One of the most important bands to appear in Spain immediately after the en… Read Full Bio ↴One of the most important bands to appear in Spain immediately after the end of the Franco regime (1939-1975). With Parálisis Permanente, Gabinete Caligari and Alaska y los Pegamoides, they were very influential in the movement soon to be branded as "Movida Madrileña". At the beginning, their sound was deeply influenced by the British New Wave, although they appropriated their influences in a very particular way. Later developments would lead them to embrace other rhythms and influences, mainly from the Caribbean.

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.

Oscuro affaire
Radio Futura Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Suena todo el día un teléfono maldito
negras palabras en el auricular
lo mantengo alejado
y miro al infinito
pondré mi mente a cero una vez más.

Voy a adelantar mis vacaciones
es el fin del invierno

iré cerca del mar
vestiré como un dandy
daré largos paseos
pensaré en los detalles
de mi próximo plan.

Estoy metido en un oscuro affaire.

No podrás cambiar mis emociones
y si un atardecer me dejase llevar
o dudase un momento
esperaré a la noche
y sabrás que la guerra
no ha hecho más que empezar.

Estoy metido en un oscuro affaire
ya no puedo volver atrás
no sé como salir de él.

Estoy metido en un oscuro affaire.

Suena todo el día un teléfono maldito
negras palabras en el auricular
lo mantengo alejado
y miro al infinito

pondré mi mente a cero una vez más
una vez más.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Radio Futura's song "Oscuro Affaire" seem to convey the feeling of being trapped in a dark and complicated situation. The constant ringing of a cursed phone brings nothing but negative words, causing the singer to disconnect from it and gaze into the endlessness of space. He decides to go on an early vacation, as if to escape or release himself from the burden that is weighing him down. He will dress like a dandy and take long walks, focusing on the details of his future plans.

Despite the respite, the singer cannot shake off the underlying sense of unease. He claims that no one can change his emotions, and if he were to be swayed by a sunset or a moment of doubt, he would wait until the night falls to reveal that the real battle is yet to come. He is stuck in a dark and complicated affair, and he doesn't know how to get out of it. The recurring line at the end of the lyric, "Suena todo el día un teléfono maldito / negras palabras en el auricular / lo mantengo alejado / y miro al infinito / pondré mi mente a cero una vez más" (All day long a cursed phone rings / black words on the receiver / I keep it away and look into infinity / I will reset my mind once again), suggests that he can only cope with the situation by repressing it and resetting his thoughts every time it becomes overwhelming.

Line by Line Meaning

Suena todo el día un teléfono maldito
A cursed phone rings continuously throughout the day

Negras palabras en el auricular
Dark words are spoken on the other end

Lo mantengo alejado y miro al infinito
The phone is kept at bay while looking at the endless universe

Pondré mi mente a cero una vez más
Clearing the mind once again

Voy a adelantar mis vacaciones
Advancing the vacation plans

Es el fin del invierno
The end of winter approaches

Iré cerca del mar
Heading towards the sea

Vestiré como un dandy
Dressing like a dandy

Daré largos paseos
Taking long walks

Pensaré en los detalles de mi próximo plan
Thinking about the details of the next plan

No podrás cambiar mis emociones
Emotions cannot be changed