Charly García will be honored in NY, a 40 years from his flagship album “Modern Clicks”, whose cap design was made in a corner of the Big Apple. The work, which represents a criticism of the prevailing trends of that time and a clear record of the country’s historical moment, became a rock classic Argentine and is considered by many as his best solo work.
November 6 at 11 in the morning (time of USA) It is the date chosen by the organizer to perpetuate the name of the greatest exponent of Argentine rock, in the mythical corner of Walker Street & Cortlandt Alleywhere García sat down to immortalize the cover of the album that came out on November 5, 1983 and was created entirely in Manhattan.
“We have been coming up with this idea for a long time. We are with the Argentine Consulate, behind the authorization for months and now we can confirm it,” he told Page 12 Mariano Cabrera, Argentine actor who lives in New York and is the manager of the tribute.
The original wall, where the graffiti was, was painted, and belongs to a building where a hotel currently operates, whose main chef is the Argentine Fernando Troca.
“The municipality does not allow it to be painted because it is private property and to avoid vandalism, but that day a sign will be placed that marks that from that moment it is”Charly García Corner”, Cabrera clarified.
“We hope Charly can come. Anyway, this will always be your cornerCabrera highlighted.
A shopping trip that ended with an emblematic record
A trip to the United States for leisure and shopping ended up being one of the best Argentine rock albums. Modern Clicks it was released in 1983. And four decades later, it is considered one of Charly’s most important works and one of the most influential in Argentine and Latin American music.
The album, self-produced and composed by García, was recorded almost entirely in the Electric Lady Studios, that had been created by the American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, in Greenwich Village.
The album features songs like “I’m not a stranger”, “They keep hitting us down”, “The dinosaurs”, “They won’t let me out” and “Videotape eyes”among others, that reflect the composer’s perspective on Argentine society at that time.
“I didn’t travel to make a record. But in that place, everything inspired. I liked the energy and I wanted to compose and get together with some musicians to do something”, the musician said in an interview.
Settled in New York, he dedicated himself to delving into the Big Apple music scene and buying equipment to make his next album. When the concept was in place, he chose the title and called Uberto Sagramosohis historic photographer, to photograph him somewhere in Manhattan.
“The idea was to write with spray on a wall, “Nuevos Trapos”, that’s what the album was going to be called,” García clarified in a note.
But an image of a black silhouette – painted by the Canadian graffiti artist Richard Hambleton– reminded him of the images broadcast by the Grandmothers and Mothers of Plaza de Mayo about the disappeared and everything changed.
“Next to this silhouette was a message “Modern Clix”. I thought it was perfect my idea of aerosolizing Nuevos Trapos was lost at that very moment”, Charly recalled about the birth of what would later become the album’s title and cover photo.
I kept reading:
