text & interview // marisol castillo

photography // andres delgado & luisa martinez

Systema Solar recycles Afro-Caribbean and Colombian folkloric music such as Cumbia, Bullerengue, Porro and Champeta, fusing these rhythms through electronic tools with contemporary and cultural styles such as Hip Hop, House, Techno, Breakbeat, Breakdance, Turntablism and live video performance. Systema Solar debuted in 2006 at the Biennial of Contemporary Art in Medellín, Colombia, and since then have been circulating music festivals in Colombia and Europe. Their first album, Systema Solar, was released in 2009.

Systema Solar's members are:

Jhon Primera, the devil of the Caribbean flow, is an MC that represents Caracas and Cartagena de Indias, and is one of the main voices of the group.

Indigo, the voice of take off, comes from Turbaco a small Afro-Colombian town in the Caribbean coast and is a social communicator, a researcher of African rhythms and a promoter of Colombian hiphop culture. Additionally he is a DJ, dancer, narrator and MC.

Pellegrino, the sonorous architect, is a Colombian musician and sound engineer. He has worked in France for over 10 years in the production of electronic music with groups such as Crydamoure (Daft Punk).

Daniboom, the king of cumbia techno, is one of the most recognized techno DJ's in Colombia. He has been spinning since 1995 and is responsible for co-founding some of the most important collectives and festivals for Bogota's underground electronic scene, such as Mutaxion and Bogotrax.

Pata de perro, the video jockey of the Colombian movie, is one of the forerunning video jockeys. She is recognized for her documentary style which brings Colombia's everyday life to the screen. She has performed in Bogotrax in Bogotá, Colombia, in ISEA 2006 in California and Pixelache in Finland.

Andres, the tornado of Caribbean rhythm, is from Barranquilla and Santa Marta. He studied music and percussion and has worked on several musical productions in the Colombian Caribbean and joined Systema Solar in 2009.

DJ Corpas, the giant of Afro-Colombian scratch, is from Cartagena. He has developed his skills while working within Medellin's hiphop scene as the DJ for one of Colombia's most important independent hiphop labels, Kmusic.

Having participated in SXSW 2010 and their tunes showcased in McDonald's commercials airing soon in U.S. Spanish television networks and films such as La sangre y la lluvia, we caught up with Systema Solar members Walter Romero (Indigo) and Vanessa Gocksch (Pata de perro) to talk about the concept and creative process behind the video "Malpalpitando" released in October 2010 and the song "Sin oficio".

Vaffanculo Magazine: "Malpalpitando" is your latest music video, how did the concept for the video "Malpalpitando" come to be and who collaborated in the making of it? 
Walter Romero: The concept of the video for "Malpalpitando" was a collaboration between Colombian film director Rafa Martínez and our VJ Vanessa Gocksch. They created a story that recreates the ancestral force of the Tayrona Culture in the Colombian Caribbean, and it highlights the knowledge of the indigenous cultures today that strive to keep a harmonious relationship with the environment in which they live. It also deals with the rapid growth of urban developments in our natural territories and the irreversible repercussions to the environment.

Vanessa Gocksch (Pata de perro):
The lyrics of song Malpalpitando say:

"Mira que el viento está revuelto 
Mira que el sol te está quemando
Mira que la tierra se está moviendo
Y tu corazón Malpalpitando!"

"Look the wind is wild
Look the sun is burning you
Look the earth is moving
and your heart dispalpitating"
This part speaks of the destruction of the natural environment by man, and how as a human race we have lost our connection and harmony with nature. With few words and a strong musical content, we want to transmit the hazard that our planet is experiencing, the nature's decay, the changes in the weather, the loss of millions of square kilometers of natural habitat, etc.
and

" Confundir el Amazonas con agua panela"

" To confuse the Amazon with agua panela (traditional Colombian brown beverage made of raw sugar cane)"
The Amazon is not something to be taken lightly, it is a precious resource which cannot be compared with something that every Colombian can make easily and cheaply at home like agua panela (although agua panela is great, don't get me wrong!!!)
What we portray in this video might seem like a fantasy to most westerners but the plot is directly related to the reality to which the Kogi people in the Sierra Nevada are subject to live everyday. The reason for being, according to the Kogi philosophy, is to maintain order in the universe so they spend most of their time and energy making spiritual offerings in thousands of sacred sites in the Sierra Nevada. At the end of our video clip we show a thermoelectric plant (where charcoal is transformed into electricity), which is situated in a sacred site, which as a consequence has been ruined. For the local indigenous people, this is a sacrilege.

VM: Can you describe the filming process?

VG: We filmed the video clip "Malpalpitando" during September 2009 in the Santa Marta region of Colombia, where Juan Carlos Pellegrino and I live. It was shot in 16 mm film with a small film crew, the shooting took 4 days, we used about 8 different locations, some of which we had to walk 4 hours in order to get there; we lugged the film camera on the back of a donkey called "Perlita." Rafa Martínez and I decided not to shoot in the Amazon, as this would be too expensive, but rather in the Sierra Nevada or "Gonawindua" as the local indigenous people call it. The Sierra Nevada is also a mythical place and fort-hold of ancestral knowledge, as it is the highest mountain in the world by the ocean and home of the last American indigenous civilization that exists: the Kogi, descendants of the Tayrona.

VM: How was your collaboration with Rafael Martinez?

VG: I was more involved with the aspects of the script related to indigenous knowledge, art direction and directing Indigo, while Rafael Martinez was more involved with directing the photography, development of the story and post production. Our experience as a team was very good. It is the second time that I co-direct a video clip with someone; the first was "Bienvenidos," which I made with Julio Oyaga. Every director should have the opportunity to co-direct a project. I consider it good for controlling the ego!

VM: Who writes the songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and what have been you major influences?

Walter Romero (Indigo): The songs are written by Jhon Primera and me. We find our inspiration in the day-to-day life events. We come from a Hip Hop background, in which the stories narrated are not invented but instead recreated from the reality of the quotidian life. At the same time, we connect these narratives with the energy that comes from our dancing performances, making them easy to understand and digest without intellectualizing them.

VM: Can you describe the creative process behind the song "Sin Oficio".

WR: "Sin Oficio" was born during one of our improvisation sessions, in which each member adds something that can complement the mix. DJ David Fresh, our DJ at that time, at one point brought out a record of El Flecha, which is a story written and narrated by David Sánchez Juliao, a Colombian writer from the Colombian Caribbean. DJ Fresh played, mixed, and stopped the song at different parts of the storyline. What caught our attention was the narration style, a jovial form of describing the crudeness of surviving in a day-to day situation. For Fresh, it was one of many records that he explored and you can find in Bogota to mix and put flavor to his style. At that moment, I told him to leave the fragment at the beginning and slowly the song began to revolve around the issue of work. Then Jhon Primera, our MC, started to improvise and build a complementary rap to what "El Flecha" narrated.

VM: How do you relate to "el Flecha"?

WR: For me el Flecha has to do with my childhood, those stories I would listen to in the corners of my neighborhood in Turbaco, Bolivar. My father and his friends would gather to listen to them on the radio or cassette players. Later, each one would show off their ability to repeat it, being as faithful as they could, spicing it up with their personal touch. When we were younger, we would also play what we called – echar cuento (tell a story)—creating, re-enacting, and recreating stories; it was nothing more than something you would share among friends, to have a good time. El Flecha connected us in that way.

VM: Systema Solar recently played at Trans 2010. How was that experience?

WR: Our experience at the Transmusical Festival in Rennes, France, was a real challenge. We had lots of expectations, because it was during winter and the cold weather is a little intimidating, but things flowed easily with no problems. In this event, we were able to showcase our musical explorations and connect with the audience in the three concerts we gave, each in different ways. One at the Women's Prison in Rennes was very moving for us. The women little by little took over the stage with their dance. In a way, their spontaneous performance, their joy, and their gestures created a nice vibe that complemented our energy and music. Then we gave a concert at Hall 9 for about 6,000 people, where we performed with Janelle Monáe and M.I.A., two very important musical proponents of our time. People again danced and connected with us. Afterwards, we were part of an academic panel with an audience composed mainly of scholars. We were the example for the discussion about new music in the Americas and once again, people got up of their chairs to enjoy. 

VM: Your self-titled album was recently released in the U.S. Any future plans for a tour?

WR: Things in the US are taking shape and we are starting to introduce ourselves little by little. We attended Austin South by South West Festival in April, where our audience was mainly from Mexico and Latin America. We want to explore more of the US market and approach different audiences. Maybe we will be able to do that this coming summer in New York and Los Angeles. 

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