Though they’ve only been operating for little over a year, Santiago’s Cazeria Cazador records are making an impact in the local underground music scene by releasing digital music and throwing parties in occupied spaces throughout the city. As well as introducing international artists to the Chilean music experience, they’ve been responsible for releasing tracks of minimal techno and abstract beats from the likes of Aurelius98, Ed Marlo and Russell.
While the capital’s music scene has undergone a reawakening since the days of Pinochet’s military regime – Lollapalooza and the massive Ultra fest make stops in the country – the underground is still much operated in the shadows.
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Label co-founder Matías Contreras aka Diente De Plata, explains that this has shaped both what Cazeria Cazador has released and how they throw parties.
“Due to lack of support by the government and imminent illegality that comes from manifesting art in a country like ours, where there is a predominant retrograde and conservative culture which does not allow our concerns to develop freely. This led us to the previously mentioned acts, breaking into abandoned houses and publishing material with a lo-fi aesthetic as a counter-cultural response to what is being imposed at the moment.”
What started as a digital label with releases from Mas569, Mucho Sueño, Qasio, Russell and Ed Marlo, the label has now the physical format with the recent release of Éxitos En Español by Aurelius98, the alias of Alejandro Briones, who co-founded the label with Contreras.
Noisey: When did the label start?
Matías Contreras: It was when Alejandro and I met while studying sound engineering and started sharing similar taste in music. It became a reality in September 2015, with the first release. “Éxitos En Español” by Aurelius98 (Briones).
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What is the electronic music scene like in Chile at the moment?
It’s hard to talk about an ‘electronic scene’ in Chile as a country because of geographic reasons that keep people apart, so there’s very few exchange between scenes from different cities. In Santiago, where we live in, there is a scene of people making electronic music, some of which come from other parts of Chile, though is small compared to the amount of people that listen and goes to electronic music events. There’s a big gap between the popular electronic music of huge festivals and the local scenes that tend to be very underground and undermined. This is changing at the moment with more people that are getting involved thanks to independent proposals.
Where do you host parties? How many people come?
The main event we host is done with Rinskitin collective which consists of people who like DIY parties in alternative spaces. The normal attendance is around 250 people. We’d rather keep it intimate.
Do the authorities make it hard for you to run a label and host gigs?
Not for running a label because we work a lot in the internet so they basically can’t control us there. Well, not yet. When it comes to gigs, there is no support from the government and it is very hard for us as independent artists to get a license for a stable, completely legal club. So we try to lay low.
Do many American or European artists tour Chile?
In general yes, but electronic music not so much, apart from popular stuff. It’s rare to have artists from abroad that are at their peak, though there has been exceptions. This happens because we are so far from everyone. This makes the booking job a lot more expensive, therefore only festivals and private brand-related events can afford to bring “big names”.
What are you most excited about Santiago music scene?
We are confident that the scene is thriving with new potential and new material. Most of it comes from friends so we are happy to see people that are close to us involved in something bigger than all of us. This growth is also making Santiago’s scene quite a spotlight for people that we consider contemporary cultural references beyond our hometown. We hope to contribute in making this bigger and stronger.
Lead image of Aurelius98 : Noe Slv
All other images: Aniv
