about During Carolina not so normal since his second LP came to light in January, “four children”The young quartet from Madrid practically did not stop playing, took off a very long tour In addition to spanning the entire territory of Spain, passing through Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and London, it will culminate (but not end) on January 23 at the imposing Wizink Center in Madrid. Carolina Durante’s achievements are valued by status: guitar rock bandA genre that seems to have been exiled ‘underground’ in the face of the overwhelming hegemony of urban music among the people of its generation. After their strong presence in the latest edition of Primavera Sound, the group they formed Diego Ibanez (sound), mario del valle (guitar), Martin Valhonrat (low) and Juan Pedrayes (drums) As part of the Cruïlla de Tardor programme, he returns to Barcelona this Thursday to showcase his arsenal of chants. razzmatazz room (They will be performing at La Mirona de Salt on Friday).
“This is the toughest tour we’ve ever done, absolutely. But we are doing well. Finally, Playing is our main source of income. And you have to work. Of course we will slow down once we complete the dates we have because in addition we should prepare new material for the third album. Songwriting and testing in these conditions is complicated, the brain just isn’t ready to run much.”
industry edition
Speaking in the previous paragraph, Martín Vallhonrat, who in less hectic times reconciled his work with punk-rock and Philosophy, Interpretation and Stage Direction, now takes the days off the band has left him to “rest and renew the powers”. Understandable, because overloaded concert schedule added The pressure of a music industry eager for new releases to spin the wheel. “This is how the industry works these days: we released an album at the end of January and a ‘single’ in September, and they already want more from us because it seems so little.”
This constant demand for innovations drove rock bands like Carolina Durante mainly six or seven years ago. urban music scenes. “The music industry has adapted to this: releasing songs one by one, loading them almost from one day to the next, prioritizing immediacy,” says Vallhonrat. Personally, I prefer to prepare an album according to time and conditions, but it is a fact that; getting ‘singles’ lets you try thingsCollaborating with people, trying new ways of producing or mixing songs, and then tapping into everything you’ve learned in the process when it comes to recording an album.”
opening sights
That’s exactly what the band did in their last release. ‘Rent House’a collaboration with the “streamer” and the singer orslockTerritories from trap and hyperpop, foreign in principle to Carolina Durante’s musical palette. “I see it as something punctual, a way to force ourselves to open up our views –bassist explains-. Then there are things we like and stay with and things we don’t like. We ‘auto-tune’ the sound in two or three minutes and… that’s it. But we also put some ‘synths’ in a very up-to-date wayIt was our first time doing this and we like it and it’s something we can keep working on.”
In any case, the Madrid band has no intention of giving up on being a guitar rock band. and gives “infinite value” to the fact that it has achieved a very respectable popularity among young viewers, without abandoning this format. “Look, we connect with rock through a very ‘underground’ scene. When we started our references were groups such as: Los Punsetes, The Strange Love Triangle, Biznaga, Juanita and Los Feos… That’s why we understand the importance of getting where we came from. And we value it not just as a band, but as fans of guitar music.” A music that also allows them to engage people of previous generations. “Yeah sure. Finally parents and kids are coming to the concerts and that’s great”.
Emotions and ‘cayetanos’
This bridge between generations works both ways. Carolina Durante’s music also drinks from past sounds; Nikis, Seventh Seal or Total Sinister. Bands that make use of humor but rarely mention emotions and feelings in their songs. Carolina Durante moves with the same ease. in light comedy and candid confession. “When it comes to writing the lyrics, Diego [Ibáñez] A lot is coming from Los Planetas and the more emotional ’90s bands. I believe both have good points and bad points. If you only talk about dramas, you end up being a jerk, and if you’re a total joke group, you have a lot of limitations. So we do a little bit of everything depending on how we feel.”
Undoubtedly the most popular burlesque cartoon of the group ‘Cajetan’is a comic portrait of these posh people from the Salamanca neighborhood who “now before Ciudadanos and vote for Vox” (the collapse of the orange party forced them to change the words). A satirical song like “Fight for your right” by the Beastie Boys turned many of those mentioned into fans of the band. “This is something you can’t control,” says Vallhonrat. After all, when you reach a large audience, you will meet all kinds of people at concerts. As long as there is no problem with anyone or there are movements that we do not like, whoever wants to do not disturb us,” he said.
Of course, the bassist admits that if it were up to him, ‘Cayetano’ would have jumped out of his concert repertoire long ago. “But then you play and you see people having a good time, and so do you and ‘Why not?’ You think. And there it goes.”