2023-06-27 05:59:41
Of one jam session in the McKiernans tavern on the Rambla in Girona, the chemistry to unite was born a singer from Castelló d’Empúries, Oriol Pujades, and the Mataronians Joan Fité and Tomàs Sànchez. Pujades, better known as Cookah P, and the other two musicians, first as Andana and later as Boom Boom Fighters, promote from 2021 a joint project born between Girona and Mataró that combines roots reggae 80’s with 90’s dance music has burst into the party music scene with a bang at our home.
Boom Boom Fighters & Cookah P opened last Friday the Ítaca Sant Joan festival in l’Estartit, this Friday he will perform on the main stage of the (a)phònica de Banyoles with his “always energetic and constantly extravagant” show and, already in August, the training has on the agenda another important event: the Rototom, the most important European event for Jamaican music, which is held in Benicàssim.
“We didn’t expect so much success or so quickly, because in the end what Boom Boom Fighters & Cooka P. does is something a little different, it’s not as modern as urban music, but it has its audience and it’s cool because we like it and we see people having a good time at the concerts, whether they come from the Jamaican music world or not», explains Oriol Pujades, who also collaborates in other projects as a singer.
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That first meeting between Oriol Pujades and Joan Fité at the Irlandès de la Rambla led to several collaborations during the pandemic, which materialized in Family thingsa first self-released album, “with many instrumental tributes to Jamaican music from the 80s, because we were still looking for our sound”, and later, a Confit (Propaganda for the Fact!, 2023).
In the middle, they have had incentives such as one of the culture and arts awards of Castelló d’Empúries or the inclusion in the artistic accompaniment program of La Marfà – Center for Musical Creation in Girona, which has been essential, he explains, to “enhance the live performance and perfect the work of the eight musicians who are on stage during the concerts to the maximum”.
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Confit includes collaborations with musicians such as Tropiko, The Tyets, the rapper Doble or Hugsoundproducer and sound technician who has been encouraged to sing one of the lyrics he writes Pujades, based on everyday topics – “even though they don’t always correspond to reality” – such as toxic relationships in Have a look at itthe beach bar on Rubina beach (I know a spot) or team work a I come from the Empordà.
“Between Boom Boom and Cookah P we have so many different influences that when we put them together the magic comes out, and we are currently leaning more towards reggae, dancehall and hip-hop”, explains the Empordà native, who cites Yellowman, Peter Tosh or Bob Marley among his musical references. Nevertheless, however, they are already working on another album, still without a date, which “will be more moving, going up chronologically in the history of Jamaican music, looking more towards the 90s and 2000s”.
Travel to Jamaica
«You can make music in Catalan in any style, we have to get rid of the Catalan music label, it’s music in general», affirms Pujades forcefully, who explains that he has been absorbed in Jamaican music since he was a child. He spent a month in the country in 2018 and returned this January to meet more artists and perform his first public performances in Jamaica, which were well received.
Although he recognizes that, “more than the label, the important thing is that you like the music and have a good time”, it’s good to “have an appreciation for the culture you work with”, he says.
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