2023 04 01 Review -by Amadeo Gandolfo
What does it mean to be in a band?
This is a question which I, who have never been in a band, often ask myself. Particularly what does it mean to be in a band when you’ve got a day job, when you’re a bit older, when you know that you won’t be a rockstar. And, perhaps, you don’t even care. But you still want to make music.
Berlin-based Siwomat, composed of bassist and singer Pablo Paciuk, originally from Uruguay, and of guitarist Carles Navarro, originally from Barcelona, practice a possible answer to that question. You play because you are interested in the sound, because you’ve got something to experiment, or something to say, because solving creative problems is its own reward. They describe themselves as “DIY noise-post-punk in Spanish from Berlin” and the label is not deceptive, with their buzz-sawing guitars and fat droning basses which sometimes recall Gang of Four and sometimes Fugazi. They are as Berliner as they come: people who come from all over the world trying to live a quiet life and create something. The Berlin that might be going extinct. There’s something very themselves about their music, particularly around Paciuk’s deep and matter-of-factly voice, and the way their spiraling rhythms mix with the cadence of Spanish. Their aloofness and bad vibes recall a dark street in Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja, with its junkies; or the labyrinthine streets of El Raval and its quiet dangers. Or, of course, Kottbusser Tor on a Saturday night. You might not get harmed, but you might see something. And from time to time they will break into melody and you will find yourself listening to something very beautiful wondering how you got there. For example, on “Caos & Armonía” the stand-out track from their last LP.
For their last record, Tributs, which came out last year, they have chosen to honor in spirit several bands who shared the stage with them over the course of their seven-year career. Another meaning for being in a band: community and the people you meet through them. Sometimes this is the most important part! And Pablo and Carles are lovely people who make angry music.
They will be celebrating the release of the record on the 7th of April on Schokoladen (Ackerstr. 169) in their hometown of Berlin, alongside friends Jejeje, who play sardonic post pop, and DJ Itacate, who promises ethio jazz and grooves.