Vox Dei | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Genres |
Rock Hard rock Progressive rock Heavy metal Blues rock Folk rock |
Years active |
1967–1981 1986– Present |
Labels | Mandioca, Disc Jockey, CBS, Polydor, B.B. Records, DBN, La Rompe, Fonocal |
Associated acts | Manal, La Renga, Pappo's Blues, Almendra |
Website | www.voxdei.com.ar |
Members |
Willy Quiroga Carlos Gardellini Simon Quiroga |
Past members |
Ricardo Soulé Rubén Basoalto † Juan Carlos Godoy Nacho Smilari Beto Fortunato † Carlos Michelini Enrique "Avellaneda" Díaz Raúl Fernández Daniel Laira Jorge León |
Vox Dei (Latin: God's Voice) is an Argentine rock band credited for recording the country's first concept album, The Bible. Its most prolific years were the 1970s, having recorded 10 albums.
Vox Dei have had several line-up changes and a five-year hiatus. Their third and most commercially successful line-up featured Ricardo Soulé (guitar and vocals), Willy Quiroga (bass and vocals) and Rubén Basoalto (drums). This line-up was active from 1972 to 1974 (then in 1978 to the 1981 break-up), and was revived from 1986 to 1989, and again from 1996 to 1998. The band's line-up (currently featuring Willy Quiroga, and guitarist Carlos Gardellini from 1992) has been much more stable in recent years, although drummer Rubén Basoalto's death in 2010 (being succeeded by Simon Quiroga) left Willy Quiroga as the only original member still in the band.
The band's original members were Juan Carlos Godoy (guitar and vocals), Ricardo Soulé (guitar and vocals), Rubén Basoalto (drums) and Willy Quiroga (bass and vocals).
Vox Dei started playing songs from bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks and The Byrds. In 1968, they recorded a demo version of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", and Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'". The company Mandioca organized an audition for them in the Payró theatre. The members of Manal and Almendra were also present, and a few hours later they played together. After this show, Luis Alberto Spinetta (Almendra's leader) asked them to sing in Spanish, to which they finally agreed. Shortly, Quiroga and Soulé began to discuss their desire to take the band in a new direction.