El Cuarteto is the oldest active Uruguayan band. It has gained universal praise transcending local culture through universal themes and engaging everyday pathos in a humorous light. In 2017 they released the album Apocalipsis Zombi. In 2019 they released their last album to date, Jueves.
History
Beginnings
In 1984, El Cuarteto de Nos played their first show, an instrumental set in the "El Tinglado" theater. They also played at the "La Máscara", "El Circular", "Teatro de la Alianza Francesa" theaters while their own musical style was being developed. In 1984, their first album was released, in collaboration with Alberto Wolf, whom had six of the twelve songs; and drummerÁlvaro Pintos joined the group. In 1985, they stepped on a stage, located in a fair from Villa Biarritz, dressed up with aluminum foil on their legs and balloons tied into their heads.
First albums
In 1986, they edited their first LP, Soy una Arveja, on which they performed some hits, and the following year, at a concert they performed, the members were dressed up as old ladies, promoting the song Soy una Vieja. In the same year, their second album was released, Emilio García. In 1990, the album Canciones del Corazón was released in cassette, it was a commercial success.
Unexpected success
In 1994, after four years of hiatus, they released their album Otra Navidad en las Trincheras, which achieved quadruple platinum status almost instantly, making them the first Uruguayan band ever to achieve it. This album has a wider musical amplitude, having mixed salsa, music, and electronic music, in the band's usual mocking style, the most successful songs of this album were Sólo un rumor, El primer oriental desertor, Soy un capón, Bo Cartero, El putón del barrio and Me agarré el pitito con el cierre. Mocking their success, they call their 1995 album Barranca abajo, this album is acknowledged as darker than their previous works, and exploiting the success generated by Otra Navidad en las Trincheras, they released in the same year, the album La misma porquería, a compilation of their first three albums.
Controversy
In late 1996, they released their seventh album El Tren Bala. This album was controversial in Uruguay, since one of its songs, named El día que Artigas se emborrachó makes an allusion to José Gervasio Artigas, the founding father of Uruguay, which led to attempts to ban the song, delaying the release of the album, being the reason of the creation of their own label, Manzana Verde. Because of the diversity of musical styles presented, the reception of this record was very high, becoming a gold record in a week.
Decay
In 1998, the group signed a contract with Sony BMG, and released Revista ¡¡Ésta!!, which was received poorly, as was its next album, Cortamambo, released in 2000.
Revival
In 2004, they released El Cuarteto de Nos, a compilation album of their all-time hits, plus three new songs, called Hay que comer, No quiero ser normal and Fui yo, the album is made in a rocker style. During the year 2005 they were dedicated to presenting a new album, as well as celebrating the band's 21st anniversary with a show, having as special guests the musicians Gabriel Peluffo and Tabaré Rivero, amongst other famous musicians of Uruguay. On May 20, 2006, the album Raro was released. It was a major commercial success, it rose to the top of the Uruguayan charts, reaching gold status only a few weeks later. In 2007, El Cuarteto de Nos was nominated for Latin Grammy with "Yendo a la casa de Damián" on their album Raro. They started a trip around the world including stops at the Vive Latino Festival in Mexico, as well as the Rock al parque in Colombia. In 2008, they performed for Pepsi Music 2008, a huge festival in Argentina, along with other big bands and solo artists.
Departing of Ricardo Musso and the releasing of Bipolar
On May 27, 2009, in the midst of the development of their album Bipolar, it was said that Ricardo Musso had artistic and administrative differences with the coursethe band had taken. Majareta Productions, announced that the band would not split, but would undergo structural change. With the departure of Ricardo Musso, two new musicians had joined the band, replacing Musso's guitar, Gustavo Antuña and the keyboardist Santiago Marrero. Finally, after many setbacks, the album was released in September 2009. This album was well received, winning five Graffiti Awards on June 2010.
