Musician Carlos Sadness (Barcelona, 1987) is a versatile artist. He started his music career rapping under the name Shinoflow and is now one of the most beloved artists on the national indie scene. He will be performing at the Music in the Garden festival on Saturday, August 12. Arranged by Noches Mágicas at Sant Joan d’Alacant with other artists such as Diagnóstico Binario or Norwegians Kakkmaddafakka. Before we came to the city, we chatted with him to both appreciate his career and explain all the details of the ever-expanding and crowded scene.
He is coming to Alicante this Saturday to perform at Music in the Garden. How do the people of Alicante welcome you?
Alicante is one of my favorite places to perform. I have played there many times and there is always a strong factor of joy and energy in the public. People react so well when I say I’m going, always ready to dance and party. It’s great news for me, and I think for the public, that they said I’ll be playing in the Alicante region.
His last record, tropical Jesusdating from 2020. When can we hear a new LP?
It’s true that the time has come. The last record came out in 2020 and normally takes about three years from one release to the next. The next album will take a little longer, maybe because life takes longer than I thought and I prioritize living well and pressure-free. It helps you find, on a personal level, all those things that connect you with art, in my case writing and songwriting. It is also true that there will be a fifth album, and I did not want to repeat the musical formulas that I made before. As such, I’ve spent a little more time than usual, but next year, definitely at the beginning of the year, I think we’ll already have it, if not for the album’s release date.
Have you become more meticulous in your music over time?
Yes, I’ve become more verbose. First of all, I tried to go deep into the creative part, not to repeat myself, but also to protect my identity, my brand a little. It’s all part of the demand and rigor this job requires, but it’s something I enjoy, too. I don’t like it when I make a song and I feel like I’ve done it or talked about it before. I like to see this profession as a continuous learning process and to be constantly looking for something.
The evolution of his artistic side cannot be denied. He left behind a rap career at the time under the name Shinoflow and focused more on this Carlos Sadness that brought him such success. But there are gaps in what a day is in his music.
Even though Shinoflow is so far away for me, I actually feel like it belongs to a past moment in my life, it helped me learn some things that I can contribute to my current compositions. My personality is a little different and I don’t think this is something I want to get. However, there are resources and tools that I was learning at the time, on a musical and lyrical level, that were already a part of me.
Inside guava juice he’s rapping again
Completely. Today, when I listen to more urban or reggaeton music than rock or indie, I want to include them in my music, and I feel like I’ve learned this tool, it’s in me somehow, and I can use it somehow. source. It’s a very funny thing that works in songs.
He also dared to close Bad Bunny.
Yes, although in reality the version is very rocky. In fact, it’s one of the most rock songs on the set right now. It’s also a way to experiment and play with the EP called EP. cute dog and taking a song known as reggaeton and turning it into something very indie-rock. The idea was to show that songs aren’t as tied to a single genre as people sometimes think.
Do you think the indie scene is expanding in terms of genres and genres?
Today’s generations are listening to more musical diversity, and this has helped evolve the scene. I’m 10 to 20 years younger than many of the artists I’ve shared the stage with, and my generation was already listening to more types of music. That’s why I’ve come to go for a more open indie with urban influences, sheet music and even parts closer to Latin music. And in that sense, it has happened to many people as a listener, as it has happened to me as a creator. Festival programs have succeeded in making this happen, so this evolution can be seen directly on billboards.
Do you see yourself as a 360º artist?
Maybe yes. I produce, I compose, I write songs, I design… I am in love with creativity and I dive into many different fields. It’s true that you can’t be an expert at everything and good at everything later on, it takes a lot of practice time. I once thought, “Hey, maybe I don’t want to spend too much time learning to play the guitar, I’d rather focus on creative ideas”. There comes a time when you have to start picking some things that really make you happy and help develop your creative side.
But recently he did a song by the young Catalan singer Suu.
Everything I tell you is put on hold when someone, like Suu, I’m very friends with and admire for what they’ve done. I can put on a bit of a producer’s costume in these situations, and also feel that it’s not my thing, but I dedicate all my love and creativity to it.
How is Carlos Sadness as a producer?
I compose by producing. This is a bit of a spontaneous thing; I go to the computer, play some guitar, keyboard and create the song from scratch. It’s like imagining these soundscapes and trying to make them a reality. It’s a very experimental thing, trying here and there until that voice suddenly takes you where you want the song to take you.
The festivals gave him the exposure he needed to advance his career. Can an artist make a living just by performing at festivals today, when events are so intense?
This partly depends on the position of the artist in question in these festivals. Initially, it’s correct when I start it wild ideaThe album that made me known in the indie scene had such a small cache that it came out almost from scratch, and then it was very difficult to devote myself to just music and concerts. This does not mean that an artist earns a lot of money despite taking part in festivals a lot.
Is it hard to live with music?
It’s not really a simple thing, because there are many groups and everything is very distributed. But I don’t think it’s impossible either. It’s hard to get rich and make enough money to live comfortably off music.
Why do you think your name is a fixture on national posters?
I can’t get into what the organizers of the festivals might think, but what I can tell you is that the show is very festival-oriented. There are many songs with festive energy, I carry a live show where it is easy to dance and sing. I also think my project is not a “one hit wonder”. what electricity, island of morenita, modern physics, i love you a little, Love the papaya… Like 5 or 6 songs all of a sudden a lot of people are guaranteed to know them, and that’s almost half the concert.
Are you afraid that this will tire the people?
After all, they are also things that have some subjectivity. There are people who could take advantage of my performance to go to dinner, and I think that’s very respectable. It’s actually fine not to love a lot of people because if everyone loved me, it would mean that what I’m doing is very neutral.
He is one of the most diverse artists in the indie scene.
Yes, I look different from others, but there are definitely people who look even more different. When I went back to those days, I was able to make my name heard just because my songs were different, there was no such thing on the stage. Starting with something original is not the same as starting by imitating something successful that already exists. If there are lots of people doing this, there will always be a comparison.
Do you think the festive bubble will burst at some point?
I’ve been hearing this since I got here. It’s hard for me to think that people want to stop going to festivals, but it’s also true that these have been renewed over time to make them permanent. They change because only the most traditional indie music didn’t seem to reach young people. That said, I believe festivities can breathe and change, but will last longer. For example, it is also true that I do not want concerts in the halls to end and only festivals to exist. I believe that both worlds have coexisted well for a long time and will certainly continue to do so.