Necio Records | Cholo Visceral interview
Necio Records is an underground label from Lima, Peru. They released a lot of interesting psych related bands and their owner, Arturo Quispe Velarde is also playing with psych heads Cholo Visceral.
“Like a psychedelic explosion!”
How did you first get interested in music and what are some major influences?
Arturo Quispe Velarde: It is very difficult to remember the exact moment when my interest in music started. The first thing that comes to my mind was when I camped with my family on the beach and my father, during the trip, played some music cassettes that I liked. I think I was eight years old. There was Grand Funk Railroad, Santana, Cactus, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sugarloaf, Led Zeppelin and other classics playing in the car. Later in school I listened to the radio (the only source of music for me at that time) and there was technocumbia, rock, reggaeton, salsa and I liked that too. What I do remember very well was the time I first heard Metallica and was very excited about it. From that point on there was no return and I was discovering more and more.
My major influences? It is a difficult question, everything I have known has always added up. Well, I’ll put just four: Metallica, King Crimson, The Mars Volta, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Have you been in any bands before forming Cholo Visceral?
I started in the metal scene. This was around 2006. I formed my first band called ‘Metal Militia’ and we basically played covers of Metallica. We had our first concerts and I remember that I played in different parts of Lima. I’m very nostalgic about it, because it meant a lot! It was beginning of my life. There was a time when we tried to make our own songs. I think we did a couple of demos but no further progress was made. At that time I admired bands like Dementor, Cobra and Astur. They had their own sound and sounded great.
I decided to withdraw from the band in 2008 and go my own way. Over time I decided to form the foundations of Cholo Visceral. This was around 2010.
What was the concept behind forming this collective?
The band was born when Kevin Lara and I met on an internet forum dedicated to The Mars Volta. We got together and started jamming with our guitars. I remember that our aim was to make a progressive band but with a taste of Santana, Mahavishnu and The Mars Volta, haha. We wanted to sound like a mixture of those bands and we also put our imagination to the test, haha.
Who are the other members of the band and where did they come from?
Cholo Visceral has had many formations during all these years. Currently only Manuel Villavicencio (bass) and me (drums) are the only permanent members of the band. We are preparing new material, and when we have it ready, we will be able to announce the new formation of the band and more. Sorry, man, for now I can’t give much information, haha.
Your debut was released on G.O.D Records in 2013. What’s the story behind it?
Thanks to G.O.D. Records we had a great acceptance in Europe. I met Michalis via Facebook and there it was, he met the band, he liked it and decided to publish it on vinyl. We were his first release.
Have you made any changes to the lineup since you started or is this the original lineup?
Yes, we had a lot of lineup changes in the band, haha.
Vol. II followed three years later on Tonzonen Records. It’s quite a different sounding album.
Dirk was very kind with us regarding the vinyl edition of Vol. II. We are thankful for the acceptance we have in Europe.
Yes, they are very different sounding. We experimented a bit too much, I think, haha… but well.
There are some fine psych bands like Liquidarlo Celuloide, Tabla Espacial and Macondo in Peru. What’s the local scene in Lima?
Yes, well, unfortunately Tabla Espacial disintegrated.
I think the psychedelic scene in Lima is mixed with many different bands and styles (stoner/space/doom). It’s great that all these bands play together at the certain point. For example there are psychedelic Culto al Qondor, Liquidarlo Celuloide, Hoja Madre (new band) and at the same time there are more heavy oriented El Jefazo, Satánicos Marihuanos, The Dead-End Alley Band, Ancestro, etc. I know that Búho Ermitaño is preparing a new album, Spatial Moods have just released two albums in less than a year.
“We keep pushing for bigger (alternative) scene!”
There are many very cool bands and we keep pushing for bigger (alternative) scene!
You are also organizing some small festivals.
The Festival Undercaos was basically born out of necessity. I felt that an event was missing. An event where we bring together bands with similar philosophy. At the same time we allow new people to discover this kind of underground music.
The idea was born in 2017 with an event called Circuito Undercaos, which had three events during a month of February: Espectros Festiaval (experimental music), Feria Turbulenta (labels, fanzines, etc) and Festival Undercaos (heavy and psych sounds). I liked the name ‘Festival Undercaos’ and decided to do the event annually.
Every year it has been improving and I had several surprises for this year’s edition but as you know, the pandemic took over.
“The quarantine put us in a situation where we feel that it is time to join forces.”
So the community for underground music is pretty strong in Lima?
Yes, dedicated but small. On the other hand, I’ve been communicating with other labels to do something together. The quarantine put us in a situation where we feel that it is time to join forces.
Live at Woodstaco is your latest release and it’s also on your own label, Necio Records.
First of all, Woodstaco is a beautiful experience that marked us as a band. I personally learned so much from everything I saw and bands I met. I also experienced up close how to do a completely independent festival, on a beautiful mountain, with an exquisite lake and for 5000 people who love and respect each other for three days and two nights.
On the other hand, we are happy that our first live album has been recorded in Woodstaco (2018 edition) and that it is released through Necio Records.
Necio Records have been a mixture of many things; luck, always looking for new sounds, long conversations, learning, listening, etc. All of this has reinforced the label.
How pleased was the band with the sound of the album?
I personally liked it very much. There were some errors regarding how the keyboard was recorded, but we managed to solve it together with Jorge Apaza (Spatial Moods), friend who mixed and mastered the album.
Also, we recorded the entire album live. We were going to do a vinyl repress of the first album, but we decided to do this edition live because it is much closer to the band’s live sound. All the energy of our performance was captured.
How would you describe your sound?
Like a psychedelic explosion!
I must add that we played very late and we were very tired, haha.
In your dreams, who are you on tour with?
With Cholo Visceral and giving the best of us in every concert.
When did you decide that you wanted to start releasing music? What brought that decision about for you?
Wow, this is a very complex question but I will try to summarize it.
The creation of the label was born out of necessity of releasing music. I decided to contribute to the scene and I got to know this whole universe of people. I eventually became more focused on it, so that was the motor for Necio Records.
Do you act alone in the business or do you have any partners that you operate with?
Yes, I have solitary handled the label since 2016 and all the investment comes from my wallet, but I do have a team that helps me with various areas.
Design, creation, art: Rodrigo Mori Franco
Photos, mockups, portfolio: Gary Saavedra
Video, animation: Rodrigo Loayza
Booking, tours: Inkfish Bookings
Can you walk us through the typical release process for a release from start to finish?
There are several steps:
1. I am always looking for new bands (mostly via Bandcamp) or else I check the requests that arrive in the Necio Records email.
2. I send a message to the band I have selected and wait for a response.
3. If there is a positive response, agreements are made and we begin to work on the vinyl edition.
Now I am trying to pre-press before any release. I think it is better.
Do you give a lot of thought to the visual aspects that represent the label to a large extent?
Of course. I always say that a good cover is a great opening door for the music that the bands are making. On the other hand, I am also working on the graphic line of the label but that will be seen later.
Walk us through Necio Records discography.
I always recommend listening to the entire catalog, buddy!
What are some future plans?
Many more releases, the organization of the Festival Undercaos 2021, Necio Records Sessions, tours and a surprise for 2022 but that will be known in due course.
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
Slift, Wax Machine and Hollow Ship released great album this year. On the other hand, the new Machine Girl album also blew my mind. I’ve been listening to Altın Gün and the whole The Mars Volta discography, haha.
Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.
Thank you very much for the interview, Klemen! Those who are interested in listening to the Necio Records catalog, can look for us at Bandcamp. There you can find all of our titles.
There are 11 vinyl editions available through our Bandcamp:
01. Reino Ermitaño (doom-prog-metal) from Peru
02. Vago Sagrado (psych-post punk) from Chile
03. Cholo Visceral (heavyprog-psych-space) from Peru
04. El Jefazo (stoner-doom) from Peru
05. Saturndust (sludge-doom-metal) from Brazil
06. Parahelio (post rock-shoegaze-psych) from Peru
07. Knei (hard rock-prog-70s) from Argentina
08. Ancestro (stoner-psych-prog) from Peru
09. White Canyon & The 5th Dimension (garage-psych-space) from Brazil
10. Lastryko (psych-space) from Poland
11. Los Acidos (psych) from Argentina
Arturo Quispe Velarde
Necio Records Lima, Peru 2020
– Klemen Breznikar
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Thanks, buddy!