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The digital magazine for the international promotion of the Catalan music. Available in English, Catalan and Spanish. Published four-monthly. Summer 2013.
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summer 2013issue 6Catalan!
musiCemagazine
Catalans on tourreCommended festivalsnew releases
and:
Cases de la músiCaBeyond musiC venues
Institut Català de les Empreses CulturalsPassatge de la Banca, 1 i 3E-08002 BarcelonaTel. +34 93 316 27 [email protected]/cultura/icec/internacionalwww.catalanarts.cat
Texts: Grup EnderrockImages: Ana Madrid, Andreas Krueger, Bàrbara Gurvit, Bart Heemskerk, Bernat Rueda, Carles Rodríguez, Dani Cantó, David Ruano, Diego Conti, Erin Fotos, Extreme Airshots, Ibai Acevedo, Irene Visa, Jan Latussek, Jim Bennett, Jordi Vidal, Juan Miguel Morales, Kevin McGehearty, Marc Bordons, Marcel Asso, Michael Buckner, Nieves Gentil, Ray Molinari, René Keijzer, Sean Mathis, Toni Lara, Xavi Torres, Xavier Mercadé
D.L.: B-32542-2011Barcelona, july 2013ISSN: 2014-3834
Cover image: Xavier Mercadé
This magazine is published under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Creative Commons license, which allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you credit the author, but you can’t change it in any way or use them commercially. Read the full license at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/deed.ca
Catalan! musiCemagazine
summer 2013issue 6
The digital magazine for the international promotion of the Catalan music. Available in English, Catalan and Spanish. Published four-monthly.
summary
Hot: Cases de la músiCa 6
on tour 20
links 34
festivals 42
upComing festivals 54
new releases 56
summary
Hot: Cases de la músiCa 6
on tour 20
links 34
festivals 42
upComing festivals 54
new releases 56
* Bikimel
Cases de la músiCa
Hot
Cases de la músiCa
Hot 7
* La Mirona
La Mirona
Hot CASES dE LA MúSiCA
The Cases de la Música network is an innovative social music project that combines collaboration between private enterprise and various government agencies for the purpose of carrying out R&d&i in the music industry, from supporting artistic creation, training in different areas, and promotion amongst the public.
The Cases de la Música network links five projects in medium-sized cities of Catalonia: Mataró, Salt-Girona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Terrassa and Manresa. Each of the cases—Catalan for ‘house’—has a variety of facilities available: music venues, rehearsal rooms, recording studios, etc. These infrastructures in turn carry out a large number of activities: concert venue and theatre programming, large-scale festival organisation, management and production of Catalan artists and educational activities aimed at schools and disadvantaged groups.
Jordi novellGrup Enderrock
9
These spaces, with a clear local influence, share common goals: training (technical and artistic), support for artistic creation, programming, promotion, and collaboration with different groups within their cities. They also feature an innovative legal structure: joint participation. Based on this mixed public/private economic model, the network promotes cultural diversity and access to culture for everyone.In addition, the permanent administrative coordination in place allows artistic exchanges and collaborations both inside and outside the network itself, while maintaining a policy of research into and promotion of future centres in other locations around Catalonia and Spain.
aCtivities: artistiC Creation and trainingThe Cases de la Música network undertakes a variety of activities at its locations, focusing on artist support and training.
Artistic creAtion
* Advice to artists and groups on issues such as: copyright, management, publishing rights, album editing. Individually or in open group lectures.
* Stages and live production.
* Grants for demo production.
* Test bench: special sessions for groups to which stage
Hot CASES dE LA MúSiCA
11
Hot CASES dE LA MúSiCA
scenery is loaned by different venues in order to put on debut concerts, with an educational slant.
* Open mic and jam sessions.
* Own-label publishing which allows any band or artist to self-publish their own album.
* Lending of backline equipment.
* Exhibitions and competition support.
* Rehearsal room management.
trAining
* Technical training
* Training in live sound and lighting techniques
* Training in studio sound techniques
* Technique master classes
* Music training
* Master classes in different instruments.
* Ensemble classes
* Music workshops for young people at risk of social exclusion
* Conferences and courses
* School education
* Extracurricular music activities in schools
* School auditions
13
musiC venuesThe Cases de la Música network manages the following venues:
* Mataró: Clap, with two spaces able to hold 850 and 350 people and a rehearsal room area.
* Salt-Girona: La Mirona, with two spaces able to hold 1,800 and 450 people and a rehearsal room complex with recording studio.
* L’Hospitalet de Llobregat: Salamandra, with two spaces able to hold 800 and 500 people, plus a recording studio.
* Terrassa: El Vapor, a space in which to create music; the Crossroad, able to hold 400 people; and the Faktoria d’Arts, with room for 1,000 people.
* Manresa: Stroika, able to hold 850 people.The Cases de la Música network currently organises over 500 concerts every year for a total audience of over 100,000 people and is also responsible for the management of a variety of festivals: Cruïlla Barcelona, Black Music Festival (Salt-Girona) and Let’s Festival (L’Hospitalet).
reCord laBels and managementAside from training and programming, some members of the Cases de la Música network are managed by companies engaged in record management and publishing. In this respect, the Casa de la Música Salt-Girona is managed by RGB Music, which,
Hot CASES dE LA MúSiCA
15
Clap
Salamandra
along with the RGB Suports label, undertakes the management and hiring for artists such as lax’n’Busto, els Pets and Cris Juanico. The Casa de la Música Manresa is managed by Propaganda pel Fet!, the company that handles live gigs and recording for Obrint Pas, dr. Calypso, Feliu Ventura and at Versaris. Vesc promotes the Casa de la Música Manresa, as well as managing artists like miquel gil, Coetus, Joan isaac and Orquestra Àrab de Barcelona.In addition, the Cases de la Música network has its own label and offers artists the opportunity to record the own CDs and release them on the main digital distribution channels. Groups such as ebri Knight have released albums on this label.
a 2.0 weBsiteOne of the projects of the Cases de la Música network is the creation of a 2.0 site to disseminate teaching resources for musicians. The site will broaden the geographical influence of the Cases de la Música network and make all teaching resources generated available to musicians at any time. Musicians will also be able to add their own resources. The site will attempt to make up for the lack professional training in the sector, that is, in training for managers, road managers, backliners, sound engineers, lighting engineers, live performance producers, etc.
Hot CASES dE LA MúSiCA
17
La Mirona
La Mirona
internationalisation proJeCtsThe Cases de la Música network is currently working on the Euroregion AA++ 2012-2014 project, based on the creation of an interregional circuit of current musicians. The project is an innovation involving three organisations: the Cases de la Música network, the Avant-Mardi association (Midi-Pyrénées region, France) and the Meridional des Espectacles (Languedoc-Roussillon, France).AA++ 2012-2014 (set up in 2011 with AA++ 2011) aims to develop a stable circuit within the Euroregional area in which artists from the three regions are able to put on performances, outside their territorial boundaries, along with professional artistic support and advice, as a first step to a continued and comprehensive professional career, expanding their artistic and geographical horizons.During the AA++2011 project, a total of 19 cross-border and interregional concerts were organised; 9 in the Midi-Pyrénées area, 4 in the Languedoc-Roussillon and 6 in Catalonia. The groups taking part were Yaa, Paamath and syncopera (Midi-Pyrénées), Reverso mecani, skeleton Band and Jack of Heart (Languedoc-Roussillon) and at Versaris and d’Callaos (Catalonia).
Hot CASES dE LA MúSiCA
puBliC partiCipation proJeCts The Cases de la Música network carried out an intense campaign of activities aimed at attracting new audiences and the retention of existing ones.
Public PArticiPAtion / Promotion
* Music documentary seasons
* Instrument trial workshops
* Music events in urban areas
* Children’s music events
* The creation of new concert seasons and collaboration with festivals
* Technical, logistics and staffing support for public organisations and initiatives
* Social music events
* Concerts and events for minority groups
* Concerts adapted for people with learning difficulties (Discconcert)
* Music sessions for children
19
Sílvia Pérez Cruz 22
la PeGaTiNa 24
ObriNT PaS 26
KOP 28
bONGO bOTraKO 30
zulu 9.30 32
on tour
* Obrint Pas
Sílvia Pérez Cruz 22
la PeGaTiNa 24
ObriNT PaS 26
KOP 28
bONGO bOTraKO 30
zulu 9.30 32
21on tour
on tour
sílvia Pérez Cruz is the latest astounding new voice to have captivated the Catalan music scene. Nothing can resist the charm and almost telluric force of her singing: songwriting, flamenco, jazz... In recent years, Pérez Cruz has frequently appeared as part of numerous line-ups: the flamenco quartet las migas, shows such as immigrasons (with Refree) and Camarón: La leyenda del tiempo (with duquende) and collaborations with Toti Soler and Javier Colina. The singer has sung on some thirty albums, but she still had one outstanding challenge: to release an album of her own songs.The album 11 de novembre (Universal, 2012) represents her entry into an era of artistic maturity. An album prompted by the death of her father, on which Pérez Cruz displays a hitherto unknown side as a sensitive and talented songwriter.
Sílvia Pérez Cruz performs in Arles (France) on 10 July, together with Melody Gardot.
sílVia PéRez CRuz
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pop- rock
23
2013 is a special year for la Pegatina, because this colourful cocktail of rhythms and sounds celebrates its tenth anniversary. The rumba group has publically commemorated the event by releasing its fourth studio recording, Eureka! (Kasba Music, 2013).Having self-produced their previous works, the band has handed control over to the capable hands of marc Parrot, who has managed to find the sound that the band says it has been looking for from the outset. The new album represents the end of an era but the beginning of a new, more mature, yet equally effusive and dance-oriented, one.
True to its international calling, the group has planned a European tour to showcase Eureka!. After presenting the album in Catalonia and the rest of Spain, La Pegatina will take to the stage in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and Hungary.
ToUR DATES15 JUNE Landgraaf (Netherlands) 16 JUNE Berlin (Germany)5 JULy Saint-Prouant (France)13 JULy Châteaubriant (France)21 JULy Ghent (Belgium)3 AUGUST Cheffois (France)7 AUGUST Budapest (Hungary)17 AUGUST Brussels (Belgium)
la Pegatina
website listen video
on tour
25folk
world music
Obrint Pas has announced in 2013 that it is calling an indefinite halt to its time as a group, while embarking on a farewell tour that alternates acoustic concerts with large-scale performances. Having completed the Coratge (Propaganda pel Fet!, 2011) album, the band has announced a very short tour—around twenty concerts— between 2013 and 2014, with several European events among the scheduled dates.
ToUR DATES26 JULy Rodez (France)31 oCToBER Hamburg (Germany)1 NoVEMBER Kiel (Germany)2 NoVEMBER No Pasarán Festival (Berlin, Germany)
OBRint Pas
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on tour
27folk
world music
The Kop metal group continues the live showcase of its radical musical offering. Few bands manage to break through the popularity barrier with a concept characterised by distortion and powerful sounds; something even more difficult when accompanied by a confrontational political discourse which refuses to give up on the core transformation of a society in which resignation is the order of the day. One that has achieved just that, remaining true to its founding philosophy, is Kop. This summer, the group have scheduled a mini South American tour.
ToUR DATES9 AUGUST Bogota (Colombia)11 AUGUST Quito (Ecuador)
KOP
website listen video
on tour
29pop- rock
The Bongo Botrako band is one of the emerging phenomena in new Catalan music crossbreeding. Their ascent has meant that, in less than five years, they have gone from busking in the street to playing festivals around Europe. The song ‘Todos los días sale el sol’ was an unexpected success that was even adopted by the Spanish basketball team as an unofficial anthem. Now they are promoting the second album, Revoltosa (Kasba Music, 2012), produced by Amparo Sánchez (amparanoia).
ToUR DATES8 JUNE Arcangues (France)25 JUNE Lugano (Switzerland)26 JUNE Bologna (Italy)30 JUNE Tilburg (Netherlands)13 JULy Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle (France)
BOngO BOtRaKO
website listen video
on tour
31pop- rock
zulu 9.30
website listen video
zulu 9.30 have twelve years and five albums behind them. The group, hailing from Barcelona, Tarragona and Cerdanyola del Vallès, is headed by singer-songwriter Òscar Muñoz and specialises in the fusion of reggae with all kinds of Latin sounds. Their latest release is Para todos los públicos (Kasba Music, 2013), where they consolidate a trend that’s been present in all their work: opening up to pop and rock sounds, which now becomes more evident. They have worked with txarango and Canteca de macao on this disc and recorded their first song in Catalan, ‘Jo dono la cara’. zulu 9.30 have risen beyond their first hybrid music project. Para todos los públicos, approaches auteur pop. If initially their music got your feet tapping, now they also have songs with positive lyrics that instantly bring a smile to your face.
Zulu 9.30 will present this new release in France, where they are always welcome, from June onwards.
FRENCH ToUR DATES21 JUNE Fête de la Musique (Saint Gaudens)13 JULy Fête Nationale (Pau)19 JULy Fête de la Madeleine (Mont-de-Marsan)27 AND 28 JULy Tempo Latino (Vic-Fezensac)3 AUGUST Festival Convivencia (Arles)13 SEPTEMBER Festival des Arts Croisés (Clères)
on tour
33pop- rock
linksDorian Ninette and the GoldfishAnna Puig
linksDorian Ninette and the GoldfishAnna Puig
35
* Raynald Colom
& Phil Vinall 36
38
& Mahler Chamber Orchestra 40
linkspop- rock
website listen
37
video
Dorian & Phil Vinall
dorian has been recording its latest album La velocidad del vacío (Intromúsica, 2013), in Mexico City with English producer Phil Vinall. Vinall has previously produced songs for groups such as Radiohead, Pulp, deus and Placebo.dorian and Vinall met in Mexico three years ago during one of the Barcelona-based group’s tours, which led to them performing at the Vive Latino festival.The new album, the result of this meeting, follows in the synth-pop tradition that has characterised the band’s journey to date. In this fourth album, dorian has created a work that represents a bold, decisive step. Without compromising the innocence of Marc Gili’s voice or the evocative keyboard sound of Belly Hernández, the group has produced a collection of songs filled with points of reference. A leap which reflects a new array of colours, sounds and influences in dorian’s music. ■
THE MEXICAN ADVENTURE
Ninette and the Goldfish — Francesc Mayor & Nina Thomas
ninette and the goldfish is a perfectly matched duo comprising French singer nina thomas and Catalan musician Francesc mayor. The story goes that they rose out of the ashes of indie band Vallès. Both are in agreement on the fact that English provides the perfect phonetic conditions for their songs and lends them the aesthetic and visual element they are looking for. They have been accompanied by their live backing band since 2011, made up of Santi Carcasona (drums), Albert Aguiar (guitar and pedal steel guitar) and Alberto Pérez (bass). With the arrival of the band come new sounds and new compositional ideas which go beyond folk towards a classic rock sound that is still eminently personal and with its sights clearly set on the Anglo-Saxon music tradition.Up to now, the duo has recorded two self-published EPs, Life in the Bowlfish and Words from the deep down. They have performed in the United States, Canada and England and have been called a cross between Patti smith, Bon iver and Joni mitchell. The group’s American folk is one of the most promising offerings on the Catalan alternative scene. ■
website listen
MESTIZo PoP
video
links
39pop- rock
links
classical music
Anna Puig & Mahler Chamber Orchestra
anna Puig (Cervera, 1982), is one of the most promising violists of her generation, and arguably the one which has worked most internationally. Anna began her musical education in her hometown and completed her studies with honours at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin.The mahler Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1997 by Claudio abbado and former members of the gustav mahler Youth Orchestra. anna has been a member of the mahler Chamber Orchestra since 2009. Previously, however, she was a member of the european union Youth Orchestra and the gustav mahler Jugendorchester, in addition to collaborating with other orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna mozart Orchestra.The violist has always been interested in chamber music and has been a member of several groups, including the mercury Quartet in Berlin, the Quixote Quartet and the noyas Quartet. anna Puig has taken part in chamber music master classes with Heime müller (artemis Quartet), tokyo string Quartet, maria graf, Rainer Kussmaul, andrás schiff and tabea zimmermann. ■
41
THE BIG JUMP
video
festivalsbarNaSaNTS 2013 44
14th vila-SeCa STreeT MuSiC FeSTival 46
STreNeS 48
26th TraDiCiONÀriuS iNTerNaTiONal FOlK FeSTival 50
PriMavera SOuND 2013 52
+ properes Cites 54
festivalsbarNaSaNTS 2013 44
14th vila-SeCa STreeT MuSiC FeSTival 46
STreNeS 48
26th TraDiCiONÀriuS iNTerNaTiONal FOlK FeSTival 50
PriMavera SOuND 2013 52
+ properes Cites 54
43
* Manel - Primavera Sound
festivals
2013 was a coming of age for the festival BarnaSants, stronger than ever and battling against all odds in the midst of a crisis that has hit the cultural sector full on. Despite that, the event inconceivably managed to go ahead without any cuts to the artistic programming. On the contrary, in fact, the festival, under the direction of the tireless Pere Camps, increased the number of concerts on the bill to over a hundred. BarnaSants has reasserted its irrefutable role as a leading singer-songwriter festival in the Catalan-speaking world at the same time as establishing itself as one of the key Southern European musical gatherings. It also forges links with Italy, Occitania, Latin America and all those involved in the world struggle.Some of the names appearing at BarnaSants 2013 were maria del mar Bonet, al tall, albert Pla, Roger mas, marina Rossell, ismael serrano, sílvia Pérez Cruz and Pi de la serra, among many others. ■
25 January to 14 AprilBarcelona, Vielha, Viladecans, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Elna, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Castelldefels, Altafulla, Lleida
BaRnasants 2013
A TRIBUTE To SINGER-SoNG wRITING
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BaRnasants 2013
Joana Serrat
Albert Pla
Xavier Baró
ivette Nadal
pop- rock
The line-up of the fourteenth edition of the Vila-seca Street Music Festival (FiM) sought to capture the creative talent and musical avant-garde in Catalan-speaking world. FiM strives to bring together a daring and diverse range of artists representing the latest trends in the creative scene, in addition to reflecting public and professional interests within the sector. Some of the highlights of this year’s FiM programme included egon soda presenting its second album, El hombre, el enfado y la respuesta (Naïve, 2013), the duo comprised of Josele santiago and the group Very Pomelo, and the first opportunity to hear La figura del buit (Bankrobber, 2013), the latest offering from el Petit de Cal eril. There was also a chance to enjoy extraperlo’s newest work, diario específico (Canada, 2012), produced by el guincho; the debut of universe; the Catalan rumba band la màlaga; and a much-anticipated performance by the multitalented Puntí. ■
3 and 4 May Vila-seca
14th Vila-seCa stReet musiC FestiVal
THE NEXT GENERATIoN
festivals
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47
Fireluche and Joan Colomo
Núria GrahamEgon Soda
Xarim Areste
pop- rock
festivals
The first Strenes festival turned Girona into the country’s new season music release capital over the course of two weekends. The opening performance came from els miralls de dylan, a project that brings together gerard Quintana and Jordi Batiste to reassert the impact of the Minnesota artist’s musical works. Other Strenes highlights were maria del mar Bonet’s show, based on Mediterranean texts with the auditori de girona’s Youth Orchestra, and the debut of the new album by lax’n’Busto, Tot és més senzill (RGB Suports, 2013). els Catarres also attracted a full house for a live showcase of new songs from their second album Postals (Música Global, 2013). Xarim aresté, Beth, el Petit de Cal eril and love of lesbian, among others, also put on outstanding performances at this new music event. ■
11 to 21 April Girona
stRenes
THE FIRST TIME
website
Sidonie
Beth
Lax’n’busto
49pop- rock
festivals
Tradicionàrius has lined-up a packed, intense folk showcase of traditional music from around the Catalan-speaking world every winter for the past quarter of a century. Tradicionàrius 2013 opened on 11 January with a street parade featuring ministrers de la Vila-nova, leading on to performances by la Canya Borda and the new project from accordionist Carles Belda, Petita Festa. The festival bill included names like el Pont d’arcalís revisiting songs from the Pyrenees, singer-songwriter Xavier Baró, harpist Josep m. Ribelles, guillem Ballaz’s tambourine and electronic music project, the debut performance of the first album by Riu, winners of the ‘Sons de la Mediterrània’ competition, 21 Boutons and la Carrau, who brought the event to a close.The festival scheduled a tribute to Joan Boix, Songs of Joan Boix (1948-2012) by Falsterbo marí, along with more pop-oriented performances, all the time making sure it did not lose sight of the festival’s roots, reflected by the likes of isaac ullam & José domingo, els miralls de dylan (a revival group playing songs by the Minnesota singer-songwriter) and nico Roig. On 14 February, the Auditori de Barcelona was the venue for Valencian group al tall’s farewell concert, almost certainly the high point of the festival. ■
11 January to 22 MarchBarcelona
26th tRadiCiOnÀRius inteRnatiOnal FOlK FestiVal
ALL FACETS oF FoLK
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26th tRadiCiOnÀRius inteRnatiOnal FOlK FestiVal
xxxxxx Xavier Baró
Al Tall
folk world music
xxxxxx
Primavera Sound has become the festival of festivals, both because of its size and its line-up, which meets the musical needs of a varied clientele wanting to see as many artists as possible. It is an event that proves very attractive to both the Catalan and international crowd that flock to the Barcelona Forum during the course of the festival, as well as emerging as a new tourist attraction for the city. The high quality of artists is one of the keys to its success, on an impressively full bill. Highlights this year come in the form of British band Blur, Australian nick Cave alongside the Bad seeds, dinosaur Jr., daniel Johnson and the Jesus and mary Chain. The Catalan line-up was headlined by the group manel, also featuring antònia Font, la Brigada, Fred i son, the Free Fall Band, Hidrogenesse and John talabot. ■
22 to 26 May Barcelona
PoP CAPITAL
festivals
website
PRimaVeRa sOund 2013
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Manel
Los PlanetasBlur
PRimaVeRa sOund 2013
pop- rock
FigueresFrom 28 august to 1 September
aCúSTiCa
Sant boi de llobregatFrom 5 to 7 September
alTaveu
vicFrom 12 to 15 September
MerCaT DeMúSiCa viva De viC
mapwebsite
mapwebsite
mapwebsite
pop- rock
pop- rock
pop- rock
upComing festivals
various
barcelonaFrom 13 June to 11 September
SaN MiGuelMaS i MaS FeSTival
mapaweb
55
barcelonaFrom 19 October to 1 December
45 vOll-DaMM FeSTivaliNTerNaCiONal De Jazz De barCelONa
ManresaFrom 7 to 10 November
Fira MeDiTerrÀNia
mapwebsite
mapwebsite
jazz
folk world music
various
Girona – SaltFrom October to December
TeMPOraDa alTaauTuMN FeSTival OF CaTalONia
mapaweb
Tokyo Sex destruction— Sagittarius
Èric Fuentes— Copper & Gold
Bremen — Les cançons que vindran
Estúpida Erikah— Fora les cendres
Gossos— Batecs
Manel— Atletes, baixin de l’escenari
Afro Blue — don’t Stop!
new releases
Bikimel— Farrera / Can-sons d.O.
Univers— La pedregada
Bremen — Les cançons que vindran
Gossos— Batecs
new releases
delafé y Las Flores Azules — de ti sin mí / de mí sin ti
El Petit de Cal Eril— La figura del buit
Els Catarres — Postals
ismael dueñas — Pianisme il·lustrat
Jordi Savall— Missa en si m BWV 232
Jorge Rossy Quintet— iri’s Blue
Valentí Miserachs— Noces de Sang. Oratori del Mil·lenari del Sant dubte d’ivorra
Xavier Montsalvatge— El Cd del centenari
Za!— Wanananai
57
new releases
Afro Blue — don’t Stop!(Quadrant Records, 2012) Groove / Latin jazz
The release of a new album by afro Blue is cause for a full-blown celebration. The members of afro Blue have a repertoire of warm, danceable numbers and are able to convey the fun and festivity of the original spirit of jazz expression, something the group has achieved both with its own compositions—five out of seven—and the two adaptations that open and close the track list on their new album: the opening
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59new releases
theme, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, and the last track, michael Jackson’s classic ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’. They know their craft well and are able to integrate the emotional and rhythmic seasoning of soul, funk and, very particularly, Latin, into the improvisation required in jazz to order to give their expansive work both personality and extroversion. ■
jazz
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Bikimel has a problem with her voice: it is so beautiful that listeners could have the impression too early on that it is her main expressive strength and that she is simply a ‘girl who sings very well’. It turns out, however, that Farrera / Can-sons d.O. is a whole world, an album with a probing depth that evokes legends and ghosts of the forest through sinuously luminous songs. It is a work that looks both inwards and backwards, and features an unusual and both moving and disturbing seriousness. It reveals Bikimel as a bold creator with a love of the transcendental. ■
Bikimel— Farrera / Can-sons d.O.(Temps Record / Carrera Contínua)Auteur pop
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new releases
Up to now, Bremen had only recorded a demo of four tracks. These have now reappeared, more grown up, in Les cançons que vindran. This album does not have the feel of a debut work, as it sounds sophisticated and meticulous, a sensation that is certainly at least partly due to the production by Arnau Vallvé, the drummer of manel. Together with Vallvé, Bremen have built a spacious repertoire, with a host of rhythmic and harmonic patterns that give each song a different appearance to the one before it and in which no formula is heard twice. ■
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Bremen — Les cançons que vindran(Fina Estampa) Pop
pop-rock
new releases
63new releases
Delafé y Las Flores Azules — de ti sin mí / de mí sin ti(Warner) Pop
delafé y las Flores azules have come up with a risky, interesting work in which they show that, in the process of composing, both intention and instrumentation can change the meaning of a song. This they do with a multifaceted project that consists of two discs upon which the same lyrics shine differently depending on the accompanying music. Those who cloy to the excesses of Oscar D’Aniello and Helena Miquel are in for a double ration this time, although anyone who likes to soak up their fusion of light, melancholy and magical atmospheres will find space here to explore. It offers one aspect for fans of the Beach Boys and another for those of the tindersticks, and as a double album this is also a complementary formula. ■
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65pop-rock
new releases
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el Petit de Cal eril has style. None of his albums has featured any major aesthetic ruptures or any other pretence, but rather they have represented a firm step in consolidating an artistic personality that is as special as it is evocative. With this third album, the longest and probably the most complex he has made so far, he remains firm in his commitment; it features lyrics that lie somewhere between healthy amazement and existential questions, playful music in which great emphasis is placed on sound textures and frequent twists intended to surprise. La figura del buit features colleagues such as mau Boada and Joan Colomo and a host of things he has got just right: the pop resonance of ‘Gribi bestial’, the pastoral folk of ‘Oh! Fresc’, the surprising swing beats of ‘Sant Pere’ and the free ambient sound of ‘La fi’. ■
El Petit De Cal Eril— La figura del buit(BankRobber) Pop-folk
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Two years after Cançons 2011 (DiscMedi, 2011) and their hit ‘Jènifer’, els Catarres have launched their second album, a work that has involved a little more planning. The ‘catarra’ formula nevertheless remains fairly constant: a country folk percussion and the simple acoustic accompaniment of the accordion and guitars, touches of wind, reggae and tavern waltzes. It features songs with brightly impetuous and positive lyrics. els Catarres retain the fiery, explosive tone which they let explode in their debut: songs that sound like cries of youth. ■
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Els Catarres — Postals(Música Global) Pop-folk
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Èric Fuentes— Copper & Gold(BCore Disc) Pop
After distilling all his acrimony in electric format in an album with el mal in 2011, Èric Fuentes has now opted to show a more intimate and personal style. With the piano, played by Bernat Sánchez (mine!), as the main instrument and only occasionally accompanied by guitars, Fuentes is just as impressive, although he changes the rules of the musical idiom he has followed in what is now a long
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musical career. The austere format turns him into a crooner and ends up enlivening the melodic themes and giving greater warmth to songs from a repertoire that includes a version of ‘It Was a Very Good Year’, which was popularised by Frank sinatra. Èric Fuentes has embarked on a new stage as a singer-songwriter in a constantly evolving career. ■
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This project sails without running aground and draws listeners along with the great intensity of its melodies, which are sometimes stormy—‘Mil diamants’ or ‘Fora les cendres (part 1)’—and sometimes calm—‘180° de cel’ or ‘Fora les cendres (part 2)’. Although it is melancholy, there is also hope: some tracks breathe sadness, yet having listened to the entire album, the feeling it eventually conveys is one of peace
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and semi-optimism. Sung reflections. Rising from the ashes, estúpida erikah have encountered a new stream for conveying their feelings and for telling everything that springs to mind at this very moment of life. With this second album, estúpida erikah have shown that their award-winning debut was no coincidence: they are as capable as anyone of turning feelings into good songs. ■
Estúpida Erikah— Fora les cendres(Temps Record) Pop
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The time has come to head home and pick up the guitars (and keyboard, a recent addition to the gossos sound introduced on dia 1, now a confirmed new travel companion). The album begins with a quiet song from which it takes its name: the calm voice of Natxo Tarrés tells us that it is time for a change and sets the scene for an album which both captures modern day reality and also invites us to hope and to
Gossos— Batecs(Música Global) Pop-rock
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rebel. Musically, the new gossos album has no boundaries or barriers. We are again treated to guitars with a larger electric component and more powerful sounds as well as the acoustics that have so defined them. Santi Balmes (love of lesbian) is added to and accompanies their five voices on one of the tracks on the album. Batecs is a portrait of the social crisis faced today that is full of hope for tomorrow. ■
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Taking on a solo project accompanied only by one’s instrument is the hardest and most exposed challenge any musician could rise to. After some early works in a trio format, the pianist ismael dueñas decided the time had come to take this step forward by way of an exercise in maturity and personal self-discipline; somehow to demonstrate in front of the mirror that his voice has its own personality that distinguishes it from others, albeit with the same common coordinates. dueñas can thus be considered the natural heir to illustrious Catalan pianists such as the great Jordi sabatés, both because of his uniqueness and his capacity to bring to his idiom elements of classical, contemporary, early jazz and a visual, poetic, magical and sensual aspect that envelops everything. ■
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Ismael Dueñas — Pianisme il·lustrat(Whatabout Music) Piano jazz
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The great master Savall has a surprising capacity to interpret Johann sebastian Bach, even though he is not a prolific conductor of Bach’s music. In addition to the two collections of orchestral music, the Orchestral Suites and the Brandenburg Concertos, Jordi savall has focused on the works considered as Bach’s artistic legacy or, in other words, the Musical Offering, the Art of Fugue and the Mass in B minor.Although Bach is not widely present in savall’s world, what has been achieved in this version is so sublime that it establishes a before and after. This is the result of the extraordinary vocal work of the tenor and conductor lluís Vilamajó in preparing la Capella Reial de Catalunya, which appears as a vocal instrument brimming with Mediterranean warmth that permeates the recital of the text with expressiveness. ■
Jordi Savall— Missa en si m BWV 232(AliaVox) Classical music
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It will soon be ten years since Jordi Rossy chose to redirect his musical career and change his role from drummer of the Brad mehldau trio to that of pianist and composer with his own group. He is now back as a quintet that features Fèlix Rossy on the trumpet, RJ miller on drums, plus bassist Ben street and saxophonist Raffi garabedian.Unlike the two previous albums, which could be considered more the result of a global concept, iri’s Blues presents a journey through the different styles and periods of jazz that have marked his career. This essentially means an update of his DNA-defining bop matrix with compositions in which the serenity and beauty of melodic motifs contrast with the nerve and tension of spontaneous creation and originality. ■
Jorge Rossy Quintet— iri’s Blue(Moskito Records) Bebop
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After an album as famous as 10 milles per veure una bona armadura (DiscMedi/Warner, 2011), manel have released a self-effacing work, which is a return to pure, vulnerable song, without any runaway instrumentals or structures that cannot be played live. More important than the shades of expression chosen, however, are the song-writing capabilities of this Barcelona quartet. Some of the songs further Guillem Gisbert’s skill in constructing narrative texts and show that manel are more than a just group that writes about everyday trivia. Others opt for more practical melodic solutions. These are songs with which manel invite us to go about life with optimism, which is the only way of getting by. They have done this once again with Atletes, baixin de l’escenari. ■
Manel— Atletes, baixin de l’escenari(Warner / DiscMedi) Pop
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Tokyo Sex Destruction— Sagittarius(BCore Disc) Soul-rock
It is now around four years since the last album, in which time the band has undergone a bit of tweaking. This group from Vilanova has turned up the drums and released one of the liveliest albums of the year so far. They have recovered analogue sound, very greasy soul and garage rock and have reinvented a formula that seemed to have had all the juice squeezed out of it. Passion and credibility in a work that transcends time and space. ■
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univers is Yago Alcover’s parallel group, in which the guitarist of mujeres sets out to conquer other galaxies in the garage scene with a release that is not so hard and has more pop to it. The musicians of univers want to carry on as stars, even at times when everything seems like a ‘Desert’, a song that literally and musically rides over the dust where the sun made a hole in me. Perhaps, however, the
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meaning of this first EP can be found in the last track, like on Blood on the Tracks (Columbia, 1975) by Bob dylan: ‘Força de gravetat’ speeds up, referring to blood, to people who are no longer here and to what has been left behind along the way. They are new old friends who have debuted as giants and will appear at many a festival this summer. ■
Univers— La pedregada(Famèlic Records) Pop shoegaze
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Valentí Miserachs— Noces de Sang. Oratori del Mil·lenari del Sant dubte d’ivorra(Ars Harmonica) Music for organ
Noces de sang by Valentí miserachs is an oratorio written for the closure of the jubilee year to mark the millennium of the Eucharistic miracle of Saint Dubte of Ivorra. It is a well-narrated piece with an accessible libretto by Monsignor Climent Forner. miserachs, a great scholar of Puccini, produced a score that features stylistic references
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to Mahler and some touches of Toldrà. The author puts in a good performance on this live recording on which he conducts the ginesta de Cervera Choir, the Puig-reig Polyphonic Choir and the Orfeó nova solsona, accompanied by the Julià Carbonell Orchestra from Les Terres de Lleida. ■
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Columna Música celebrated the centenary of the birth of Montsalvatge (1912-2012) with a CD of some of the best recordings of the composer’s work. It features some truly classic benchmark recordings of the composer’s work such as Victòria dels Àngels version of the perennial Cinco canciones negras and the first movement (energico) of Concerto breve, played by alícia de larrocha. The recordings are complemented with his operas (Puss in Boots and Una voce in off) and feature contributions from great singers such as antonio Comas, plus Madrigal (an arrangement of ‘El cant dels ocells’) and Barcelona blues. It provides a good sound portrait of his life’s work. ■
Xavier Montsalvatge— El Cd del centenari(Columna Música) Classical / contemporary
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In the fourth CD by za!, a bold experimental spirit has been superimposed on the melodies and on the concept of song. Although only two characters—Spazzfrica Ehd and Papa duPau—helm the ship, they nevertheless achieve the sound of a full orchestra by superimposing sounds and instruments on an organised chaos that only they know how to make sense of. It is not an easy album at all but quite the contrary: it contains no singles that could easily be played on the radio. All the tracks have arisen from improvisation and an unconcealed and unusual love of risk and fun in equal measure. The fourth disc shows very clearly that the true essence of za! lies in their ability to innovate and in their incendiary live performances. ■
Za!— Wanananai(Gandula)Experimental rock
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new Compilations musiC from Catalonia! Jazz pop roCk world musiC eleCtroniC musiC
(witH tHe support of estrella damm)
The besT music
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