Cenobita
The story of Cenobita
1993 - The Beginning
Cenobita's history begins in 1993, in Mexico City, from the ashes of an alternative band named Nefelheim, where Claus Bita (machinery and vox) and Omar Flo (vox) met. Due to the mutual interest for electronic music the band was born. In the beginning Cenobita used extensive distorted guitars, with percusive sequences, violent rythms and melodic tunes, all set in a crossover style. The distorted, acid texture, irritating and shredding voice was the best way to describe cyberpunk themes, like our own actual scenery.
:: Influences
Since early lyrics, Our Father William Gibson's cyberpunk concepts, precepts and knowledge, has always been the deepest influence, and his novel "Neuromancer" should always be remembered as our bible. Industrial-electro acts like Skinny Puppy, Throbbing Gristle, Front Line Assembly, Einstürzende Neubauten, Leaether Strip, Mentallo and The Fixer, :Wumpscut:, yelworC, etc have been in some way a musical influence for Cenobita. Music production started back then, and the first live appearance happened in August 1994 along with also new comers Hocico. Then the clubs/venues/theatres search started. The dark electronic scene was just unexisiting back then.
:: First release
The first song ever recorded, "Genetica Mecanica", was offered to local label "Opcion Sonica", for an electronic compilation named "From Trance to Cyber", The CD was released in 1995, and Cenobita achieved the best comments all over. In 1996, Cernobita released their first full production: "Cybertuality", the demo tape, included 6 songs: Genetica Mecanica, Valentino Muerto, Fugitivo, Constructor, Niño Atomico and Angel Desnudo. All of them with spanish lyrics, atmospheric soundscapes and complex melodies. Plenty of concerts took place, and a few interviews on radio and T.V. shows were given. The band and the premiere tape got very positive reviews, in countries like Australia or France. General acceptance and recognition established the band as one the main foundations of the mexican dark electronic scene.
:: The rising Scene
In that same year, Cenobita along other mexican electronic bands - Deus Ex Machina (RIP), Hocico, Kristi Artefaktum (RIP), Oxomaxoma and Soucerx (RIP) gathered and formed an association dedicated to produce, establish and promote underground electronic music in Mexico. This association was known as "Corporacion" featuring friendship and good will among all participants. Loyalty and Honor was always needed to remain as a member of "Corporacion" the Mother of All Organizations. (The association is now extinct. It served the members well while it lasted. Unfortunately collaboration had to be stopped, due to the lack of team work after personal interests grew among some bands...) By the end of this year, electronic music scene was bookmarked for ever when Cenobita played at the "Museo Universitario del Chopo" along with techno pop band Digitus Lex. Due to the great acceptance of the event, Cenobita proposed to create an annual Festival in that same venue, considered as the "Industrial Temple". So then the "Art and Electronic Music Encounter" was born (...it happened on a yearly basis for four years afterwise), in February 1996, structured and supervised by Corporacion, featuring other rising bands from the electronic scene, such as Deus Ex Machina, Soucerx, Krimenia, Portent, Hocico, Dulce Liquido, etc...
:: Visionary 1996
"Visiones" was the second demo tape, released later this year. Reality is analized by the beholder of life. Once again the visions of the cenobite took place, with a prospective point of view, fed by general crisis, product of modern life, and Mexico?s own reality transcript to a certain future. "Etnia", "Ensamblaje", "Regimen", "Testigo", "Neurosis Positiva", "Escape", "94-1", "Promesa Perdida", "Anticoncepcion" and "Mythos", were the songs included in this work, again with lyrics in spanish, running along for 3720 microseconds, new horizons were showing maturity reached by Cenobita, stamping their own style, through electro aggression. Slow atmospheres, post-industrial landscapes, danceable sequences and some 150 b.p.m explotions. Electro-cyberpunk at it's best. Again great reviews were achieved worldwide. The edition of 1000 copies were sold out, practically unavailable today.
:: Neo Milenio 1999
During 1997 and 1998, Cenobita dedicated time to play live shows, even though some problems were met because of the lack of venues, promoters and events. Music activity was interrupted briefly, and towards the end of 1998, Cenobita started to work on the next production, and by the first quarter of 1999, recording process started for the first album. "Neo Milenio", conceived during the previous years, from terminal ideas of a dying millenium, to that new monster opening in front of us. The first production in CD format was in released in Mexico and the USA, in October 1999 thorough Mexico?s independent label "Opcion Sonica". The album included 11 songs in english and spanish: "Prisionero", "Dependency", "Earth", "Cairo", "Cristo 2000", "Insurrection", "Intolerar", "Confessions", "Mensaje", "Scabious Snout" and "Gente" The songs were radical different to previous work, since the guitar has been dropped, letting distortion survive through the synthesis itself. The big release party was planned for October 23, 1999, a concert along mentors Einstürzende Neubauten was given in Mexico City.
:: U.S.A. Invasion
During the year 2000, a series of concerts were done in Mexico City, and some other places in the country side, promoting the first album, Neo Milenio. Towards the end of the year, Cenobita was invited as headliners in Pandemonium, a festival to be held in Los Angeles, CA, USA, at famous club JC Fandango, storming the almost 1000 heads crowd. Later on the same year, Dystopian Records, invited Cenobita to the "Dystopian Views Compilation" release party in San Francisco, CA. USA, making a special guest appearance along with Flesh Field, Negative Format and God Module. The show was a complete great finale for the year. A significant evolution started in the year 2001, the first new song (Destino Final) was played live, receiving great acceptance, and was included on a Cryonica Records/Side Line compilation: Cryonica Tanz v1.0., just briefly after that, Omar Flo leaves the band because of lack of commitment and personal issues. His depatrure, expected by many people, gives Cenobita a refreshing, new and bigger change over. Claus Bita, remains as a one man project, now in charge of the voice too. The music remained unaltered, cause it was totally done, since the beginning, by him and the lyrics more than 50 percent were Bita's own inspiration. This fullfilling state of creative liberty, thrusted the music towards new horizons, new songs were starting to take form specially conceived for Claus' powerful vocal style. Cyberpunk treatment was used once again, according to Cenobita's own principles.
:: Europe is on sight
Suddenly good news came from Europe, when german label Trisol/Matrix Cube was interested in releasing Neo Millenium in Europe. Even though the album was two years old, it was very appealing to the european audience. Receiving all kinds of great reviews all over. Achieving Album of the month, on InfraRot, germany's best on line music store. Simultaneously with the release of this album, in Europe. Cenobita heads up for a U.S. Tour, opening up shows for brazilian icons, Aghast View. Giving succesful shows in Seattle, WA., San Francisco, CA. and Los Angeles, CA. Interviews and great reviews were done. The audience was impressed with the preformance for the first time as a one man project. Later on in October, for the fourth time, Cenobita returns to Los Angeles, CA. to play in the legendary club Das Bunker, celebrating their Fifth and last Anniversary party, again the show was a complete success.
:: Metamorphosis
Returning to Mexico, Cenobita gets into the studio to start the production of the upcoming album "Metamorfosis", and by the end of March 2002 the new album is finished, serving Claus Bita as producer and engineer, giving birth to the most ambicious work for Cenobita ever. "Metamorfosis" includes 9 songs: "On Line Trinity", "Estrellas", "Slaves", "Indiferencia", "Imperios", "Human Racing", "Destino Final (Global mix)", "Aliens" and "Nino Atomico (Uranio mix)", establishing a new style in Cenobita's song writing, melodic armonies, over pumping industrial club rythms, recycled samples transmutated to numeric codes, music for the hard dance floor with cyberpunk bilingual lyrics globalizing concepts. Metamorfosis, is pure evolution.
:: Europa Tour 2002
The release of the album in Europe is preceded by the first European Tour ever, which included the world wide famous Festival, Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, Germany. Other gigs happened as well in England, Denmark, Holland, Spain and Portugal. The tour was a complete success, and it gave the audience a taster of Metamorfosis.
:: Conclusion
...Cenobita is conceptual revolution and transformation of ideas. Social struggle facing the starting millenium and the dramatic events dragged into life, towards a still uncertain future, but with encouraging attitude, we welcome you to this metamorphosis, a new stage, in this ever changing world, that melts in abstract thoughts, where the balance of reality is confusing and cheating, yesterday and today, interlaced and missguided into a sea of opposite options, the search for the truth, breaking concepts that shall not be broken. We are still drowning in the consequences of our own insensibility, looking for the path of right decitions. Where will we get? Will there be another stage?, Are we able to keep on living together?...transmission continues...Mexico City.
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