DRO, the marginal dream that adds music to Movida

With the death of the dictator in 1975, modernity suddenly entered Spain, causing enormous social, political, economic, cultural changes… The world of creation, until then corseted under the guise of false politeness and puritanism, survived for a long time. -the anticipated punk spring. In the eighties, everything that was considered underground started to become a trend. From a modest apartment on Madrid’s Zabaleta street, belonging to Servando Carballar’s parents, the group of friends gathered around Aviador Dro gave birth to the independent record label that eventually gave rise to Movida Madrileña. The label was founded in 1982 to self-release the band’s songs, but DRO would eventually bring together the best Spanish music of the time in its catalogue: Siniestro Total, Gabinete Caligari, Nacha Pop, Hombres G, Los Nikis, Loquillo y Los Trogloditas, Permanent Paralysis, Duncan Dhu…

Journalist Laura Piñero invested five years in shaping Accidental Years (Libros Cúpula), which collects the experiences of young people who want to be heard and who no record company takes into account. “They jumped into the pool, not knowing whether there was water or not,” emphasizes the author, who collected the testimonies of many protagonists of this creative explosion (Julián Hernández, David Summers, Mikel Erentxun, Fito, Alaska, Loquillo). , Ana Curra), journalists (Jesús Ordovás, Diego A. Manrique, Rafael Revert), producers (Paco Trinidad, Eugenio Muñoz, Jesús N. Gómez, Paco Martín) and people on the effervescent music circuit, such as the owner of Escridiscos (Pepe Escribano). , the person responsible for Rock-Ola programming (Lorenzo Rodríguez) or the creators of Discoplay (Rafa Cañil) and others.

DRO’s adventures soon intersected with the adventures of GASA and Tres Cipreses, two other alternative record companies born from the needs of musicians. The combination of all of them shaped the “holy trinity” of Spanish recording: an artisanal company based on determination, imagination and love of music, which became the beacon of an entire generation. The beginnings were not all beds of roses: They had to carry records under their sleeves into stores and bars, persuade stations to play them, and fight against the rigid and corrupt established system.

DRO’s dream became a reality and the enthusiasm crystallized with the adoption of another small label, Twins. Seeing the success grow and grow, the big fish in the industry took advantage of DRO’s sweet moment to impose their own rules: first they made tasty counter-offers to Hispavox and EMI’s Loquillo and Gabinete Caligari – eventually signing them both – and then signed the big million-dollar check shaped blow. This is how Warner took over DRO in 1993.

In the words of Diego A. Manrique, the merger “was not the tragedy that many expected”, as its independent spirit was preserved for years, as they continued to operate autonomously within the very powerful record label. Extremoduro entered Warner’s payroll through the door of so-called “DRO gene” groups that were initially considered marginal, such as Fito y Fitipaldis or Los Rodríguez. In the late nineties, piracy and Operación Triunfo fever broke out. Things returned to normal and devotion to more traditional artists prevailed (Álex Ubago and Laura Pausini are good evidence of this). Thus, after forty years of activity, an era that could never be repeated in our country’s music would come to an end. They may have been accidental and bumpy, but what years they were!