Sumo (band)

Sumo was a 1980s Argentine alternative rock band, heavily influenced by post-punk and reggae.[1] Led by Italian-born Luca Prodan, it remained underground for most of its short activity but was extremely influential in shaping contemporary Argentine rock.[2] Sumo is credited with introducing British post-punk to the Argentine scene, mostly by songs with lyrics in English, and with providing a visceral counterpoint to the progressive and nueva canción influences then dominant in the country's rock en español.[2]

Sumo
Final Sumo lineup, fltr (above): Alberto Troglio, Luca Prodan (playing trumpet), Germán Daffunchio, Ricardo Mollo; (below, seat): Diego Arnedo, Roberto Pettinato
Background information
OriginHurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina
GenresPost-punk
Alternative rock
Reggae
New wave
Years active1981–2007
Associated actsLos Violadores
Os Paralamas do Sucesso
Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
Hurlingham Reggae Band
MembersLuca Prodan (vocals)
Ricardo Mollo (Guitars)
Germán Daffunchio (Guitars)
Diego Arnedo (Bass and Keyboards)
Roberto Pettinato (Saxophone)
Alberto "Superman" Troglio (drums and Percussion)
Alejandro Sokol (vocals, Bass and drums)
Past membersStephanie Nuttal (drums)
Ricardo Curtet (Guitars)

History

Background

Luca Prodan was born in Rome on 17 May 1953[3] of Italian and Scottish descent[3] after his family returned from China:[3] His father had set up a prosperous business in ancient Chinese pottery that became untenable after the Japanese invasion of China during World War II.[4]

In his youth, Luca was sent to prestigious Gordonstoun College in Scotland—the same Prince Charles of England attended. He escaped Gordonstoun a year before graduation and moved to London soon after.[5]

In the 1970s London Luca worked at EMI[6] and formed his first band, The New Clear Heads, which shared aesthetics with contemporary punk acts like XTC, The Fall, Joy Division (a name he later translated to Spanish for Sumo's first album Divididos por la Felicidad) and Wire.[6]

After living in London and Manchester—where he was allegedly seen hanging out with Joy Division band members—Prodan accepted an invitation from Gordonstoun schoolmate Timmy Mackern to visit his family farm in the Traslasierra zone of Córdoba province in Argentina, thus helping his old friend relax and stay away from heroin (Luca was devastated by the suicide of his sister Claudia, and her boyfriend).

Arriving in 1981, he started composing and recording songs at home in a portable studio he had brought from London. Later, tired of the quiet countryside life, he and Timmy relocated in Buenos Aires' Hurlingham area, interested to join the town's underground music scene.[3]

Luca in Argentina and early Sumo
First Sumo line-up, 1981: Alejandro Sokol, Ricardo Curtet, Germán Daffunchio, Stephanie Nuttal, Luca Prodan.

Argentina was under a repressive military dictatorship, and many music and performing art acts kept a low profile to avoid problems with the police—Café Einstein in the Balvanera district was a favorite venue for such programmes as were some pubs in Olivos. Luca soon found musicians willing to join his then innovative reggae-rock vision.[7]

Sumo's initial lineup consisted of Prodan on vocals and guitar, Germán Daffunchio on guitar, Alejandro Sokol on bass, and Stephanie Nuttal (an English friend of Luca's and former member of the band Manicured Noise) on drums.[7]

Luca Prodan during a show with Sumo in early 1980s
Second Sumo lineup, 1983: Luca Prodan, Alejandro Sokol, Roberto Pettinato, Germán Daffunchio, Diego Arnedo

The first incarnation of Sumo played mostly around Prodan's neighborhood of Hurlingham, in the Buenos Aires province, and in Café Einstein. Nuttal had to return to England when the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur) started, so Sokol took on the drums while young Hurlingham neighbour Diego Arnedo joined on bass. Then journalist and later media star Roberto Pettinato was a frequent guest to jam with his saxophone; he ended up joining the band fully shortly after.[8]

Because of their lyrics in English, Sumo did not enjoy extensive airplay given to other Argentine bands in the wake of the war. In spite of that, it became a pillar of the underground scene together with Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota and Los Violadores.

Sumo music had different sides: hard-edged rock with an experimental touch, influenced by the sound of British post-punk acts (e g Joy Division, The Fall), funky post-punk guitars and strong dub-like bass lines reminiscent of A Certain Ratio and Gang of Four's, and a typically British brand of reggae and ska. After a hiatus due to Prodan's temporary return to Europe, the band committed fully to a rock style in 1984 and spun off the Hurlingham Reggae Band. Ricardo Mollo was added on guitar and Alberto Superman Troglio replaced Sokol on drums—even if he stayed in the band as a vocalist, bassist (when he played bass, Arnedo played keyboards) and drummer (when he played drums, Troglio did the percussion).

Success, popularity and demise

Sumo started to become a popular act in the mid-1980s as Luca's in-your-face style caught up deeply among teenagers, even if his music could also display a mellower streak. He would shout "fuck you" randomly or sing a scathing song about dumb blondes, and immediately swoon about his appreciation for common, working class men drinking ginebra at a bar.[9]

Final Sumo lineup in 1985: Luca Prodan, Germán Daffunchio, Alberto Superman Troglio (back); Roberto Pettinato, Diego Arnedo, Ricardo Mollo (front)

In Sumo's later releases some Spanish language lyrics were added to the band's repertoire. Many of Luca's lyrics featured irony, wordplay and references to drugs, dance parties, sex and other aspects of young people's lives, while remaining aloof of the political and economic changes in the Argentina of the 80s.

The band's history was linked to entrepreneur Omar Chabán, who was the owner of Café Einstein and celebrated Buenos Aires alternative nightclub Cemento—where Sumo played many times.

Due to his drinking habit and vertiginous rock-and-roll lifestyle, Prodan's health deteriorated. He died of a heart attack on 22 December 1987—two days after their last show.[9] After Luca's passing the band dissolved but its legacy was carried on by two bands, Divididos (led by Mollo and Arnedo) and Las Pelotas (Sokol and Daffunchio's project). Some of Sumo's outtakes and their seminal recording Corpiños en la madrugada -- originally sold in cassette format only—were released commercially. Two solo cuts by Prodan recorded between 1981 and 1983 were also released posthumously, "Time, Fate, Love" and "Beautiful Losers".[9]

Tributes to Sumo include a 1995 double album fittingly titled "Fuck You"—with famous Argentine musicians' covers of Sumo tracks.

On 12 April 2007 surviving original band members Alejandro Sokol (vocals), Ricardo Mollo (guitar), Germán Daffunchio (guitar), Diego Arnedo (bass), Alberto Superman Troglio (drums), Roberto Pettinato (sax) and Marcelo Rodríguez "Gillespi" as guest trumpetist reunited and played three songs -- Crua Chan, Divididos por la Felicidad and DeBeDe—during Quilmes Rock Festival at River Plate Stadium.[10]

Early Sumo vocalist, bassist and drummer Alejandro Sokol died on 12 January 2009.[11]

Band members

1981-1982

1982-1984

1984-1987

Discography
  • Corpiños en la madrugada (released as demo, 1983)
  • Divididos por la felicidad (1985)
  • Llegando los monos (1986)
  • After chabon (1987)
  • Fiebre (posthumous, 1989)

Compilations
  • The Collection (1991)
  • Greatest Hits (1991)
  • Corpiños en la madrugada (remastered release, 1992)
  • Obras Cumbres (2000)

Notes and references
  1. Fan's page Archived 2005-08-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 28, 2017
  2. Sumo en Rock.com.ar Consultado el Retrieved January 28, 2017
  3. Biografía de Luca Prodan Archived 2016-12-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 28, 2017
  4. IMDb. "MIchela Prodan" (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  5. IMDb. "Luca Prodan". Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  6. Juan Morris. "A 20 años de su muerte, el mito sigue vivo" (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  7. Biografía de Sumo (spanish) Retrieved January 28, 2017
  8. Pettinato, Roberto (2009). Sumo. Buenos Aires: Mondadori. p. ?. ISBN 978-987-658-033-5.
  9. Jalil, Óscar. "Vida y muerte de Luca Prodan, un mito del rock nacional" (in Spanish). infobae.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  10. Sumo emocionó Retrieved January 28, 2017
  11. Noticia sobre la muerte de Alejandro Sokol Retrieved January 28, 2017

See also
  • Argentine punk
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