In 1979, painter, singer and synthesizer experimenter Herminio Molero joined several other musicians to form a new rock group. Among them were the Auserón brothers (Luis and Santiago), who wrote then in a music magazine called Disco Express under the name Corazones Automáticos; Enrique Sierra, guitar player from Kaka de Luxe and percussionist Javier Pérez Grueso. They took their name from an Italian independent radio station.
Molero contributed a fusion of electronic and traditional music to the style of the group, while Sierra added a punk tone. After months of rehearsing and a few live performances, they released their first album Musica Moderna (Modern Music) in 1980, which was an unexpected success beyond the specialized circles.
Molero and Javier Pérez Grueso abandoned the group due to disagreements on the concept of their music, and the group is completed in 1981 with Solrac (Carlos Velázquez) who had already participated in the first album.
In 1981 they recorded the single "La estatua del jardín botánico" (The Statue of the Botanical Gardens), produced by Jaime Stinus, followed by "Dance usted" (You dance), in which they developed a new fusion style ("funky-punk") that made them successful all around Spain.
In 1984 they recorded their second album, La ley del desierto, la ley del mar (The Law of the Desert, The Law of the Sea), another unexpected commercial success, with the singles "Escuela de calor" (School of heat), "Historia de play-back" (History of play-back), "En Portugal" (In Portugal), "El nadador" (The swimmer) and "Semilla Negra" (Black seed). The album has two distinct parts, the dry and hard sounding Law of the Desert and a more watery Law of the Sea.
The following year they published De un país en llamas (From a country in flames), a risky and more baroque album due to the introduced technological innovations. A remarkable eight singles were taken from this album.
In 1989, the band is elected by popular vote as the best Spanish band of the 80s. By January 1990 they had completed what came to be their last studio LP, entitled Veneno en la piel. The self produced album kept in the trail of the Latin Rock its predecessor had defined, with no major style changes other than an even more basic or "clean" sound.
The album went straight to #1 in the charts and stayed there for weeks; impulsed by their record company, the band engaged in their biggest to date live tour. On Sept. 30th, 1990, the band closed it in Madrid with what was going to be their last live performance as a band.
By the time when the tour was finished, the band members had grown weary of the musical business and the enormous amounts of money generated around the band, with no precedent in the Spanish indie pop-rock scene. Having achieved a huge notoriorety and a near absolute lead in the Spanish pop-rock scene (only contested by the synth-pop oriented trio Mecano), and also influenced by Enrique Sierra's health problems and Halsall's death by overdose in 1992, they decided it was time to disband at the height of their careers before the music industry devoured their creativity as artists.
Mercuriana
Radio Futura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
llegué cuando giraba el girasol
ya viene la estación de las canciones
la ruta da su aliento al corazón.
Amor viajero, flor de un solo día
aroma tan perfecto pasajero
monedas que reflejan soles nuevos
Amor viajero, flor de un solo día
aroma tan perfecto pasajero
monedas que reflejan soles nuevos
en manos de quien paga mi canción.
Andamos por el límite del mundo
haciendo nuestra casa en un rincón
el mundo es parte luz y parte sombra
y yo soy parte fuerza y parte indecisión.
Amor viajero, flor de un solo día
aroma tan perfecto pasajero
monedas que reflejan soles nuevos
en manos de quien paga mi canción.
Si vas conmigo no temo por la vida
pues es lo que tenemos en común
tocando con las manos los enigmas
canciones son que no han nacido aún.
Amor viajero, flor de un solo día
aroma tan perfecto pasajero
monedas que reflejan soles nuevos
en manos de quien paga mi canción
The song "Mercuriana" by Radio Futura speaks of love, travel and the passage of time. The first verse describes a journey through fields of poppies and sunflowers in search of the season of songs. The singer likens his love to a traveler, a flower that blooms for only a day, with a fleeting and perfect aroma. He also mentions how the coins paid to him for his music reflect new suns in the hands of those who pay for his song. The second verse talks about how the singer and his companion are living on the edge of the world, finding home in a corner, and how the world is part light and part shadow, whilst he himself is a mix of strength and indecision.
The final verse speaks of the safety in being with someone on this journey, in touching the mysteries with their hands, and finishing with the idea that there are still songs to be born. In general, the song speaks about the transience of love and how it mirrors the passage of time. The traveler must keep on moving, leaving memories behind, much like how the flowers bloom and die in a day. The lyrics also suggest that this life journey is best undertaken with someone who shares the same passion and spirit as a companion.
Line by Line Meaning
Eché a rodar por campos de amapola
I wandered through fields of poppies.
Llegué cuando giraba el girasol
I arrived when the sunflower was turning.
Ya viene la estación de las canciones
Now comes the season of songs.
La ruta da su aliento al corazón
The journey gives breath to the heart.
Andamos por el límite del mundo
We walk along the edge of the world.
Haciendo nuestra casa en un rincón
Making our home in a corner.
El mundo es parte luz y parte sombra
The world is part light and part shadow.
Y yo soy parte fuerza y parte indecisión
And I am part strength and part indecision.
Si vas conmigo no temo por la vida
If you go with me I am not afraid of life.
Pues es lo que tenemos en común
Because that's what we have in common.
Tocando con las manos los enigmas
Touching the enigmas with our hands.
Canciones son que no han nacido aún
Songs that have not yet been born.
Amor viajero, flor de un solo día
Traveling love, flower of a single day.
Aroma tan perfecto pasajero
An aroma so perfect but fleeting.
Monedas que reflejan soles nuevos
Coins that reflect new suns.
En manos de quien paga mi canción
In the hands of those who pay for my song.
Contributed by Madelyn C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.