, you’ll find solo music from the head of the Atrocious Symphonies label performing as Malacoda. These short pieces capture pensive, dark atmospheres, veering from cinematic vistas to more intimate, minimalist industrial vibes. Processed vocal work plays a major role in many of these pieces as well.

The latest in the series, Volume 5 features Noir Noir, whose black metal and psychedelic overtones make this tape the most punishing 20 minutes of the series so far. While these pieces still fall generally in the “synth zoner” spectrum, they’re more like journeys into a blackened underworld than the open skies.

All of these tapes are still available, making this the perfect time to get into the Enciclopedia Chromo series. Plus Ultra!