Love, eroticism and electronic passion from north to south, from Andalusia to the Basque Country. Paraphrasing Cortazar: “They walked without looking for each other, but knowing that they walked to find each other.” Green grass y Bronchus They meet and merge, with an open heart, in “Romanticism”. Three songs that give off sparks of fire in love, the aroma of lysergic flowers and electronic beats that don’t let you touch the ground.
Naked whispers and point-blank radicalism from an artistic couple that handles avant-garde and tradition like no one else. Follow the lovers’ dance under the flaming mirror ball.
Starting from the theme and the title of the EP, “Erromantizismoa” (24), it seems that you were two halves predestined to meet, was that the destiny of Verde Prato and Bronquio’s music?
B: There were many indicators that this would end up happening. Similar circuits, people united in common and something difficult to explain that made it clear that we should at least try something.
VP: Yes, it has been a meeting that has been useful to both of us and we have loved working together. In my case, it has been very interesting to see him work, how Santi constructs the songs and finds the sounds for each song.
What attracts you most about each other’s style?
VP: It seems to me that it controls everything that I don’t master, on the one hand, the whole part of sound, of technology, of which I have so much to learn. On the other hand, his style seems radical to me, and I like that a lot.
B: I like Verde Prato in general, as a whole, but specifically, its musical nudity and its voice.
How do you know each other and decide to join forces? I think the thing started at a Monkey Week, right?
B: Estefanía from Plan B sowed the seed in the pandemic’s Monkey Week, an edition that became “televised” on YouTube. After that I went to see her live several times and I especially remember one at Veranos de la Villa in Madrid. I thought she was one of the prettiest bowlers I had seen in recent months.
VP: I really liked her music, and yes, thanks to Estefanía we were able to meet and make the definitive match.
What has been your modus operandi when creating these three pieces of “Erromantizismoa”?
B: We locked ourselves in the Tabakalera in Bilbao and practically everything arose there. We brought something from home very sketchy, just to avoid the blank page. We made more than three songs, but we considered that they were not yet up to the standards we have released. Maybe they will be picked up later, who knows.
VP: That’s right, first at Tabakalera in Donostia and then in Madrid at Warner Chappell. We worked together on the direction we wanted each song to take and, little by little, we arrived at something we both liked.
I love the opening song, “Maite, nauzu zeharkatu”, with that percussive-chameleonic starting point, which seems to come from some ancient instrument and, with the next blink, mutates into a sweaty storm of electronic and futuristic beats… An explosive cadence and base , while Ana’s spectral and luminous voice makes its way through the shadows, oozing eroticism and passion with each phrasing… Give me a few strokes about this captivating beginning, please.
B: I really like the description you give. The sound is the wheel of a cart that I took from I don’t remember where. I think the first thing I proposed in the residency was that spinning wheel file. There bareback. Then Ana improvised a melody on the sound and between the two of us we decided on the harmonies, the structure and the mood. I knew that the brutalism of something imperfect mechanical would marry very well with Ana’s register. To me it sounds like northern Spain.
VP: The lyrics are about a desire, a loving, erotic passion that speaks of a “delicate boy”, the melody I would say is also delicate, or sweet, and the contrast with the very strong base, of that radicality, it seems to me that It worked well for us, it took the song to something that interested us. I like that that message suddenly becomes overwhelming.
“Laguntasuna bazen apurtezina” expands a hypnotic atmosphere of glowing darkness that doesn’t let you touch the ground… and, floating and floating, when you come to realize it, there is no turning back. Romantic and enveloping duet in Basque that, I have to confess, reminds me at times of those addictive melodies and atmospheres from Cigarettes after Sex… How did this song come about?
VP: Santi had worked on this idea before. It was fun that he sang and also in Basque. Between the two of us we decided a little on the theme and tone of the lyrics. It was a nice experiment.
B: It was the main outline that I brought to avoid the vertigo of that blank page. I brought some chords and a melody without lyrics that mutated through the two until it became a duet. I imagine that the beginning of the idea of singing both of them was that I recorded my voice in an invented language in the demo so that Ana could hear my melodic idea. On the other hand, the fit of the melody is also very “question-answer”, so that conversation was perfect.
The perfect closing is provided by the containment of “Agertokian neskatila”, with continuous flashes that threaten to burst our chest with drum’n’bass blows, but no, the tension is never resolved and you leave us wanting much more …
B: The threat is more engaging than the attack. All attempts to resolve the break took the song to a place we didn’t like.
VP: Yes, the vocal melody was previously made, plus some keyboard lines as well, and it already had that hint of not ending, of not closing, with those beats, maintaining the tension… it seemed to us that it worked very well that way. .
After the experience of working together and giving birth to this three-song EP, do you think the collaboration could be extended into a future LP? And can we enjoy you in some shared live?
B: Since the idea of this meeting was not going to be more than that, each of us continues right now with our concerts separately (I especially with Rocío Márquez), but the idea of making more music with Ana and playing live is something that I’d love to.
VP: I would like too, of course. We’ll see how we can manage it, but it’s sure to happen at some point!