This is how Manuel Hidalgo Sierra “El Indio” and Luis Abril Martín “El Nitro”, dressed in black and gray and with sunglasses, arrived at our editorial office to present their new album, Place No. 0 (DLY). Through this project, to which they have devoted nearly two years of preparation, the members of La Plazuela represent “a noticeable change in sound” and at the same time reflect “the personal growth from which they look.” We received the Granada artists on the set 20 minuteswhere we delved into them about their work, the immediacy of music and the importance of coming home to reconnect.
On disk They explore the dialogue between the person he is and the person he is becoming. How did the concept come about?
MH: It’s an album that wasn’t produced with a concept in mind, the songs were produced at a point in our lives and we realized that when the songs were more or less finished. I remember a specific moment when I realized that everything was part of itself when I received the sound in the time lapse, which is path Number 8, a friend told me about the importance of leaving a part of yourself behind and that life is also about having a good attitude when you stop being someone and start being something else. It helped me listen to it from the outside and realize that the lyrics were also talking a little bit about that and that’s why we also decided to include the audio, it seemed very important to us.
Being an album that looks at different perspectives of life, if we compare it to its beginnings, which release gives you more tenderness and more giddiness?
LA: Our softest part was the most innocent part, where you took responsibility for devoting yourself to what you love. At the time we did it halfway, but the moment the project starts to grow too much, you gain responsibility, which is a very nice thing, but there are also tense parts and it’s not what you imagine. I remember that innocence of great freedom, of doing things without thinking; Now maybe if we thought about things a little more. And the party world can get dizzying, which is something I think we’ve also learned a lot to control and take our work seriously. But hey, I think that’s normal too, three years ago I was younger and lived differently.
When it comes to creativity, they invested more time in this album than the first. What made you want to slow cook it?
MH: We’ve always liked to devote as much time as we thought was necessary to music, and don’t consider ourselves part of a scene of quick consumption. In this case we had the time and desire to stop and look for what was closest to us. It was also a time when we needed to pause and ask ourselves questions, which is normal when you release your first album and start seeing a positive response from people for the first time in your life. That’s why we needed to stop and think about what kind of artist we want to be and at what speed.
They created a different sound than they were used to with jazz, jungle, Japanese city pop or salsa rhythms. What influences did they have?
LA: We have always listened to a lot of music from abroad, and this time the importance we wanted to give to harmony was very noticeable. On our previous EP we really started to show more complexity. At the reference level, we listen to a lot of music from abroad, in this album you can see Yamiro Quay, Josep Daller…
MH: We didn’t study the Japanese names because they’re too hard to remember, but well, remember, there’s Anri, who’s an artist we really like from the 80s, Cassiopeia, Jiro Inagaki, Masayoshi Takanaka… And as for the sauce, it’s been a year of listening to a lot of Fanny All Star, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Willy Colon…
They are a reference band in Spain, but they also want to expand their scope. In your interest in this, what does it mean to look “global” without giving away your origins?
Los Angeles: Personal. People who have heard the album or previous singles we’ve released tell us “it sounds like La Plazuela”. It’s something we built beautifully and after researching and making different types of music made it sound like us.
MH: An important part is words and how to communicate. It is not necessary to sing flamenco to convey a message of identity.
LA: The question we ask ourselves is: If we wrote a song in English, could it sound like La Plazuela?
MH: Honestly, we’ve never tried that.
LA: We have to learn English, because what do I know, if someone important calls us… let’s have a little Bentengo (laughs).
“We had to pause and think about what kind of artist we wanted to be and at what speed.”
Granada is your city, when you come or are in Madrid, do you feel dizzy with the pace of the capital’s movement?
MH: In recent months, yes, a lot, but because I go and go and I am fully aware of the difference between one day and another, especially what I hear in one place and another: when I am in the Albazín I hear the El Salvador bell and the call to prayer from the mosque, and the rest of the time it is pure silence, but in Madrid I have a school, a building, and a garbage truck at night, and if I go out into the street there is speed for us as well.
Los Angeles: We came to Madrid for work, and Granada feels like comfort and family… Madrid feels like a giant office; If you want to work, that’s fine, but you have to get out of here from time to time, otherwise it will eat you up.
Madrid and Barcelona are the cradle of the music industry. Do you think it should change?
LA: I have doubts because I feel that, on the one hand, Granada is a place where we promoted ourselves, like other artists, but it is true that a big city gives you things that a small city does not. For example, people who love jazz, and obviously international jazz artists will come to Madrid rather than Granada for the simple fact that in Madrid they can fill a room. We must continue to invest in cities like Granada to have more cultural spaces, but they are also needed in Madrid. I keep telling people that they can stay in their cities to work and develop their careers.
MH: For me, 100%. I feel like there is more awareness now. I noticed that in Granada projects were starting to appear for young people trying to settle there, from new recording companies to professional studios and advertising agencies. administration and Bookingcommercial factory companies, small fleets of trucks for tours… these are things that, given the small size of Granada, there is an intention to create and I support it 100%. I would like that at some point we will also be the ones who can create that when we feel more stable.
LA: Yes, we also try to have a project there, but I think it’s very important, if you leave your city, depending on what you’re doing and every situation in the world, but, at least on an artistic level, you have to have the desire and enthusiasm to get to know other places. For me, coming to Madrid was something I thought about, not because I needed it for my work, but because I’m 24 years old, I’ve lived in Granada all my life, and I want to meet different people.
Balzuela
- Manuel Hidalgo Sierra and Luis Abril Martín (Granada) make up this musical duo that emerged in 2019, mixing a mixture of flamenco, funk, pop and electronic music. They are best known for “Yunque”, a five-song EP, and their influences include Camarón, Enrique Morente and Kitama. They amass over 415,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and one of their musical goals is to collaborate with Dellafuente.
They define this new work as “anti-TikTok.” How do you make a weird album on the spot?
LA: There are things that, no matter how much we want to do them, cannot be done faster. If you want an album with musicians recording, you can try to arrange it with recording artists, or try to prepare demos or with more ideas, but the actual recording time and what it takes to deal with the people to record is essential. It is the project itself that gives itself the time it needs.
Social networks were created for quick consumption, which is what is starting to happen with music. Are you worried that this might limit you in front of the public?
MH: Yes, but I want to think that will change. I recently read an article that said that in recent years the average song length has dropped to two minutes or so, but in more recent studies, the average is growing; There are already analysts who believe that music and its relationship with networks is subtly changing. I trust our generation a lot because it’s a little saturated too. However, it is something out of our control because there is no option in our mind to make the song shorter. If the community is at this point, we assume that maybe there will be a certain portion that won’t consume our music, and if that’s the reason, I’d probably be the first one who wouldn’t want that to be the audience we’re building.
LA: I think it’s a little scary for us to release work that’s too different, or too substandard, too out of sync with the community. It is often difficult for us to adapt to the times, so I hope that these kinds of things are appreciated. Now the discourse of “what was cool” is back, and even though I say that too, I don’t like it, because we live in a great time for culture and music, but it is true that we have to know how to position ourselves and say that the mobile phone consumes us, and we have to accept that.
“In our heads there is no option to write a short song, and if society is at this point, we assume that maybe there will be a certain part that will not consume our music.”
Is the message Don’t lose yourself (Don’t Lose Yourself) Is it the answer to that vital speed?
MH: Yes, it has a personal part and a part related to time and society that has to do with speed. The moment everything is working too quickly, you’re so afraid that they’ll forget you if you’re not there, you can subconsciously pull yourself into the autopilot of wanting to be in the scene and create so quickly that it can cause you to become disconnected from your true identity. Don’t lose yourself It’s almost a message to ourselves that “Well, whatever happens, try not to forget that what you have, what you are here for, is to tell what you feel inside, not what is imposed on you from the outside.”
It’s an album to enjoy live and live. What reaction do you expect from your fans?
MH: Let them come prepared to listen. People often come wanting to party and dance, which will be there, but we work hard to try and put a lot of effort into the arrangements, to make everything very musical, and if we want people to know how to appreciate that.
LA: We do everything we can to make people crazy. What’s great for us is the studio and playing live. We dedicated seven months to being in the studio, and now we’re going to devote seven months to being in the rehearsal room to deliver the best possible live performance that people have ever seen. It will be worth it.
Is there any theme that will change compared to your studio version?
LA: Well, there are some people we’re making new arrangements for. We always like to have new things to offer the audience, so I think those songs that we rearrange will be new experiences.
“It is scary to have a job that does not meet standards and does not fit into society.”
When they listen Place No. 0 (DLY) In a few years, what do you think they will think?
MH: We want to change a thousand things for sure (laughs).
LA: Yes, but I think it will still be the best recorded drums in Spanish history. I hope I can see it in 30 years and say, “They still look like crap.”