Getting to know Russia: the rock of Cabildo and Oath to the World

Music, language, clothing, in short, everything that surrounds us and relates us as a community, are references that over time can give a more complete picture of our society than Murakami's best essay.

And they are dynamic references.

They change, as the day changes to become night every day.

Inexorable, inevitably.

That makes me think that, for example, what the corner of Corrientes and Esmeralda meant for the tango brotherhood, for the basic rocker it would be Cabildo y Ouramento.

I don't know why it happened, personally I would have thought of another intersection, I don't know, more shooting for the Buenos Aires bass, but the one we all located right away without the need for gps and cell mapping is Cabildo y Ouramento.

I don't know since when that corner of Belgrano was positioned at the top of the podium, much has changed over time, although it seems to sustain its magic beyond metroways, subways and metaverses that add to it.

Dozens of boys gathered in that corner who, from the Churba Gallery or some pizzeria in the surrounding area, went in search of other streets, to take by storm any slums on the outskirts and feel the rock that did not stop growing for a week. Above, below or on the edge of the stage, wherever they always were, for them the likeness was that corner of the Mignon cinema, which today obviously became an alternative church.

From there we all went anywhere.

On those paths, those from Soda Stereo, including Alfredo Lois, shared greetings with the Jolivet Rabbit who was in Los Redondos de Ricota. Juanse and Gaby Carambula, we crossed Polosecki in Burgio, but in the San Cayetano de Juramento the Vergara (the Korol brothers) met to go out and graffiti the walls of the neighborhood. The Chaqueño Miguel Lalli, today soundsystem ambassador in Costa Rica with Pablo Balat, lifted Downtown, a record company specialized in sound specialties, which led by the disc jockeys of Freedom, Fire and the first Hard Rock Café -among other achievements-, fed us with music elevated to all active disc jockeys.

The video of Paranoid Mice “Vice”, the one that says “I live on the other street, I do Rock'n roll, we are not fine people, nor the worst...” is filmed in Cabildo y Ouramento. Right there, a couple of blocks up, was Starlight Discotheque and a couple down Prix D' Ami, where Dani Morano — who had already done The Ghost Train on the radio — played with Alphonso S' Delivery. Charly, Juanchi Baleiron and Lalo Mir were among the parishioners of those eternal nights.

Another life, another world. I don't know if better or worse, if more fun or boring, what I'm sure is that everything was friendlier.

Only there grew up Matthew Sukhatovich, son of Leo Sukhatovich, keyboard player of Spinetta Jade, grandson of Pocha Sukhatovich, piano teacher of Ezekiel Silberstein and Charly Garcia for pointing only a couple of disciples, both already named in these columns. In addition, today her sister Luna is shaping up to be one of the sharpest singers of the new proposals.

It is not surprising then that Mateo already has three released albums, presentations at the Gran Rex theater in full, tours that began in Spain and are now walking him throughout Latin America with his music, several nominations for important awards such as the Grammys and a legion of boys who see him as a beacon in the middle of the dark night.

Matthew Sukhatovich is Knowing Russia, as Mick Hucknall is Simply Red or Jay K is Jamiroquai. I want to say that Knowing Russia is the name of his musical project, his band, one of the most listened to in recent years on all radio stations.

Knowing Russia it's called that because obviously Matthew in school, in the club and in Cabildo y Ouramento is “El Ruso”.

At this moment it is very rare to talk about Russia outside the horror that the war is producing. Although we all know that Russia is much more than a lunatic out-of-era invasion that plunges us all into the darkest plot of struggles that are no less painful for others.

Knowing Russia is one of the best musical proposals that appeared in the last five years. He shyly appeared in 2018 with an album that went quite unnoticed called just like the band. But it was with the second album that we all turned our ears to the same side: “Cabildo y Juramento”. At this point a declaration of principles.

“La Dirección” is called the third, appeared in 2021, when even the echoes of “Cabildo y Ouramento” sound very loud.

A few months before the pandemic I received the album. The first thing that attracted me was the name, an emblematic corner of many lives, which for a lot of reasons that are not binding take a life of their own, like Havana and Segurola, those crossroads that seem to have been born to be united. “Knowing Russia”: I adore names that refer absolutely nothing of the work they contain. With a picture of a young man I didn't know. Digging into the inner envelope I find out that he is the son of Leo Sukhatovich.

Without prejudice but with substance I say to myself “this must be good”, and after two minutes I declared myself a fan of Knowing Russia. The boy not only sings barbarian, but also arranges like old school, that is, knowing what the matter is about. He produces different, composes very well, plays better and sings as he composes, clear and beautiful.

A long time had passed since an album forced me to give up everything to sit down with a good drink and listen to the whole thing. I think the last one was “Black Messiah” by D'Angelo & The Vanguard.

I liked the conceptual sound of “Cabildo y Juramento”, which took me back to Donald Fagen's good moments, plus an unmistakable groove of those who grew up tuning their ears with the most refined Argentine rock.

The first three songs on the album changed my mood, which was quite low. The melodies, the choruses, the solos, everything seemed to be magically intertwined. It seemed like a great success of a new Martian.

“Cabildo y Juramento” is the classic song that will be played on radio stations in 20 years, perhaps more than now. Like “A Thousand Hours”, or “American Blind”, which when they came out obvious that they were heard quite a lot, but today they are bored because even the dancer notices them.

I think this: if “Cabildo y Ouramento” were caught by Los Palmeras, the world would change speed again.

But I see it difficult.

I meet Mateo and he says to me: “I'm going to take a flight, which reminds me that Cabildo y Ouramento is a song written in fragments. It was written in several months. I started writing it I think in 2019, at home one noon, a beautiful day, sunny, alone, playing the piano, listening to records, between mates and my two cats. So in that state of affairs I started to play a little bit with the piano, there I play the G minor 7 chord which is quite a special chord. That chord leads me to sing the melody of the riff. Quickly, I find something there...

-Something like what, say...? I ask from my usual deafness.

And... something interesting to work with...

“I ask you for the bill please

There is so much silence on the empty street.

In the cinema there is a horror

But I'm afraid of what I see in the day.

And I like to think

That we are going to meet

At the corner of Cabildo y Juramento”

There is something hypnotic about the song, a kind of tango loop that keeps insisting. It sounds relaxed as one can walk relaxed on that corner, which is busier than a path facing the sea. With different traffic during the day than at night. A feeling that is non-transferable, you just have to travel in the middle of the night to get to know it.

There is nothing special, nor spectacular, but there is something. As happens in some other corners in every neighborhood around the world. Not all of them, though.

Mateo continues: “Shortly after I started working on the melody and composing a little, I started writing some lines... 'shall I ask you for the bill? ' 'Please... ', 'there is so much silence on the empty street...', a kind of film began to be made for me, a detective one, I felt something like that. After a while my friend El Chacal rang the bell, he came home and I showed him the song, we started looking for something together... but we didn't find anything.

- And what did you do?

-Nothing, I let the moment pass, let it go free, rest, then the song entered a period of rest. Suddenly, after a while I composed all the melody and harmony to the song, but I lacked the lyrics. I was really finishing it a little on airplanes, a little in Mexico where I spent that year walking a little. That's when I got the idea of Cabildo y Ouramento, a corner so important to me, because I'm from Belgrano and it's a busy corner. Very much lived. The song begins to be completed and to find its personality the moment we started recording it with Nico Cotton, we started producing it, we gave it all that very mysterious atmosphere that we wanted for the song...”

“I don't quite remember what happened

I wake up with a cry from my neighbor

While I get bored on the plane

You're uploading photos in a limousine.

And I like to think

That we are going to meet

On the corner of Cabildo and Oath.

I've already turned the whole city

Return to the same bar

It's daytime again in a moment.”

Mateo concludes: “The addition of the pipes came at the end, it was an arrangement that Leo wrote, a Steelydanesque arrangement that I wanted. It ends up being a tremendously important song for me, iconic. That's why my album is called that, isn't it?...”

It has aura.

Matthew has the aura of those who are surrounded by beautiful melodies. From suitable people, such as Fito Paéz, Cuino Scornik, David Lebón - with whom he recorded on his last album. His father obviously, the great Leo Sukhatovich, has that lineage of the boy who listened to Steely Dan.

Mateo Sukhatovich, Knowing Russia, is today one of the most deeply rooted reality musically speaking, roots that fed on rock, from there and here, but fortunately soon jumped from there to enter higher dimensions.

One of those that elevate rock a little more.

Until you do something else.

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