laBel SpotliGht

acuarela

 

 

Spanish label Acuarela is headed by renaissance man Jesus Llorente who mixes his record business with book publishing and a writing career.To date he has published two books of poems

"Luna Hiena" ( Hyena Moon)

"Verano Muerto" (Dead Summer)

and is also in an anthology "Feroces" (Ferocious)

If that wasn't enough he has also written music criticism including a recently published biography of band Los Planetas ( The Planets) through his association with major Spanish magazine 'Rockdelux' which with sister publication 'Factory' make up the NME and Melody Maker of Spain. Born Cadiz in 1972 this 'businessman, poet, translator, critic' must have had a few hours left each day as he's also preparing to publish a novel 'Desorden' (Disorder) soon! His 'Acuarela Libros' imprint has published a beautiful translation of Philip Larkin's 'The North Ship' along with another volume by Guy DeBord. All this before the age of 27!

(Philip Larkin's 'The North Ship' translated into Spanish)

Now based in Madrid where the fledgling Acuarela began in January 1994 following he and Lenore's 'Malsonando' fanzine and a less successful experience with indie magazine 'Spiral' which brought articles on The Auteurs, American Music Club and Red House Painters to an audience not quite ready for it. His fellow Spiral accomplice Victor Lenore and he began the label with optimism and low bank balances. Indeed first LP proper by Sr. Chinarro was announced as 'released in October 1994 - sorry we don't have money until then'! However the infant Acuarela along with fellow Spiral person Luis Calvo ( Elefant Records supremo) had begun to define a post-Ride/Nirvana Spanish Indie world which came to fruition when bands Beef and Paperhouse made the journey to New Jersey to be produced by Kramer. Before this the label had released a swathe of variously successful 7"and e.p.'s in much the same manner that the Creation Label tottered toward fame and riches here in England. From the outset there was an international dimension to the label which has led to e.p.'s by Red House Painters, Will Oldham, Revolution 9 and now Drunk, Hefner and Songs Ohia appearing.

Along the way Jesus has become Mr. Acuarela with departure of Lenore. The period 1995 -1997 saw more difficulties overcome with Mus and Migala both bringing success to the label. Indeed Migala's 'Diciembre 3.a.m.' ( December 3.a.m.)won massive plaudits in Spain and led to their backing Will Oldham. They have recently released second disc 'Asi duele un verano'(that's how a summer hurts) to yet more acclaim ( belle & sebastian name-check them) and distribution both here and in the states - a massive step forward for Spanish indie music in general and long, long overdue as our American-biased media have all but ignored the riches on our doorstep. In the states three Migala tracks can be found on a Keytapes anthology which is reviewed elsewhere in this issue.

The 5th anniversary of that first release ( "Pequeno Circo" by Sr. Chinarro) was celebrated in the wonderful magazine 'Factory' with an in depth article and a free CD which revealed that Mr. Acuarela was a normal bloke who liked a drop of wine, couldn't dance, couldn't tell jokes ( Spanish joke here) and hadn't lost his Andalusian accent in Madrid. He just happened to have started making comics as a child and had a healthy disrespect for indifference when promoting genius. Having escaped being named Elvis instead of Jesus by being born on the 24th December he seems to have packed more work into his first 27 years than most of us have in twice that time. His reputation as a radical and unorthodox poet is growing. Acuarela's position as a leading if not the leading Spanish indie label with acts releasing often difficult and truly adventurous work in both languages seems assured and in these strangely 'anti-euro' times I for one applaud them. The days of looking to the Big Apple for the latest cutting art-rock are dead and buried so next time you're searching the racks look out for the Made in Spain tag. Below is a list of latest releases with some short notes - the ones without illustrations are notes from Jesus -apologies as I haven't heard those - the rest including the absolutely beautiful 'Dos' from Diariu show some of our supposed 'art-rockers' e.g. Blur(ch) and Radiohead in their true light. They're riding the crest of a watercolour wave somewhere between belle & sebastian, lo-fi, post rock and electronica and all with a particularly Spanish sensibility which at times has no equal anywhere ......wake up England!

 

(many thanks to Feed the Enemy fanzine(edinburgh) and Factory magazine for information on acuarela)

 

 

MIGALA

What follows are Jesus's own notes on the band which seem so accurate and full I've left them as received but the italics are all my own...

(The 'Verano' disc will be reviewed soon and the review will also appear in Hearsay magazine.)

MIGALA así duele un verano

-Migala sing in English.

-Migala are considered by the top French magazine Magic! "the best new European group".

-Their debut album, "Diciembre 3 a.m" was named 3^rd best Spanish album of 97 in Spanish music magazines like "Rock de Lux", "Ab" or the Catalan newspaper "Avui".

-"Diciembre 3 a.m." is almost 70 minutes long, and it´s about lost highways, soundtracks, literature and lost memories. People say they sound like the American Tindersticks would.

-Musical influences include Lambchop, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Tortoise, Leonard Cohen, Joy Division and Palace, with vocals somewhere between Nick Cave and Tom Waits, samplers, dialogues from films and short pieces of improvised music for television commercials.

-They have played in most of the major Spanish summer festivals this year and have recently released a 7" for Elefant Records.

- Migala have supported Moonshake, Kramer, Songs:Ohia, Damon & Naomi, The Magnetic Fields, Smog, Red House Painters andl they backed Will Oldham during his last Spanish tour..

Their new album is called "Así duele un verano" ("this is how summer hurts") and features 13 songs, more introspective, emotional, dry and breathtakening than ever.

3 new Migala songs are featured in a compilation made by the new American label Keyhole.

(read Jake Nagle's review)

Migala have been named best new European band by Looper (Belle and Sebastian) Website.

MUS Fai

With only 2 Cd-eps and an album behind them this boy/girl duo from Northern Spain are already one of the brightest hopes in the electronica field. Alpha, Stereolab, Pram, Tortoise and Portishead all come to mind. Their music can be best described as having bittersweet melodies, sleepy rhythms and intense melodies. The people from Melankolic (Daddy G from Massive Attack specially) love them. "Zuna" and "Pigaz" are the two Cd-Eps. "Pigaz" consists of 4 traditional songs from Asturias (their region) turned into techno lullabies. Both Eps will be released in the USA by new American label Pehr and one of their songs will be featured on a Vespertine (U.K label) compilation among GNAC and QUIGLEY.

"Fai" is their acclaimed debut album. Recorded at home but not like the majority of lo-fi recordings, their influences include John Barry´s soundtracks, Brazilian music, Stereolab, Spiritualized and French Chanson. Mus are born to be stars and in Spain the press has already marked them out as ones to watch.

JR 127

Second album from this trio known before as YOGUR (their debut single was highly praised in the Melody Maker in 1996). Deconstucted melodies, showing the influence of Pram, Guided by Voices and their own originality. Because of their looks (all of them amazingly handsome) they are on Spanish TV every week in the weirdest programs and because of their songs (jazzy, post-everything) they have gained a certain notoriety.

Weird but wonderful -Nick Drake at the bottom of a well -there are so many strange, atmospheric sounds seeping in and out of this disc it's hard to know where to start. There's Will Oldham in there, there are English and Spanish lyrics, if I tried to use one of those journalistic cliches .eg Edvard Munch..meets...The Flintstones ....I'd probably say just that! Sounds like Barcelo paints. If you don't know who Barcelo is where you been?

DIARIU Diariu 2

Nacho Vegas (member of best-selling Spanish emocore band, Manta Ray) and the Spanish poet Ramón Lluis Bande have compiled their second set of songs (in fact pages of a diary). This album can remind you of Leonard Cohen, Lambchop or Calexico. Some breathtaking stories, violins, trumpets, steel guitars, introspection, country and poetry in an album that has been named amongst the best Spanish music of 99 by top music magazine "rockdelux".

Blimey -this knocked my socks off -still haven't dived to the bottom of the gorgeous sounds and wonderful atmospheric production on this disc -sort of record Buddy & The Huddle thought they were making but didn't. The packaging is nothing short of inspired -single sheets with a shot of a different broken window. Post-rock chamber music -no wonder Drunk and Will Oldham feel at home on this label.

 

CD-EPS

The International Brigade

REVOLUTION9 Now that your lover has gone

John Moore was once drummer in the Jesus and Mary Chain and now plays in Black Box Recorder with Luke Haines of The Auteurs . This was his 3rd solo release, Spanish only release.

DOMINIQUE A L´Attirance

5 exclusive songs from one of the most popular French contemporary singer/songwriters. After 4 albums narrowing the distance between his own musical background and bands like Tindersticks or Tricky he gives us this new gift.

SONGS:OHIA Our Golden Ratio

Jason Molina has been compared to Smog, Neil Young and Palace. He´s an American artist with taste, and that taste includes country, post-folk and heartbeaking songs like these. After two albums, "Songs:Ohia" and "Impala" this is his first gatefold Cd-ep. 4 unreleased songs.

Pure Molina - if you know 'Impala' you know what to expect - jaunty as a ride through hell on an ice sleigh - still some top quality songwriting lurking behind the lo-fi soundscapes -you gotta try hard though you hear!

HEFNER The Hefner Heart

With 5 exclusive and unreleased songs by the English combo of Too Pure fame.

Coming soon: exclusive Cd-eps by Jack and The Bitter Springs

 

 

 

JESUS LLORENTE - A Poem

 

 

Celeste

There are two chances

among a million´s billion

for a meterorite to crash with Earth

within the next ten years

after having traced the very same orbit.

 

The same happens with love

which some see as a dark

hole or a nebular cloud-,

a living form far away of my world

but as the same time

a serious threat

for things´ stability.

 

Would love finish

with the dinosaurs and skyscrapers

that from the deep of my soul

raise and shine,

stumble, fight and reign?

 

Would it leave behind

a frozen and barren landscape,

(changing the climate of my veins)

that with the passing of time

will be mythically considered

as we see ourselves

as wisemen

gazing to the stars again

in search of a new love, in search of new blood?  

 

© Jesus Llorente 1999