Autobiographical notes about Derribos Arias by ALEJO ALBERDI:
If we had to define Derribos Arias in just one word, that would be CHAOS. Sometimes something interesant emerged from that chaos, sometimes we bored even sheep to death. The catalyst and main responsible for that was Poch, one of the most fascinating persons I have ever met and the man I should be grateful for giving me the chance of living music as an actor (in a supporting role) and not as a spectator. Under the character of Poch (outlandish, picturesque, obsessive) was an excellent composer, an intuitive and original guitarist and a performer endowed with a strange magnetism; these qualities, however, were not completely appreciated by the audience at that time.
Juan Verdera was (he is,still!) a solid and imaginative musician who contributed, with his Fender Precision bass without frets, to define the particular sound of the group, going further the typical role that this instrument usully has in rock. The one who signs used to work with the rhythm-machine, a monophonic Korg and a Telecaster, and, although it is usually said that it is no good to bite off more than one can chew, I think that I eventually obtained an inescapable dexterity on their handling. During the most successful times of Derribos Arias, the drums were played by Manuel Moreno (aka Paul), who provided our concerts with an intensity not able to be given by any kind of machine then.
I cannot forget mentioning Ñete and Deme Gómez, who, in the last and least appreciative stage of the group, were in charge, respectively, of the drums and the guitar. Unfortunately, they did not record any album with Derribos Arias, but the fact is that we gave some of our best concerts with them.
The greatest virtue of the group was that we were able to combine -without self-censures or prejudices- all kind of, apparently, incompatible styles: Sinister Wave, Bubblegum, Psychedelics, Pop, Punk, German Rock and Disco. Derribos Arias was like a sponge that absorbed everything and regurgitated it later. That explains the critics' inability to label our work and also their uncertainty when trying to judge it. However, this absence of criterion was probablu our worst fault. The self-indulgence and the irregularity are venial and almost inevitable when someone is beginning his career but those turn into a dead weight when you have to respond to the audience's expectation when they have just bought your album or a ticket for one of your concerts. When we were able to mitigate such defects, the audience and the media's interest had already cooled down, so it irremediably became the dissolution of the group.
But I honestly think that, in our best moments, we were able to avoid some of the "ills" that Spanish rock is constantly suffering: the lack of sense of humour, the vanity, the excessive mimentism and the painful image offered by many Spanish groups. Nowadays, I'm able to look at the group's pictures without dying laughing - a thing thar not many contemporary groups of Derribos Arias can say.

Alejo Alberdi

• Branquias bajo el agua (EP, Gasa, 1982)
• A-Flúor (Single/Maxi, Gasa, 1982)
• Aprenda alemán (Single, Gasa, 1983)
• En la guía, en el listín (LP, Gasa, 1983)
• Disco pocho (Maxi, Gasa, 1984)
• CD (compilation, CD, Gasa, 1996)
• La centralita de información (compilation, CD-Book, Dro, 2001)

as La Banda Sin Futuro:

• Grabaciones desinfectadas (CD, Subterfuge, 1997)

Poch:

• Poch se ha vuelto a equivocar (LP, Epic, 1985)
• Nuevos sistemas para viajar (LP, Gasa, 1988)

"I find myself before a crazy explosion of pure electric music, where the rhythm is beaten by the oppressive screechings of the saturated amplification and the melody is murdered in every chord and transformed into... God only knows. Derribos Arias are the sound of madness, and madness dominates our times. They are not better or worse, they are simply unique, brilliant, incredible. They are the real dirty face of Spanish rock." (Ignacio Juliá - ROCK ESPEZIAL)

"In Derribos something uncommon is produced - the imagination is not only in the service of the compositions, lyrics and titles but also of the arrangements, the way of playing each instrument, the way of singing and of the image over the stage.../... Derribos Arias' music becomes more unforeseeable and exciting than others at present." (J.M.Costa - EL PAIS)

"Poch, the head of Derribos Arias, provided the most surrealist, extravagant and imaginative side to the so-called "Movida Madrileña". A mythical unrepeated guy with the freedom of a child who had sticked his glasses with sticking plaster or who had hung clothespins up on his coat or his hair, but with an amazing lucidity and maturity for creating songs that every night took on a different shape and reflected an impossible world." (Ricardo Alderondo - ROCK DE LUX)