Signos (album)

Signos
Studio album by
Soda Stereo
Released10 November 1986
RecordedSeptember–October 1986
StudioMoebio, Buenos Aires
GenreNew wave
Length41:04
LabelColumbia Records
Soda Stereo chronology
Nada Personal
(1985) 		Signos
(1986) 		Ruido Blanco
(1987)

Signos (Spanish for Signs) is the third studio album by the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, released on November 10, 1986, by Columbia Records. The record marked a turning point in the band’s career, consolidating a more mature sound and boosting their international projection. In 2007, it was remastered at Sterling Sound Studios in New York. The Argentine edition of Rolling Stone ranked it 25th on its list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of Argentine Rock".[1]

Background and development

In England, we had been in direct contact with a lot of new music, at a time when the United Kingdom was once again the focus of what was happening in the world of music, and we wanted to capture that explosion in our next project.

"Zeta" Bosio, [2]

In June 1986, Soda Stereo went on holiday to various European countries for 25 days.[3] The holiday started on the city of Madrid, Spain. Accompanied were Alberto Ohanian, manager of the band, an assistant of Ohanian and Fabián Quintiero, Argentine musician and friend of the band.[2] The assistant came along with the band in an effort to expand his work in Europe and try to attract interest to produce the next album in Spain.[2] For the next trip they went to France.[4] After these two trips the band went to the United Kingdom, in this trip Soda Stereo went to various music festivals including the Glastonbury Festival. Here they met with Eddie Simmons, a future sound producer for the concerts in the Gira Animal.[5][3] Simmons talked to the manager of U2 and of the Waterboys with the aim of to record covers of Soda Stereo's songs in English,[3] in order to test the Western market. The managers contacted Lene Lovich, where she offered to record a version of "Juegos de Seducción" in her private studio with Nina Hagen as backing vocals.[5][3] The cover was played in radio stations and in the BBC, but had little success.[6] Eddie Simmons also travelled along with the band to Abbey Road Studios with two vinyls of "Nada Personal", to try to convince them to record the album in the studio.[7][6] After this the band returned to Argentina and Gustavo Cerati, and "Zeta" Bosio made a short trip to New York City where they attended concerts and bought new instruments.[7]

Recording and production

Even though Soda Stereo had the money to record the album outside of Argentina, they decided to record the album in the Moebio studios located in Buenos Aires.[8] They felt pressured as they only had a month to record the album.[9] The recording of the album started around mid September 1986 and ended in mid October,[10][11] not much detailed information is known about the recording of Signos as Moebio studios didn't preserve the recording sheets.[10] One of the reasons that the band decided to record the album in the studio was due to audio engineer Mariano López, and that Moebio provided 32 recording channels while most studios from Buenos Aires at that time provided 16 or 24 channels. However, issues arose as those 32 channels were provided by two 16 channel Soundcraft consoles that had to be synchronised, which was a difficult process.[12]

For the album, drummer Charly Alberti chose the cymbals Zildjian series Brilliant hi-hats and 14‘ Sabian crashes that were distinguished by a short, and sharp sound. For the 10’, 12‘ and 16’ Remo rototoms, he also chose sandblasted drumheads because he was looking for a ‘more tinny’ sound.[13] In charge of the wind arrangements were Juan "Pollo" Raffo and Richard Coleman,[14] and Vozarrón Pablo Rodríguez with the saxophone.[15] While the keyboardist for Signos was Quintero, who this was his last work with the band.[8] Backing vocalist Celsa Mel Gowland was also invited to the sessions.[14] Soda Stereo hadn't composed any songs for the album, and the songs were developed in the rehearsal room located in Dr. Rómulo Naón y Sucre avenue.[8][16] Cerati recorded demos of ideas he had with a TASCAM 388 portastudio in his flat to then be finished in the rehearsal room.[17] However the lyrics weren't finished, Cerati claimed that he wrote all the lyrics for the album in one night, but this untrue, as he only finished the lyrics he was working on in one night.[18] Author Diego Giordano writes that this grew tension with Alberti and Bosio, causing discussions regarding the sharing of song royalties.[19] Cerati argued that he composed the songs alone without the help of the rest, and claimed that he should've owned the royalties.[19] Cerati also had problems with cocaine intoxication and had gone to the hospital several times.[20]

Release and promotion

According to various sources, Signos was released on 10 November 1986[14][21][22] by Columbia Records,[23] however Giordano disagrees and writes that it was released on the 3rd.[24] Signos was originally in the LP and cassette formats. Later, in March 1988 it was issued on the CD format, becoming —along with Parte de la religión by Charly García— one of the first Argentine albums to be released in the format.[24] Upon release, the album received a platinum certification in Argentina as 60,000 pre-orders were made before release.[25][26] Bolivian records were issued in the EP format and only contained four songs: "Sin Sobresaltos", "No Existes", "Persiana Americana" and "Signos".[27] Mexican records included text on the front cover reading "Incluye los exitos: "Persiana Americana", "Signos" y "Sin Sobresaltos"." (transl. "It includes the hits: “Persiana Americana”, “Signos” and “Sin Sobresaltos”.").[28] For promotion, "Profugos" was released as a single with "Signos" as the B side.[29] "Persiana Americana" was released as the A side to "No Existes",[30] and also released as the B side to "Sobredosis de TV", a song from the first album of the band.[31] No music videos were recorded for any of the songs in Signos as they didn't have any time to do so.[32]

Promotional tour

Following its release, Soda Stereo toured extensively across Latin America, performing in Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Colombia. Their appearance at the 1987 Viña del Mar International Song Festival cemented their status as a continental phenomenon.[33] The Signos tour was also marked by tragedy. In the city of San Nicolás, during a performance in a nightclub, a balcony collapsed due to overcrowding, resulting in the death of five people. Cerati later described the incident as part of the "dark history of rock concerts" in Argentina, lamenting the lack of safety measures at the time. Out of respect for the victims, the band performed their following shows at Obras Sanitarias without stage design or lighting.[34]

Packaging

The covers of Signos are polaroid arts made by Caito Lorenzo with Alfredo Lois.[35][36] Bosio met Lorenzo at the end of the 1970s in a photography course, years later Lorenzo called Bosio to express an interest in working with Soda Stereo.[37] His first work for the band was the Nada Personal VHS.[37] Meanwhile, Lois was in charge of the graphic art, the staging of the concerts, the direction of the band's music videos and designed the cover of the first two albums of the band.[38] Lois maintained a friendship with Soda Stereo, with the first live performance of the band being in his birthday.[38]

For the covers, the band wanted something abstract,[36][39] Lois and the band members were already familiar with Lorenzo's work with polaroid art, where he mixed op art and pop art styles and used various experimental technics in his work.[39] Lorenzo first expirimented with polaroid arts after reading an interview in a French magazine with photographer David Hamilton.[39]

Jorge Daffunchio, co-writer of Persiana Americana, had tried to convince the band to be designer of the cover by showing them his drawing folder in a meeting for the writing of the song. After having a discussion, the band decided to not let him design the cover.[40]

The back cover features more polaroid art, which each one representing a song from the album.[41] These photos were made before front cover, and Cerati chose what pictures would represent each song in a meeting with Lorenzo and Lois.[41][36] No Existes features the lyric "La Polaroid sobre la silla" (transl. "The Polaroid on the chair") which references this meeting.[36] The front cover was the result of Lorenzo making a full exposure with warm light and a development process on which he placed fabrics between the surface of the Polaroid and the rollers, causing the chemicals to be unevenly distributed and the Polaroid to capture the fabric's texture.[35]

For the font, Lois decided that it had to be done by hand with templates and Rotring fountain pens. Lorenzo and Lois made an alphabet, that they then photocopied it to cut them and make the letters into different sizes.[41] Lois also changed the band's logo, which was placed in the top right corner of the front cover.[41]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[42]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[43]

Signos was released on November 10, 1986, and became one of the first Argentine LPs also issued in Compact Disc format.[33] Critics view Signos as a pivotal moment in Soda Stereo’s discography, with a more cohesive and mature artistic direction than its predecessors.[44] The music site Sputnikmusic praised it as a “cultural manifesto” combining powerful instrumentation, striking vocals, and raw lyrics.[45] On Album of the Year, the record holds a critic score of 90/100 and a user average of 84/100.[46] By early 1987 it had already achieved platinum status in Argentina.[33]

Track listing

No.TitleTranslationLength
1."Sin Sobresaltos"Without Shocks4:22
2."El Rito"The Rite6:06
3."Prófugos"Fugitives5:17
4."No Existes"You Don’t Exist4:44
5."Persiana Americana"American Blinds4:52
6."En Camino"On the Way4:30
7."Signos"Signs5:15
8."Final Caja Negra"Final Black Box5:44

Chart performance

Chart (1986) Peak

position

Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[47] 1

Personnel

Notes

  1. ^ "Los 100 mejores discos del rock nacional". Rolling Stone Argentina (in Spanish). 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Bosio 2016, p. 136.
  3. ^ a b c d Bitar 2017, p. 57.
  4. ^ Graziano, Martín (2 September 2019). "La encrucijada que llevó a Soda Stereo a cambiar para convertirse en la banda más grande de Latinoamérica". LA NACION (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b Bosio 2016, pp. 137–138.
  6. ^ a b Bitar 2017, p. 58.
  7. ^ a b Bosio 2016, p. 139.
  8. ^ a b c Bitar 2017, p. 59.
  9. ^ Bosio 2016, p. 144.
  10. ^ a b Giordano 2019, p. 49.
  11. ^ Parraguez, Daniel Seclen (10 November 2019). "'Signos': el disco con el que Soda Stereo se hizo inmortal". Garaje del Rock (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  12. ^ Giordano 2019, pp. 49–50.
  13. ^ Giordano 2019, p. 77.
  14. ^ a b c Bitar 2017, p. 62.
  15. ^ Bitar 2017, p. 60.
  16. ^ "A 35 años de "Signos", un álbum fundamental en la carrera de Soda Stereo". Quiero música en mi idioma (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  17. ^ Morris 2015, pp. 97–99.
  18. ^ Giordano 2019, pp. 51–52.
  19. ^ a b Giordano 2019, pp. 53–56.
  20. ^ Giordano 2019, p. 48.
  21. ^ Parraguez, Daniel Seclen (10 November 2019). "'Signos': el disco con el que Soda Stereo se hizo inmortal". Garaje del Rock (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  22. ^ Adrián, Edecio Brito (10 November 2023). ""Signos": 37 años de la evolución de Soda Stereo". Radio Concierto Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  23. ^ Signos (Album) (in Spanish). Columbia Records. November 1986.
  24. ^ a b Giordano 2019, p. 60.
  25. ^ Bitar 2017, p. 70.
  26. ^ Morris 2015, p. 104.
  27. ^ Signos (Vinyl) (in Spanish). Bolivia: CBS Discos Internacional. 1986.
  28. ^ Signos (Cassette) (in Spanish). CBS Discos Internacional. 1987. Signos (Vinyl) (in Spanish). CBS Discos Internacional. 1988.
  29. ^ Profugos / Signos (Vinyl) (in Spanish). CBS Discos Internacional. 1986.
  30. ^ Persiana Americana / No Existes (Vinyl) (in Spanish). CBS Discos Internacional. 1986.
  31. ^ Sobredosis de T.V. / Persiana Americana (Vinyl) (in Spanish). CBS Discos Internacional. 1986.
  32. ^ "A 35 años de "Signos", un álbum fundamental en la carrera de Soda Stereo". Quiero música en mi idioma (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  33. ^ a b c "Soda Stereo: treinta años de Signos". Diario Uno (in Spanish). 10 November 2016.
  34. ^ "Hoy cumple 30 años Signos, el tercer disco de Soda Stereo" (in Spanish). Crock.com.ar. 10 November 2016.
  35. ^ a b Giordano 2019, p. 96.
  36. ^ a b c d Igarzábal, Nicolás (8 November 2016). "¿Cómo se hizo la tapa de "Signos"?". Todo Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  37. ^ a b Giordano 2019, p. 93.
  38. ^ a b Giordano 2019, p. 90.
  39. ^ a b c Giordano 2019, p. 94.
  40. ^ Zocchi, Julián (20 May 2020). "Persiana americana: la "maldición" del autor invisible del hit de Soda Stereo". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  41. ^ a b c d Giordano 2019, p. 95.
  42. ^ Adaime 2001, p. 908.
  43. ^ Shepherd et al. 2005, p. 588.
  44. ^ "Signos cumple 35 años, el disco de Soda Stereo que le abrió las puertas al éxito internacional". Tiempo Argentino (in Spanish). 11 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021.
  45. ^ "Soda Stereo – Signos". Sputnikmusic. 2018.
  46. ^ "Soda Stereo – Signos". Album of the Year. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  47. ^ Revista Pelo (in Spanish)

Sources

Books

  • Bosio, Zeta (1 May 2016). Yo conozco ese lugar [I know that place] (in Spanish). Grupo Planeta Spain. ISBN 978-950-49-5157-5.
  • Bitar, Marcelo Fernández (2017). Soda Stereo: La biografía total [Soda Stereo: The Full Biography]. Sudamericana. ISBN 978-9500757706.
  • Morris, Juan (1 August 2015). Cerati (in Spanish). SUDAMERICANA. ISBN 978-950-07-5297-8.
  • Giordano, Diego (2019). Uniendo fisuras (in Spanish). Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires: Vademécum, La Edad de Oro. ISBN 978-987-45755-4-8.

Music Reviews

  • Shepherd, John; Horn, David; Laing, Dave; Oliver, Paul; Wicke, Peter (2005). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. London New York (NY): Continuum. ISBN 978-1-5013-2447-5.
  • Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All Music Guide. San Francisco: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-87930-627-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

Articles

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