Modex and Manta Raya are two bands that have been rocking since the beginning of this decade and are now in the prime of their growth. After many years of hard work, both bands are having an interesting repercussion in Europe.
Even if they themselves do not acknowledge the existence of a national scene to which they belong, both have found their own place in the New Rave movement that has been growing with force since 2006 and is attributed with starting with in Europe with bands like the Klaxons, New Young Pony Club and Shit Disco, among others. For a bit more on these Argentine artists that cannot leave the country unnoticed, check out the rest of the article.
Gaby and Martin V., the duo behind Modex, have been working together since 2003, participating in various shows in Europe, Chile, and on a national level. Between October and November of 2007, barely a month ago, they did their third tour through Europe, covering a handful of countries. Gaby told us that they were very surprised by the reception in Russia. With a smile, he said that they were greeted by very warm audiences and amazing concert halls filled to the max with excited and crazy partygoers. With respect to the Russian landscape, they flipped out a lot with the Red Square, which according to the words of Gaby, "seemed like another time and place". They also enjoyed getting to know some very beautiful girls and one dark night already after 4:00 in the afternoon upon getting off of the airplane among other crazy things. On New Rave, they told us that they feel more connected to the style of DiscoPunk and NewWave, though they do not deny that their music has some New Rave components - they think of their style as a mix of the three. These successive trips to Europe have yielded its fruits and the duo is getting ready to edit an EP of 4 songs in February of 2008 called Materialize with the Spanish label PIAS, with whom they also plan to edit an LP of 12 songs for October of 2008.
Mecha, George and Quique, the artists behind MantaRaya, met while studying Visual Arts in the city of Mar del Plata and with the exception of some interruptions and parallel projects, they have been playing together since 2000. This past October, only a few months ago, they edited their CD debut Yeah! independently through UMI. Immediately after, they undertook their first European Tour they baptized the Euro Chula Tour of 2007 and took them through Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. The kids told us exclusively that they planned this tour for more than a year, anxious to see what could happen with Manta Raya in Europe and excited to get to know the New Rave movement that many say they are a part of. Manta Raya defined themselves in the beginning as an Electro-punk-rock band, but after making contact with countries like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, they have started to describe themselves as New Rave Made in Argentina, an eye-catching term used in many of the reviews and criticisms they received on tour. Mecha, George and Quique confessed to us that when they were on tour recently with original new ravers, they came to understand what the movement was all about: lots of energy, neon, and fun. This immediately synthesized with them, so much so that, on top of having made contact with the French label Popcornlab which will edit their next work, they are already planning their 2008 tour.
The artists of Modex and Manta Raya told us that the topic of visual setting is not an issue they take lightly. Modex have worked with the people from Barfuss since the beginning on videos and graphics in general. Manta Raya do their own visuals, website, and MySpace and told us that those details have a lot to do with the Manta Raya concept. For their clothes they also have the help of independent designers, such as Francisco (AgradableCompañía) who was in charge of the wardrobe for the tour and was responsible for the masks on the cover of their CD.
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