By José Gandue @Gandour
Photography and video Vindicator
There's no need to feel uncomfortable if any of you were unaware of the existence of Wolfranium. The truth is that the author of this article knew nothing about this Argentinian stoner rock band until their representative, Felix Bunge, sent us information about them. A Nuclear Reactor, a 15-minute mini-documentary, which, despite having been filmed at the end of 2018 and released a few months ago, Only now is it receiving the proper promotion, to be seen by the amateur public anywhere on the planet.
Opening the file, we were expecting the typical performance from a self-managed band wanting to showcase their songs live with no greater context than the opportunity to record themselves and capture the moment for friends. The "documentary" label prevented us from postponing the viewing., in a season where, it must be said, there is an excessive production of online concerts captured with a cell phone lens and transmitted with a weak connection signal. The difference, and it's noticeable from the beginning, is that here there's a chronicle, a story worth watching.
It all starts with the preparations. This is a band that decides to record a couple of songs outside of a traditional studio and goes to a factory, They brought with them their newly purchased mixing console, the microphones they and their friends had, and, notably, the guitarist's old rug that had been with him since the beginning of his musical journey. Beside them, a film crew was ready to capture every detail. It all starts with someone else's blues playing on a speaker, setting the good atmosphere throughout the entire setup.
The delicate photographic concept and staging are striking, immediately suggesting a professional production. Every detail is presented with the elegance it deserves., And it is always noted that we are looking at an independent project. The three musicians are putting everything in its place and checking every sound that is going to be emitted. They (and only they) are the ones who want to take on the adventure of discovering what might happen with this whole setup. Throughout the process, each member—Cherman (bass), Ariel Ferreras (drums), and Leandro Brunacci (guitar and vocals)—individually discusses the origins of the idea and shares details, revealing that things weren't entirely clear when they decided to embark on this experiment and that, rather, As they progressed, they were increasingly surprised by the results.
This statement may sound strange, but you'll understand when you see the video: The beauty of the documentary is that in fifteen minutes you don't hear a complete song, except when the credits are played, bringing the screening to an end. The story unfolds through samples of instrumental performances, evidence of the prevailing reverberation, and the comments following each sound. The key here has been to describe the journey without revealing the destination. The most satisfying aspect of this audiovisual work is... to see the development of the discussion about the process, the curiosity that motivates it, and the expertise that it brings with it.
Of course, after seeing it, A Nuclear Reactor This gives us a good excuse to look up this trio's music and get to know their tunes (there are other videos with the full songs that you can see below). But, regardless of whether we like their songs or not (we were fascinated by them), The documentary is a valuable lesson that should serve as inspiration to more than one musician in these times.