Green grass leaves us speechless again. And this time twice. First with an explosive EP of versions, or rather reinventions, of RRV classics, “Radical Basque Pop” (Plan B 2022) and now with a majestic second LP titled “Adored” (Plan B 2023), which confirms and extends everything pointed out in its debut, “That beautiful legend” (Plan B 2021).
One of the first things that caught my attention is that there is a more accentuated and present rhythmic base than in “Kondaira eder hura”. Subtle touches that add really exciting nuances and seem to open up a whole new world of possibilities for your music. In fact, there are beat elements that sound to me like a kind of drugged and idle reggaeton. How has this evolution occurred and the process of composition of the themes and bases?
I also feel that, in general, the album has a rhythmic base, somehow more danceable. It has been an organic process that has been taking place over time, after releasing Kondaira Eder Hura. I wanted to create other more luminous things, and I also wanted to dance more.
Something similar happens with your voice, which opens up to increasingly diverse, broad and daring games. Also in the melodies, even with the air of a bolero at some point. However, an unmistakable essence is always perceived. A kind of conciseness that I find prodigious, honestly. I am fascinated by that ability to always use the right and precise elements, to let them breathe, repeat themselves and live until they have the desired effect. Where is Verde Prato evolving in any case?
I like to feel that I’m not tied to a specific style or musical tradition, so I can learn and create whatever I feel like at all times. The voice, for me, is always the main tool, but I’m trying to get the technique to compose more electronic and rhythmic bases. I also like what you say about being concise, because I do try to have a certain simplicity that maintains the strength of certain elements that seem powerful to me, like some bass, or voice melodies.
The lyrics often refer to personal experiences and experiences. In some cases, you come off as more explicit and raw, I would say even more challenging. Are all the letters yours? How was the process of making these?
Yes, the lyrics are mine, on this album I write from my experience, transforming it into a story or the other way around, going to a small detail, and delighting in it, but always trying to make it interesting, let’s say, beyond my life in particular. . The direct, the simple, I think that somehow it is in my lyrics, because I try not to use bombastic phrases and maintain a certain clarity, although that may seem absurd reading them, depending on who you ask haha
The example of “Niña soñando” is one of the most beautiful on the album. It has a sensuality, both in the lyrics and in the interpretation and in that rhythmic cadence of dub, that perhaps you hadn’t fully exploited yet and that I find absolutely intoxicating. How do you see it from your perspective?
I’m glad you like it! I find it a song that moves me, because it talks about some questions and a general state in which I could be a lot when I was a child, and I’m not only referring to the lyrics, but also to the tone of the song, to the cadence, to the atmosphere. For me it’s like a sad and happy song at the same time, dreamy, and the rhythms also lead me to such a dance.
“I like to feel that I am not tied to a specific style or musical tradition, so I can learn and create whatever I feel like at any time”
In this case, you remind me particularly of Kate Bush. In any case, and although it is a hackneyed question, it always gives rise to interesting connections. What artists have you had in mind during the process of making and recording the album?
Yes, I have had different sources of inspiration, there are always many; from bachata rhythm artists like Monchy and Alexandra, Romeo Santos, electronic projects like Tirzah or Oklou, or more classic folk stuff like Catherine Howe.
The album is released again on Plan B Records. At the moment, only you appear as an artist on the label, is it something exclusive and intentional or is it just a matter of time before more artists join? You also work again with Jon Aguirrezabalaga, with whom I understand that you feel very comfortable. What would you say Jon brings to your music and to what extent is he responsible for this change in your sound?
Surely more artists will be incorporated over time. Although they will have to answer that!
Jon is a very important figure for me, he takes my songs to more sophisticated and armed points in terms of sound. He has all the technique and knowledge that I completely lack in terms of sound, and as we get to know each other more and more, he also knows what I might like more or less, and I also trust more of the ideas that he has than at first. They don’t convince me, so we agree more and more easily.
The graphic design is by Sahatsa Jauregi with photographs by María Muriedas. I find it extremely attractive and appropriate for the tone of the album. In a certain way, perhaps due to the fact that it is a black and white photograph, more defined and “real” than the drawing of “Kondaira eder hura”, it refers me to that crudeness that I was talking about in a previous question. How did you contact Sahatsa and what has been your concept of work in any case?
Sahatsa is an artist I admire a lot, I love her work, and although she is a sculptor, in the 7” I released, called “Jaikiera”, she already designed the typography, and I was very happy. In addition, we have also collaborated on his works, where I have sung, for example. So, it is a collaboration that comes from before and that will continue, in whatever way, because let’s say that her criteria and her work always like to have him around.
“Adoretua” is preceded by that little bombshell that has been “euskal pop eradikala” and your delicious versions of RRV classics. Beyond the completely renewed air that you bring to them and the suggestive reinvention that you do, it suggests an idea to me. In “Kondaira” you talked about old folk songs, your childhood memories, the melodies of our grandparents. But to what extent could the RRV not be considered “folk” by now? When does something stop being transgressive and current to become traditional? Not that I expect an answer, but I wanted to share this feeling with you…
Sometimes it seems to me that the theme of tradition and folk, although for me it is an important reference, it is not as important as when it has been mentioned in the media. There is a lot of emphasis on this, and I see the relationship, but I don’t consider myself as close to this concept, or no more than other musical styles. I guess it makes sense from a marketing and storytelling perspective, to label and be practical, but I think the music I make is more eclectic than that. So, “Adoretua” seems to me to be on that path as well, mixing styles, whether or not they come from folk.
