Size was a Mexican

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

active between 1979 and 1985. Its members were Illy Bleeding (Jaime Keller), Dennis Sanborns (Walter Schmidt), This Grace (Carlos Robledo) and Dean Stylette (Alfonso Moctezuma). Size's songs featured the use of synthesizers, and lyrics were written and sung in either

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. A compilation of their singles and previously unreleased songs was released in 1991 on the Rock'n'Roll Circus label, and in 2018 their unreleased 1984 album ''Nadie Puede Vivir con un Monstruo'' was released by Cleopatra Records.

History

Lead vocalist Jaime Keller Cortina, known under the pseudonym of Illy Bleeding, arrived in Mexico in late 1977 after living and studying in

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. There he had contacts that established his own stage and musical style, such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and members of

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and other punk bands. Later, he met Walter Schmidt and Carlos Robledo, who had finished their project called

Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a Power, root-power, and field quantities, power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whos ...

, a band dedicated to

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

and

Rock in Opposition Rock in Opposition or RIO was a movement representing a collective of progressive rock bands in the late 1970s united in their opposition to the music industry that refused to recognise their music. It was initiated by English avant-rock gro ...

. Upon arriving in Mexico, Keller became aware of the censorship of Mexican rock by the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party (, , PRI) is a List of political parties in Mexico, political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 as the National Revolutionary Party (, PNR), then as the Party of the Mexican Revolution (, PRM) and fin ...

, resulting in the band playing at concerts and gay bars at that time. Keller was part of Lady Bleed and Plastic Cocks before the creation of Size. Walter Schmidt was editor and columnist for the magazine ''Sonido'', where he wrote about new rock genres and international underground bands. In a 2012 interview for the radio program La Ruleta, Walter Schmidt comments on the origins of Size: During its short period of activity, Size had several live performances in underground venues in Mexico City, together with the band Dangerous Rhythm (later Ritmo Peligroso) laid many of the foundations of what would become punk in Mexico. In the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

areas in the north of the city, a more anarchic punk movement took shape in the early eighties with bands such as Rebel'd Punk, Massacre 68 and Síndrome.

Later projects

After the dissolution of Size following a concert in

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

in 1985, Walter Schmidt and Carlos Robledo joined Ulalume Zavala and Humberto Álvarez to form the synthpop group Casino Shanghai, in which they recorded the album ''Film''. Presently, Schmidt continues to perform on Mexican stages with a repertoire closer to electroacoustic and concrete music. In 2005 he recorded an album entitled ''Ríos de Sangre''. Illy Bleeding formed several projects such as OD (1994), El Abrigo de Eva Fink with Rene Cremieux (2002), Multiple Side Effects (2004), Smelling Colors (2005) and El Gabinete Azul (2008). In his last project he performed as Illy Bleeding y Los Robotes Trucosos, a group with which he performed both new compositions and songs by Size. Illy Bleeding died on October 26, 2010, as a result of a car collision three days prior. Illy Bleeding y Los Robotes Trucosos' self-titled debut double EP was released posthumously in November 2010.

Discography

Albums

* ''Nadie Puede Vivir con un Monstruo'' (Cleopatra; 2018; recorded 1984, previously unreleased)

EPs and singles

* ''Tonight / Daily Matrix'' 7" (New Rocker Productions; 1980) * ''El Diablo en el Cuerpo / La Cabellera de Berenice'' 12" maxi (independent; 1984)

Compilations

* ''Anarchy In Mexico'' (independent; 1981) * ''Rock Nacional 1981'' (independent; 1981) * ''Sound Cosmodel'' (Atelier Peyotl Japan; 1984) * ''Size'' (Rock'n'Roll Circus; 1991; compilation of their two previously released singles, a session made in 1980, and the then unreleased LP ''Nadie Puede Vivir con un Monstruo''.) * ''Unisex'' (Dinero Rosa; 2004) * ''Backup: expediente tecnopop mexicano 1980-89'' (At.At; 2005)

Documentary

On August 5, 2011, a feature-length documentary about Size directed by Mario Mendoza titled ''Nadie Puede Vivir con un Monstruo'' was released.

References

{{reflist Musical groups from Mexico City Mexican post-punk music groups Rock en español music groups Musical groups established in 1979