Aviador Dro

Hailing from Madrid, Spain, the pioneering synth-pop outfit fully known as El Aviador Dro y Sus Obreros Especializados drew early inspiration from electronic ensembles including Kraftwerk, Devo, and the Residents, together with science fiction, Dadaism, and technology, to produce futuristic, richly melodic electronic pop. Dozens of musicians passed through the lineup over the years, among them several participants from Esplendor Geométrico and Los Iniciados, yet founder Servando Carballar Heymann—known by the nickname Biovac N—remained the sole unchanging member. The musicians coined the term “tecno-pop” for their style in 1979, and initial recordings such as the 1982 album Alas Sobre el Mundo featured strikingly inventive, abstract pop compositions assembled with rudimentary drum machines and unusual sonic treatments. Subsequent works, notably the 1986 release Ciudadanos del Imperio, adopted a more approachable tone, whereas the 1990s project Aviador Dro 4000 delved into EBM and electro territory on efforts typified by 1991’s Trance. Activity continued well into the new century with politically oriented material like Candidato Futurista in 2007 and the trance-leaning La Voz de la Ciencia in 2012.

The ensemble originated in Alex y los Drugos, a punk-rock act launched in 1977 by Santamarca Institute friends in Madrid, which later transformed into the techno-pop endeavor Holoplástico before adopting the Aviador Dro name in 1979. Movieplay issued the first two singles, “La Chica de Plexiglás” (1980) and “La Visión” (1981). In 1982 the band established its own imprint, Discos Radiactivos Organizados (DRO), and that same year unveiled the debut album Alas Sobre el Mundo, the single “Selector de Frecuencias,” and the EPs Nuclear, Sí and Programa en Espiral. Following the 1983 LP Tesis (later expanded into the double album Síntesis), the group began touring Spain and soon supported the Stranglers and David Bowie. Additional full-lengths and singles appeared on DRO through the rest of the decade, encompassing Cromosomas Salvajes (1985), Ciudadanos del Imperio (1986), and Ingravidez (1988), while the 1990 compilation Heroes de Los 80 collected earlier material.

After leaving DRO in 1988, Servando Carballar and Marta Cervera launched La Fabrica Magnetica; the ensuing decade opened with 1991’s Trance (credited to Aviador Dro 4000), which shifted toward an EBM and industrial dance aesthetic. The 1992 compilation Primer Aliento, also on La Fabrica Magnetica, made much of the early catalog available on CD. Subsequent releases included the 1997 live album Cyberiada on Lollipop, the 1998 compilation Materia Oscura on the same label, the 1999 double-CD career overview Opera Cientifica 1979-1999 via Rompeolas Compañía Discográfica, and the enhanced early-material disc Vano Temporal on Lollipop that year. Cosmos Records issued the 2000 tribute Aviador Dro Re: Programado Robots Para los Atomos, featuring reinterpretations by Ford Proco, Spunky, Calígula 2000, and Panóptica among others, then followed with the 2001 full-length Mecanisburgo packaged alongside an interactive game CD-ROM. Ventura Music released the two-disc set Todos Sus Singles y EPs 1982-1998 the same year.

Subterfuge Records signed the group in 2004, issuing the Ultimatum a la Tierra EP and the album Confia en Tus Maquinas, followed by the 2007 full-length Candidato Futurista. Omega Point Records introduced the act to American listeners via the 2006 compilation ¡Eléctrico! The Best of El Aviador Dro 1978-2006. PIAS Spain released the 2010 album Yo, Cyborg, while Altafone Music brought out the CD/book La Voz de la Ciencia in 2012. Elefant Records compiled early recordings, alternate versions, and covers on the 2015 double album Otros Mundos, Otras Estrellas (1979-1982).