2023-12-08 07:35:15
Júlia Colom will open a new edition of the 66 Butaques cycle this Saturday, at 9 p.m. in the Toni Montal room in La Cate de Figueres.
What an a cappella song like That burned me open the disk has an intention?
From the very beginning I proposed that the voice should be the element that was in the foreground, both at the level of production and mixing. For this reason I decided to open it with an a cappella song, because it is like the seed of everything that builds up later, throughout the whole album. And as an essence, there is the voice.
Singer, composer, guitarist and researcher. How was the research process that has borne fruit for this record debut?
Well, I really don’t have the rigor of a musicologist. The work I’ve done has had more to do with my own curiosity. It is also true that popular singing has been very present in my life, especially through my family. It wasn’t like going a step further and discovering something. There was a point where I already knew a lot of tunes but I wanted to go out and discover the ones I didn’t know.
Joan Porcel decided to document part of that research with the documentary Semper dijous, released in 2020 and available today in the Filmin catalog.
It was very curious. It was difficult for me to understand because someone was making a documentary about me and, moreover, I had doubts about whether what I was explaining could be interesting enough. But then I understood that it is true that there are many documented successful careers and biopics when the road is already done, but Semper Thursday, on the other hand, I think is a documentary that narrates a little about my beginnings. Participating in this documentary put me at a point of introspection about myself, because everyone does what they do with their lives and without giving explanations to anyone. But at the moment when this is documented there is indeed a point of inner reflection.
Rodrigo Cuevas in Asturias, the Tanxugueiras in Galicia… do you feel part of this musical wave that claims tradition by fusing it with the most contemporary genres?
I believe that I am part of something bigger. It’s just that I think there’s been like a few decades where this music hasn’t really been given much attention and now there’s a general interest. However, as I said before, the oral tradition has always been present in my life.
Is feeding on tradition and singing in your language a political act these days?
When the context is very hostile and the right tries to claim the identity of a land, it is indeed a political act. If things were more normal, I’d like to think that I’m simply a Mallorcan woman who sings.
How was the process of writing the lyrics for the songs?
It has been a process of discovering myself. When I decided to make this record yes or yes, there were a lot of things I thought I wouldn’t be able to do or would have to delegate to other people. For me it has been like a discovery to see that I am able to make the whole album. In this case I wrote the lyrics trying to connect with what I would be interested in hearing and what I am interested in explaining. I think they are varied and do not fit into a single theme.
A few years ago she worked as a chorus girl for Maria Arnal and Marcel Bagés. How do you remember that experience?
For me it was an interesting experience because as a singer I had only experienced the part of being in the front row, facing the project. Being a chorus girl is like the other side of being a singer. To be able to be a part of a big tour, to stand behind it and have your only responsibility is to make everything sound as good as possible so that the lead vocals can shine, it was a great experience.
Beyond the oral tradition included in your proposal, what contemporary influences can we find?
The Spanish guitar has a lot of weight on the album and both the guitarist and myself are very influenced by José González. And I think it’s noticeable when listening to the songs. I can also cite as influences, because it’s the music I listen to, Caetano Veloso, Marina Satti or Caroline Polachek.
The great success achieved after the publication of Miramar does it make you feel some pressure?
The truth is that I don’t feel pressure because of the good reception of the album, but if I can feel it with myself because of the desire to build a career that I like and in accordance with what I believe.
Maria Hein, Maria Jaume, Alanaire… Julia Columbus. What is happening in Mallorca?
It’s a theory of mine, but I think that maybe now because of the hyperconnectivity we have, more bridges are being established between Catalonia and Mallorca. Because there has always been a lot of music in Mallorca. A lot has always happened there. It happens that maybe the contact was not as done as it is now. And it is true that in the musical field this bridge between one scene and the other is more noticeable now than ever.
#claim #identity #territory #singing #political #act