Guitars. How boring, right? Nowadays if a band doesn't play synths and dress in fuchsia isn't on the wave ... Bzzzzzz, ERROR! Let's get back to basics, less image and more magic. More music and less product. This is the hysterical interview to Havalina. Go!
In three words: What kind of music makes Havalina, if you had to explain it to someone that has never listened to the band?
Rock.
Rock. Rock. (but no Roll).
You are with this project over 10
years, with changes in the band and the language of the songs in the middle. If
you look back: Which are the main characters that mark the evolution of the
band?
The
persistence and security in the road to run, without minding about the
obstacles in the way.
What drink is the most appropiate to
drink while listening your last LP, “H”?
Santa
Teresa with Sprite. No, wait, Fernet Branca with Coca Cola. No, better Seagrams
Gintonic. Mmm, no, pacharán Basarana.
No no no, better a glass of Protos
Reserva. Or, if not, beer with Peppermint. Look, I don’t know, I don’t
drink. Let’s let them drink whatever.
Who will you throw a Hello Kitty knickers
and why?
If
we had Hello Kitty knickers, it won’t be a thrown object but a problem. But ok,
let’s play. I’m gonna talk by myself in this case, but probably I’d feel a
great satisfaction throwing a Hello Kitty knickers to Soraya Sáenz de
Santamaría (Vice-President of Spanish Government) during a press conference
after a cabinet meeting in which they have decided some new plundering to the
population. Not because of fanatism,obviously,but because I think that this can
represent someway the popular feeling. Or at least my feeling, that is quite
popular. I’m Ignacio, to be stated, don’t say that are saying this Manuel or
Javi, people with an image to look after. My image looks after itself, because
it’s old.
Who has seen you live, can testify
how convincing are your shows and the importance of instrumental parts in
Havalina songs. We know it’s not a closed formula but, how do you use to
compose? First the music and then the lyrics go chained? Or do you first writte
the lyrics and then goes the melody...
We
first drink the beer with Peppermint and then all flows. Did I say that I don’t
drink? It’s false. I drink. And the rest of the band too. And then we compose. Sometimes
the second thing is the music and sometimes the lyrics. But first we drink.
Wait, no, it’s false. We don’t drink before composing. Normally, what first comes
is the music, we don’t really know from where (and that’s truth), and then the
lyrics. That’s how it uses to be. Even sometimes it’s not like that.
It exists a generation of musics in
Spain, formed by bands as Havalina, Trestrece, Nudozurdo, the unfairly
forgotten La célula durmiente... That some years ago decided to break with the
stablished rules in spanish rock to give some more darkness, a little bit by getting
part of the music that came from US like Grunge or Postrock. Was that the kind
of music do you listened when you were young?
What
makes you think we are not young anymore? Truly, we listened and listen
everything. There is a lot of variety in the band likes, because we are
musicians with the head and the ears quite open. Yes, we have listened a lot of
grunge (if you want to call it like that), and a lot of postrock (if you want
to call it like that), but also a lot of shoegaze, and a lot of new wave and a
lot of postpunk and a lot of heavy metal and a lot of symphonic rock, and a lot
of stoner and rock´n´roll and soul and dub and triphop and krautrock and I also
like Janette, what’s up?
I
won’t dare to say that we have inherit grunge and postrock. That we have
influences of some bands under this tags, yes. But they are a lot of other
influences in our music. And it’s a praise that you tag us in the same
generation to the bands you mention, but I think that our approach to creation
does not agree with Nudozurdo, to quote one of them.
Common
points? No doubt, but we also have them with hard rock bands that no one uses to
connect to us usually. It’s maybe more a perception conditioned by the media
that echo our work, you never know how this things happen...
We finish the interview with the
video “Viaje al Sol” from H. Could you briefly resume the meaning of the song?
Look,
we won’t. Hope no one takes it bad but today I’m not about resume briefly. Listen
to the song, trying to identify what the music makes you feel. Only the music,
without thinking in the lyrics. When you got that, listen again to the song,
now paying attention to the lyrics. And then explain us the meaning. Your
interpretation once listened is as truly as our intention while composing it.
Maybe more truth, I’ll say. Don’t complicate yourselves, ok? If you don’t want
to do it, don’t do it.
