Colección vacía

Daniel Melero conceived Colección vacía in 1990 as a bridge between Argentine rock and experimental electronic music. The album fused synthesizers, samplers, and distorted guitars with abstract lyrics, reflecting the post-Cold War climate of uncertainty. Its production in Melero’s Buenos Aires studio was almost handmade, with home recordings later mastered in a limited run.

The record includes songs like Las luces, a minimalist anthem combining a mechanical rhythm with an ethereal melody. Melero used drum machines and analog keyboards to create cold yet emotional textures. The album was an immediate commercial failure but over time became a cult piece for musicians like Gustavo Cerati.

Colección vacía anticipated the sound of Buenos Aires’ underground scene in the 1990s, influencing bands like Soda Stereo and Babasónicos. Its title alludes to the paradox of filling a void with sounds, a metaphor for artistic search in the age of consumption. Today it is considered a precursor of electro rock in Spanish.