Contropotere

Contropotere were and Italian anarcho crust band formed in 1986 who brought something different and amazing to the international crust scene. By incorporating non-traditional instrumentation and a discordance not usually found in the genre, Contropotere created music that was both ghostly and primitive. Translated to mean Counterpower, this strange style of tribal hardcore was made by a bunch of squatters who all lived together in Naples Italy for a time between 1986 and 1994. They had a lineup made of some core members, and a revolving cast of friends who would contribute to their records. This particular 7 inch was "realized" by 15 people total. The lyrics (English translations included in the liner notes) touch on common anarchist themes, but tend to stay on the esoteric side of things, and the dual female vocals really make the entire musical package more angry. This baby just drips with passion and energy.

Information about the band is problematic if you don't speak or read Italian, but if you can translate then there is a wealth of information here. I do know that they were extremely active in their politics and were part of several labor and anarchist movements in Italy during the 90s including the Nepoli automomist movement. Plainly put, I don't know anyone who does not immediately fall in love with this little slab of wax upon first listening and people who are not fans of the aforementioned genres can usually hang with this.

The Solo Selvaggi (Only Wild) E.P. is the bands fourth recorded output, and was released in '92 by the almighty Skuld records. Their other records are great, especially Nessuna Speranza, Nessuna Paura (No Hope, No Fear), but i constantly come back to this E.P. and consider it their pinnacle. Eventually the band's sound meandered more toward noise and industrial music, and its live shows became very performance art based. This along with their later recorded output probably alienated many of their fans. The record is very out of print but you can still find a copy on ebay once and a while. The band recently reunited to play a few reunion shows in Naples in the summer and fall of 2008.

Here is a video of the band in Berlin in 1991 before they got all weird on us.



Their official myspace page is here, although once again all in Italian.



Download here.


















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