Gustavo Cerati | en

Gustavo Adrián Cerati Clark (born in Buenos Aires - Argentina on August 11th, 1959 - September 4th, 2014) better known as Gustavo Cerati was an Argentinean guitarist, producer, occasional bass player, lyricist, and vocalist. During the 1980's and until the mid-1990's he was the visible leader of Soda Stereo, -arguably Argentina's most important rock band.

Cerati was in a coma for over four years, after suffering a stroke on May 15, 2010 in Caracas - Venezuela on the final leg of his Fuerza Natural tour. He passed away due to respiratory failure in a Buenos Aires hospital on September 4th, 2014.

Widely acknowledged for his lead and rhythm guitar talents -and for his ability to play solos while singing at the same time in perfect key, Cerati was one of the most prolific and important rock musicians in Latin America.

Cerati founded Soda Stereo in 1982 with Zeta Bosio. Drummer Charly Alberti joined them shortly after. The band released its first album in August 1984 and dissolved in late 1997.

Cerati's first main venture away from Soda Stereo (apart from creating the band Fricción in 1985) was the album Colores Santos in 1992. An experimental project in collaboration with musician Daniel Melero , it anticipated the sonic experimentation of Soda Stereo's late 1992 album, Dynamo.

He released his first full solo effort Amor Amarillo in 1993, while still a member the band. Zeta Bosio and then-wife Cecilia Amenábar collaborated on the project. The album featured more introspective lyrics, a fair amount of electronic experimentation and was well received by both the critics and the public. He then returned to Soda Stereo releasing Zona de Promesas, a compilation album of remixes which contained the eponymous track as an opener. Zona de Promesas is an intimate song that focuses on the relationship he had with his mother (Lilian Clark). The albums Sueño Stereo and Comfort y Música Para Volar (MTV Unplugged) followed. Shortly after the band decided to split and launched a farewell tour in late 1997. After the farewell tour, Cerati embarked in a couple of projects that dealt exclusively with electronic music. He formed the group Plan V together with Chilean musicians Andrés Bucci, Guillermo Ugarte and Christian Powditch, and shortly after the duo Ocio with Flavio Etcheto.

His second solo album Bocanada was released in 1999. The record embraced both the style that made Soda Stereo famous, and a newer style reminiscent of his electronic projects.

In 2001 he wrote the soundtrack for the movie + Bien directed by Eduardo Capilla, in which he also stars and marked his acting debut. Another soundtrack he produced was for the movie "Solo Por Hoy". That same year he recorded 11 Episodios Sinfónicos, -a live recording of him singing accompanied by The Buenos Aires Symphonic Orchestra, directed by Alejandro Terán.

Siempre Es Hoy was released in 2002, and showcased a new perspective on his music and sound. A mixture of electronica, and electric rock sounds, Siempre Es Hoy is the longest running LP (timewise) in his solo career. Containing seventeen tracks and over one hour and ten minutes of running play time, the album was widely acclaimed. Reversiones was released a year later in 2003, and complied remixes from the Siempre Es Hoy album by various artists from Mexico, Argentina, Germany, etc.

Ahí Vamos (2006) was considered a return to his more classic rock style as it contains heavier sounds and a much wider guitar/drums presence. Many consider this album -along with Amor Amarillo, his finest solo efforts.

Despite stating previously that the Grammy's were of little importance to him, he attended the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony on November 2, 2006 where he won for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Song.

In 2007, Cerati toured for one last time with Soda Stereo for a massive reunion tour, that took them all across Latin America and the United States.

Cerati produced albums for several artists, most notably "Sueños en Transito" for Nicole and "Mar" for Leo Garcia. He was major sponsor and collaborator in the development and acknowledgement of Babasónicos. He also contributed on several albums for other relevant Argentinean and Latin American artists such as Fricción -which he co-founded, Caifanes from Mexico, and Shakira from Colombia. On July 7, 2007 he performed with her at Live Earth in Germany. He also joined forces with other prominent musicians as The Police's guitarist Andy Summers for a Spanish version of "Bring On The Night" / "Tráeme La Noche", and with Roger Waters from Pink Floyd on a yet unreleased song they recorded in 2008. He performed live alongside other prominent Argentinean musicians including Luis Alberto Spinetta, Charly García, Andrés Calamaro, Mercedes Sosa and many others.

Gustavo Cerati's last studio album Fuerza Natural won the Best Rock Album award and Best Rock Song award for Déjà Vu during the 2010 Latin Grammy Awards. It also received the award for best packaging and design at the same event. The album's lyrics and rock sound which at times is reminiscent of the Beatles' psychedelic period, showcased a very hopeful Cerati, with mystical and illuminated lyrics that spoke of his hopes for both the present and the future. Paradoxically, it was during the last leg of the tour that supported the album that Cerati suffered the stroke that put him in a coma.

Cerati leaves behind his mother Lilian Clark, his daughter Lisa Cerati and younger son Benito Cerati who is also a musician and has a project called Zero Kill. Cecilia Amenábar, Cerati's ex-wife is their mother.

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Discography:

* Amor Amarillo (1993)
* Bocanada (1999)
* + Bien (2001)
* 11 Episodios Sinfónicos (2001)
* Siempre Es Hoy (2002)
* Reversiones (2003)
* Ahí Vamos (2006)
* Fuerza Natural (2009)

As Cerati / Melero (with keyboardist Daniel Melero)
*Colores Santos (1992)

Other Projects:
* Sólo Por Hoy (Soundtrack) (2000)
* Canciones Elegidas 93-04 (DVD compilation) (2004)

Plan V
* Plan V (1996)
* Plan V/Black Dog (1998)

Ocio
* Medida Universal (1999)
* Insular (2000) .