It happened during the peak of the media excitement over the countercultural movement known as Movida madrileña. That DIY spirit, that in our country was awakened later than in others due to the political ballast of nearly forty years of dictatorship, had but one stage where not all of its protagonists could fit. Still, some even preferred to move away from the spotlight. Between 1980 and 1985, through the width and breadth of all of Spain, groups began to emerge that captured the fundamental essence of underground acts from other parts of the globe. New York’s No Wave, the avant-garde pop of The Residents, the possibilities of technical manipulation, or the less exhibitionist side of post-punk were adopted with the radical imagination, passion, and freedom that comes from not having to answer to anyone. The success of those bands lay with breaking with the past and never looking back, burning their boats with each recording; they gave everything without expecting anything, making tension the criterion for quality. At a time when certain kind of records weren’t easily available in Spain and the chances to see live the most fearless foreign bands live were scarce, a number of people and small collectives, inevitably centred around Madrid and Barcelona, created a diverse scene of bands, labels and fanzines which slowly and bravely developed and gained followers across the whole country. Cities like New York, London and Berlin served as examples to follow. Within this varied group of artists there was room for industrial sounds, daring post-punk, out-rock, mutant funk, dark wave, weird dance music and pure experimentalism. Tensión is the first comprehensive compilation of this most daring side of the early 80s Spanish music scene.