Showing posts with label spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spain. Show all posts

INTERVIEW 71 Oscar Fernandez (Discos de Kirlian)


Named after the iconic Aventuras de Kirlian, a band that is among the pantheon of influential artists from the spanish indie scene, Discos de Kirlian is an independent label based in Barcelona.
Oscar started the label in 2011 with the objective of releasing 7'' for less than 5 euros.
Two years and a few releases later,  what we have is an interesting collection building up with artists from the diverse and effervescent spanish scene (plus a lovely re-issue of Armistice's debut EP).


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The origins, aesthetics, logistics and what the future holds for Discos de Kirlian follows below.

best for guests. ed wood lovers


Ed Wood Lovers is a band from Cuenca (Spain) making music that spans from electronics to folk and guitar driven indie pop.
Since 2007, they have released 4 demos, a single for Elefant Records (containing songs from their 2010 album Lesiones Cerebrales).

A new album - to be considered their proper debut - is set to be released in early 2013.


               site     facebook     bandcamp     twitter


Here's Ed Wood Lover's contribution... a review of the best spanish album of 2012, in their opinion.


HIDROGENESSE UN DIGITO BINARIO DUDOSO: RECITAL PARA ALAN TURIN

Spanish electropop masterpiece.

Hidrogenesse, the Barcelona-based synth duo, released earlier this year their most pretentious album to date, a conceptual eight song mini LP about one visionary man whose revolutionary ideas changed our relationship with machines fifty years ago. Big effort for an impressive result: a tiny but polished gem.

Following the centenary of Alan Turing’s birth, Hidrogenesse give away in “Recital para Alan Turing” a perfect balanced tribute to the English computer genious. The music, full of electronic highly enjoyable sounds and non-straight-forward but nevertheless catchy tunes, and the lyrics, a wide palette of references to Turing’s life and works and computer generated thoughts (incredibly beautiful “Historia del Mundo contada por las máquinas” ends the album as a perfect cherry on top), transport the audience to a world in which Kraftwerk are Gods and computers are as alive as human beings or at least as we let them be. After all this, you will never look at your laptop in the same way.

Far away from Spanish’s mainstream but at the same time keeping indie spotlights aside from them, Hidrogennesse have found the way of keeping their status throughout the years  by doing exactly what they want and when they want to. Don’t you ever change.

jupiter

LA ESTRELLA DE DAVID JUPITER EP (independent, 2012)


La Estrella de David is, as I've already said (a few times, actually), one of my favorite spanish acts. David Rodríguez is an unique, discreet musical figure, making indiepop sound organic even when electronics are used and bringing a certain traditional music-esque feeling to his music. The kind of guy that seems to have a very personal and accurate idea of what is the universe his trying to create.

After two full lengths and inumerous collaborations (including his partner La Bien Querida and Joe Crepúsculo, two iconic figures of the contemporary indiepop in Spain as well), came out Júpiter.
It is a 5 track intrumental EP available on bandcamp. A collection of songs where krautrock meets David's signature melodies and with a sense of travelling and movement.
'Autovía' sounds like an homage to Kraftwerk's 'Autobahn'.

(nevermind the cover art)



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INTERVIEW 53. doble pletina

photo by Ramiro E
With a song made to close the discotheque, Doble Pletina took Spain by surprise and became one of the main promises of the colorful independent scene of the country.
'Música para cerrar las discotecas' is already a classic, an anthem for indiepop kids and - as spanish indie bible Rockdelux said - "a song to dance with tears in your eyes". With an apocalyptic atmosphere and a calm - yet strong - drumbeat the song goes 'Music to close the discotheque, something to dance if the end is getting close...' and suddenly you're under Doble Pletina's spell.
Mainly an acoustic act, this Barcelona based group delivers mesmerizing indiepop where love and everyday life are sung via a clever, melodical and charming perspective.
Emotional and extremely musical.

facebook     bandcamp     vimeo (tons of videos!)


Their first release 'Para que négarlo, si se puedes demonstrar' is available for free download on Bandcamp.

With a mixture of surprise, shock and a certain pride, I present you're next favorite spanish band in their first international interview...

el murmullo

TEMPLETON EL MURMULLO (Independent, 2012)

photo by Marcos Sanchez
A few days ago I ran into Templeton's bandcamp and had the pleasure to listen to their new album entitled El Murmullo (or The Whisper). Templeton is a six piece band from Torrelavega, North of Spain.
This is their second album. In 2009, Exposición Universal was released via Subterfuge Records.
El Murmullo is a 10-track album and couldn't have a better title since - song after song - slow paced gems are delivered with a beautiful and very particular imagery of broken hearts and deceit that is continuously built throughout thoughtful lyrics.
To make this album, the band asked for fans to send them things that they associated with whispers, so they could use them as inspiration. As for the band, whispers are connected with fear.
The highlights of the album are 'Mar Cantábrico' - comparing two individuals where one is the cantabric Sea (cold and acid) and the other being Cote d'Azur ( a natural disaster that still makes the other tremble) is absolutely fantastic.

'Los Días' tells the story of a love taken for granted and has a video featuring two girls (or their memories) involved into a dreamy and full of light atmosphere.
This album is full of pop references - pop from the 60's, spanish indiepop from the 90's, flirtations with electronics used to punctuate the most upbeat song of the album 'Sabe Mejor', somber moments where the fear is almost palpable...

Everything is filled with a delicate and sensitive aesthetic that makes it all kind of irresistible.


Here's a live performance of 'El Caminante' - another favorite of mine - for Esquire Spain.


El Murmullo was released only in vinyl. You can also get the album at their bandcamp page.

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la historia de un artista (homenaje a daniel johnston)

V.A. COLOREANDO A DANIEL JOHNSTON (LA HISTORIA DE UN ARTISTA)


We have the awful habit of labeling as crazy people that see things differently (ok, now I'm practically plagiarizing Apple's ad). What I mean is, we are unable to deal, as a society, with the outspoken, original and sensitive ones. The path we chose that led to our current social state has no space for meaningful, and multi-perspective exchanges. And that's our fault.

And from time to time, a particular crazy, misunderstood and lonely voice stands out and produce waves throughout a generation. The 80's and early 90's seemed to be Daniel Johnston's moment. Or maybe Johnston was the voice that better translated the young modern angsts of the 80's-90's kids. And let's be honest: few people embody the unadjusted, troubled and sensitive modern man as good as Johnston.

Last month, a compilation featuring bands from Spain and Latin America was released.

The project (free and non-profitable) was started by two guys from Granada (Spain) with an obvious admiration for Mr. Johnston. Throughout the 18 songs, we get unexpected covers and versions in spanish from an important - and quite underrated - group of contemporary artists from the spanish indie scene (or the indie scene in spanish).

COLOREANDO A DANIEL JOHNSTON (or Coloring Daniel Johnston) features consolidated indie darlings like Los Punsetes, Odio París, Alondra Bentley, Barcelona's greatest La Estrella de David and last year's latin sensation Las Robertas.
(Highlights to underground acts like Varaverde, Capitán Sunrise and Nine Stories).


The compilation is a fuzzy combination of guitar distortion and some pretty interesting and creative takes on Johnston's body of work. The album is part of a zine and is available for free on bandcamp.




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2011. BEST FOR GUESTS. 11 stand up against heart crime





Stand Up Against Heart Crime is a group from Barcelona, Spain. They have an EP and a single, both released in 2011. The EP contains 5 songs filled with a minimal electro-new-wavey bliss while the single follows the same melodic line - but less minimal - with prominent dreamy guitars strums. One of my discoveries of the year.
You can get both releases on their bandcamp.

           
                     site     facebook     bandcamp     soundcloud

ALBUMS








SIRIUSMO MOSAIK (link)
COM TRUISE GALACTIC MELT (link)
FACTORY FLOOR UNTITLED (link)
SUUNS ZEROES QC (link)
JOHN MAUS WE MUST BECOME THE PITILESS CENSORS OF OURSELVES (link)


stand up against heart crime

STAND UP AGAINST HEART CRIME ~ ST EP (Independent, 2011)


What will you do with 5 songs of a kraut-synth-pop-wave project from Barcelona, formed by Josep Xortó in 2009?
You will dance, indulge and enjoy. Period.
The solo project is now a 5 piece band (4 musicians + 1 visual artist) and is currently working on their debut album.
Their first ep can be found on their bandcamp. A collection of songs that falls between something dreamy and decadent, minimal and warm.
'I Can't Stand Myself Sober' and 'Coffee and Cigarettes' are gems. And when I mean gems, I mean GEMS.
Don't fight and don't stand up against... just surrender and let yourself be taken by the minimal bliss that is Stand Up Against Heart Crime.




site
facebook
bandcamp
blog
myspace
interview (this is fake diy 17.06.2011)

VIDEO la estrella de david. un último esfuerzo

La Estrella de David ~ Un Último Esfuerzo (2011)

David Rodríguez is the musician I admire the most when the subject is spanish music. Actually, he is part of my 'Spanish Trinity' formed also by La Bien Querida and Joe Crepúsculo. The coincidence is that they tend to work together... David plays with and produces La Bien Querida's albums and has a project with Joe Crepúsculo called Junco y Diamante. They're all from Barcelona.
I first heard his music back in 2005 or 2006, when someone sent me a few songs from him... it was pretty demo-ish, lo fi... but I was completely addicted to it. In January, 2007 I went to an eurotrip with Fernanda and Leonardo (my roomates) and while in Barcelona, the only thing I'd listened to while strolling around the city was his music (specially 'La Chica Más Guapa de España').
Then in 2007, he released his debut album and it was a glorious album, to say the least, even though nobody paid attention to it.
Now there's 'Maracaibo', his new album, released by Canada. 13 songs with the signature of David, putting together hints of traditional music, indiepop, distorted guitars and lyrics filled with an infectious romanticism.
This is music that touches you deep, whether by its melodies and/or lyrics. In case you need a reason to start speaking spanish, here's one...
You can listen the album on Spotify...
... and watch the video of the first single 'Un Último Esfuerzo', starring David, La Bien Querida, Joe Crepúsculo and Jordi Irizar paying an homage to The Jesus and Mary Chain.



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ataque de caspa

Ataque de Caspa ~ Supongamos, Por Ejemplo (Independent, 1985. Released: 2011)

Madrid (Spain), circa 1985.
A group called Ataque de Caspa - Dandruff Attack - formed by one girl (Carmen) and five boys (Nacho, Lalo, Alfredo and Luis) recorded a few songs, played once on a tv show, did a few gigs and vanished. 

Internet (Earth), 2010.
We can say that a certain phenomenon happened... all of a sudden, bands were playing Ataque's songs in concerts, a 4 track ep from almost 30 years ago started to spread and a buzz was created around the band... suddenly, there was a myspace and facebook page. 

Now 'Supongamos, por ejemplo', a 6 track ep, is available for free download on bandcamp with two more songs. Impossible to describe the sound, really... not because it is 'different' but because it has that dust of time that gives an amazing feeling and atmosphere to it. It is C86, twee, Joy Division-esque at moments. In a perfect world, Cherry Red would've released their ep and they would be opening concerts for Orange Juice.
Close to none information is available online. What some people are saying is that after all this years away from music, they are recording new stuff with Los Nikis, a spanish pop punk band from the 80's. 
Also, a tribute album will be released, featuring some of the best bands of the new spanish indie scene like Los Punsetes, Klaus & Kinski and Triángulo de Amor Bizarro.     
Shake of the dust from the past 30 years and dance... here you'll find 6 glorious tracks that - thankfully - saw the light and ears of our times... 



01. Viaje a Egipto
02. Cronica China
03. LaLaLa
04. Nigeria
05. La Pesca
06. La Militar




VIDEO la bien querida. hoy

In 2008, 'Romancero' pleased our ears and hearts with love and catalan sounds. It was La Bien Querida's debut and now, 3 years later, she's back with 'Fiesta', due to be released on March, 7th via Elefant Records.

'Hoy' is the first single and - I know I should say something - but the feeling is intangible... or maybe I'm simply scared to trap the song into inherent words.

'Qué será la muerte? / me preguntaste un día / y no te sube contestar / si la muerte es mirar y no verte / que la muerte es mirar y no verte''
"What is death? / you asked me someday / and I couldn't tell / if death was to look and don't see you / death is to look and don't see you"




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klaus & kinski. interview #32

Klaus & Kinski is a band from Murcia, Spain and since 2008 they've been casting a spell of fragility, loud guitars, emotional melodies and phenomenal skill to mixture musical styles. Their albums have a profound collection of songs that travel through shoegaze, rumba, bossa nova and electronic sounds. And the most interesting thing to note about that is how cohesive this mixture of different genres sounds.
Alejandro Martínez is the guy who writes the songs and take care of arrangements. His lyrics deal with subjects from History - citing demons (like the nazi dr. Mengele in the beautiful 'Mengele y el amor') and heros (Bakunin, the russian anarchist political theorist); the fear of death and, of course, love.
Two years and two albums later (both released under the great Jabalina Musica), Klaus & Kinski is one of the pillars of the vibrant contemporary spanish indie scene.

We talked with Marina, the sweet voice breathing life to Alejandro's words. She talks about their origins, the many music styles inside their music, inspirations and about their new album, due to be released in 2012.


01. How did you got together and decided to start a band? And by the name of the band I assume you are big fans of the german actor Klaus Kinski… how did you get to the name?

We met on a disco parking, three days before 09.11 terrorist attack, but we started to make songs during 2006. Actually we are not fans of Klaus Kinski, but we liked his name and angry face. We thought "klaus&kinski" was stupid enough to sound cool.

my hdd is broken and i feel so lonely

hey everyone... due to some technical problems (read computer going crazy) we've been away for some time... still trying to re stablish everything. no, no music was lost (thank god!).
to fit the technological mood of the moment, no song could be better than 'my hdd is broken' from cof cof (you know them. they've been here before).



ed wood lovers

ed wood lover interview

today our featured artists come from spain. it's not a secret to anyone my passion for independent spanish artists. i think the scene there is so fresh and original as few other places in the world. an example of this is ed wood lovers. a duo from cuenca, a city placed in central spain.
their music is extremely diverse and while listening to their songs you're taken through a journey in space, time and mood. in one song you're in a cosy place with someone and the next takes you to a dancefloor set in the 80's (or a rock concert that could happen in 2025).
like most of the spanish acts i like (and probably like the ones you like), they have a very precise hand for lyrics.
it's perfect music to celebrate the approaching summer.
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quick update: they'll release their debut single on the lovely elefant records next autumn!
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here's the interview i made with them. below, you'll find a link to their bandcamp. there you can download their just released album ''lesiones cerebrales'.

01. how it all started? and where does the name come from? are you really ed wood lovers?
well, the first day, god created the earth, and the rest you can read it on the holy bible. about us, we are just two friends who love music. well, we admire ed wood’s self confidence and his special vision of the world.

02. your songs cover a wide range of music styles: there's electronic, guitar driven tunes, ballads... talk about your universe a bit? references and stuff..
we are just two in the band but we have very different influences, that’s the key point that makes our music so difficult to put in a box. we like almost all kinds of music, from beatles, the who, radiohead, to animal collective, hot chip or spanish great poet joe crepúsculo.

03. how do you create a song? and how's the recording process?
we normally start with the lyrics. once you have good words, is easier to put music over them. what’s more, the story you are telling with those words make you make the song in a way or another, more acoustic, with synthesizers or whatever. we record all our songs at home, in our own study, so is a really easy way process, no pressure and a lot of thing that we can try to make each song sound like we want.

04. your releases are available for download. what's your thoughts on music distribution nowadays?
it’s easier to get to a lot of people through the internet, but at the same time there are loads more of bands, so if you want to be heard is better to give away your music. clearly people buy less albums on stores and listen to music more using programs like spotify, so you have to change your point of view, make your songs available and cross your fingers.

from their myspace
05. what did you had in mind while creating (the wonderful) 'el dia que conocí a ewan mcgregor' (in english: the day i met ewan mcgregor)?
well, that song talks about what happens when you remember a person that you loved so much in the past. that person has never really left you even if your relationship ended a long time ago, is on you somehow.

06. your idea or a perfect pop song is...
“there she goes” by the la’s, simple and beautiful.

07. do you get to live of music or have another job?
we wish, but we have other jobs.

08. any song you'd like to cover?
loads, “no car goes” by the arcade fire, for instance.

09. name the perfect place and time to hear your music.
we make music for almost any space and time.

10. recommend something you've been listening lately.
yeasayer, from baltimore.

11. anything else you feel like saying?
just encourage people to enjoy music and to download our new songs on bandcamp.


this is the cover of 'lesiones cerebrales', clicking on it, you'll be taken to their bandcamp page where you can download it.


myspace

to the future

cof cof ~ to the future ep (independent, 2010)

cof cof is alex cuadrado and ana analogica, an eletro-duo from valencia, spain. the first thing that caught my attention about their music was their intelligent and witty lyrics. i found them on last.fm in 2007 and their first ep 'cuadralogica' was an easy to fall electro pop that among other things, talked about a certain illegal imigrant coming from another planet called 'aurelia'. all the songs were sang in spanish.
after that came 'who said party?', a 9 song ep that caught the attention of the blogosphere and caused some buzz around the group (indeed the album is flawless! amazing songs from beginning until the end). switching from spanish to english, their songs kept their witty perspective on life and among the subjects were parties and drinks, infections on a saturday night, the desperation of having a hard disk broken and invitations to drink some bleach (i know i'm being dirty/but i'm a bitch, bitch, b b b b b bitch). the same song, called 'dirty tricks', has a funny 'critic' for not being successful while madonna, taking an abba's loop, reaches the top of the charts. that was 2008.
after 'who said party?', the sound of arrows invited them to create a remix for their hit single 'm.a.g.i.c.', and in 2009 they released 'safari' a 5 song ep that, in my opinion, isn't their best musical moment. but a song that you really, really have to listen from it is 't-shirt', played on a tenori-on.
yesterday 'to the future ep' was released: 3 songs full of their geek references and infectuous beats (and with ana's voice more polished than ever...) awesome return!


01. to the future
02. jungle of love
03. please

myspace
blog

don't change for anybody, i won't change for you

the cripple and the tramp ~ don't change for anybody, i won't change for you ep (discos perdidos, 2010)

this is the solo project of david miranda, singer and guitarist from spanish band nouvelle cuisine. acoustic and melodic songs perfect for autumn days recorded straight from his house somewhere in the countryside of wales.
the album was released under discos perdidos, a new netlabel - we love them - giving away free music to the kids...

01. top flat
02. see you again
03. the ventriloquist
04. plans
05. insomnia
06. in the morning light

myspace

de viaje al país de las tormentas

pumuky ~ de viaje al país de las tormentas (federación de universos pop, 2006)

pumuky stands today as one of the most inventive indie groups on the spanish scene. a must hear.
it all began with jair ramírez as 'alex kid en el país de las tormentas' in the canary islands trying to fill his soul with his own music. after dozens of awards and favorable reviews, he was joined by his brother and other friends and pumuky was born.
'de viaje al país de las tormentas' is their first lp and was recorded by the band in different places of the canary islands.

it's dense, idyllic, full of atmospheres and melancholy. guitars and eletronic elements flirting with (sometimes)post rock and (sometimes) folk wrapped around jair's whispery voice. the album, as a whole, gives you a sense of walking through landscapes of an island that could be situated in antartida or pumuky's own gran canaria, facing dark skies and cold winds.
very beautiful, extremely sad and amazingly delicate.
'la hoguera más grande del mundo' is among the prettiest songs ever written...



01. vertigo ante la posibilidad inminente de ser feliz
02. la hoguera más grande del mundo
03. dummies in love
04. demasiadas r.p.m.
05. pequeño
06. morir soñando nuevamente
07. noviembre; el eterno retorno
08. réquiem por el chico cangrejo
09. de viaje al país de las tormentas
10. último ensayo en el sótano



myspace
fotolog

supercrepus

joe crepúsculo ~ supercrepus (producciones doradas, 2008)

in one year, joe released two albums: escuela de zebras and supercrepus. both ended up in 'the best of 2008' lists throughout the blogosphere and other mediums.
escuela de zebras was a compilation of songs while the 20 tracks on supercrepus were conceived as a piece with one theme: love. but you won't hear anything near those obvious lines like 'i can't live without you' or 'i love you'.
the name supercrepus is a palindrome, and just like this title, the album has this diferent ways to talk about love... even when it seems that isn't talking about love, at all...
the great thing about joe and the reason why he's getting a lot of (deserved) attention is his approach towards music and his idea of what is a pop song. he seems to naturally have this understanding and twist and swirl all the conventions and concepts to create a strange, odd and quirky universe where catchy tunes are everywhere... something like the air here on earth.

naive, uplifting and full of life second hand technopop with strange and perfect-to-sing-along lyrics!

(by the way, his next album will be out on october and it'll be called chill out. as joe tells, it sounds diferent from his two previous works, the main theme is the lack of love and the last song is sang by a church choir.)



01. baraja de cuchillos
02. el día de las medusas
03. amor congelado
04. amar en tiempos de democracia
05. los lagartos
06. caja de lluvia
07. sandra (with marta)
08. espada de damocles
09. el faro
10. águas pantanosas
11. los faunos (with jordi irizar)
12. capitán (with elsa de alfonso)
13. vente conmigo
14. ama y haz lo que quieras
15. la canción de tu vida
16. camino de vida (with el ortiga and thelemático rosa)
17. sabores de piña
18. no me acostumbro (with david rodríguez and la bien querida)
19. iván y laura (con daniel descabello)
20. el día de la sardina





site
myspace
buy it

junco y diamante

junco y diamante ~ junco y diamante (producciones doradas, 2009)

you may already know that i love the music scene from barcelona. lately i've been discovering a lot of great bands and acts that sing in catalan.
junco y diamante was one of the first discoveries and i feel that i should've talked about them a long time ago...
they are a duo:
1. david rodríguez - from the band los beef and the man behind la estrella de david and one of the most important musicians in barcelona nowadays, either for the music he makes and his work as producer (he produced the amazing debut album from la bien querida). he also is, in my humble opinion, who best describes the atmosphere from the city (or at least how i felt it when i visited it some time ago);
2. joël iriarte that you may know as joe crepúsculo and member of the band tarántula, another iconic figure that has been causing quite a fuss since last year with his edgy songs (tacky? genious? both?) and featuring his two albums (supercrepus and escuela de zebras) among the best of 2008.

here you'll find 4 songs, each dedicated to a diferent comarca (compared to a county) surrounding barcelona. a graphic and geographic exploration with free interpretations of those places.
it's beautiful, delicate, intimate and catalan.
('alt penedès' is lovely, probably the best song of this ep (?) and a collaboration with la bien querida).
three songs are sang in spanish and one in catalan.




01. alt penedès
02. solsones
03. pallars sobira
04. osona

you can hear four new comarcas at their myspace.
myspace

maqueta

vicente prats ~ maqueta (independent, 2009)

another fresh spanish band from valencia and another discovery taken from one of the best blogs about spanish music, señor pollo.
this is a demo containing four songs with melodic/addictive hooks and creative lyrics about love. the vocals are quite good too: the kind that makes you actually feel your ears (in a good and soothing way).
15 minutes of unpretentious - and surprinsingly unknown - sunny pop songs to sing along and dance.



01. encuentros
02. empieza el juego
03. tiempo perdido
04. la última vez

here's a video taken from a concert... they sound pretty good (and intense) also playing live.

"empieza el juego"


myspace