trick He is a young interpreter who rose to fame thanks to his time on “Eufòria”, a program in which he came second, and which served to show that he was an artist who went beyond the norm. We spoke to him days before the release of “Between fluids” (Halley Records, 23), her debut album.
Before making the leap to television, you were already creating your own music within the group Alter Soma. But at what point did you realize that you wanted to dedicate yourself to music?
My carnal need to make music came together with the concerns of a group I met who taught me how to produce and create, but the concern has always been there. But that this concern has been transformed into something that has a perspective for the future and employment is something else. When you have projection, which is what every artist needs, seeks and desires, but sometimes doesn’t, that’s when you see that you can transform it into something more professional. I also don’t want to have many claims to my content, although I know that there is a lot of responsibility and that now there will be a tour and the content has to be taken care of, I treat it with the same care and love as when I released a self-produced album not Alter Soma . An unjustified romantic love.
You participated in the talent show “Eufória”, which allowed you to fully take off as a professional artist. How did you live it? Because it is clear that you are an artist who is completely out of the scheme of this type of program…
It is a universe that I did not know and it was my first immersion in that world, in show business, TV, fast rhythms… it was like jumping into the void. We were all going blind really. There I was in an apathetic phase, therefore it was good for me to have a little emotion, because you were always waiting for how it was going to go. There are bittersweet sensations in this experience, but I stayed with the people, with Sant Jordi, with the people I have met through it and with the beautiful memory.
“At first it was difficult to convince the team that this was the proposal, but it has ended up working”
At the end of the program is when your real career in music begins. Were the months that followed very turbulent or were you clear about how you wanted to focus your project?
My mantra is that I am not clear about anything. The name of the album – “Entre fluids” – is to express indecision, contradiction, being in a creative process that can be passive and have a thousand different lines, not championing a single cause or genre… There were demos, there were things that I had produced and the idea was to try to capture them, at a daily rate, we would meet every day to compose and that’s nice. But, of course, of course, I have never had it. And I hope I never have it, because it will mean that I am looking for new ways and that I am inspired.
And the first single that you publish is “Jugular” – together with “Road trip” – which was the most radioed song in Catalonia last February. Did you expect it to work this well?
I didn’t expect it at all. In fact, at first he had a hard time convincing the team that this was the proposal, but it has ended up working. I try not to have expectations of what I do so as not to get excited and not put my cross before what is due. And when I hear it out there it’s weird, because it’s beautiful and it’s new. Although I try to keep my feet on the ground, because okay, now this has worked, it has played a lot on the radio, it’s brutal, but I still have a long way to go, I’m in the first phase of something that I want to work in the medium-long term therefore calm down. I try not to get up.
During these months you have been breaking down various themes, as well as the artwork of the covers and video clips in which we found many people working. Can we say that Triquell is more of a group than a single person?
I love that you say this! (laughs). I really try to get rid of the stigma of the person’s ego, as I put my face, but many times the spokesperson for a project is not the only component of the project. And sometimes it seems redundant to say it, but without my inspiration, without my circle, without my people, well, I would still be lost in many ways. Triquell is a guild of people who create out of the carnal need to create, an audiovisual and musicians guild, that is for me. And I like to defend this, especially after leaving a place where I have become a public figure. I want to connect well with those around me and for the project to be collective, because when the fall comes, it is the people who will accompany me.
And how does this work? Do you have the final voice of what comes out or do you let yourself be guided by others?
I like that those around me have the same freedom to propose or make constructive criticism that I can have. For example, my partner is a cinematographer, one of my best friends is a graphic designer and another is a scriptwriter, my band is made up of my lifelong colleagues who are now playing in different bands or are DJs… It’s like every one, with its form and with its manner, contributes its grain of sand to a process that is collective. The way we work depends on the project, the timing, the concept, how we work on the idea… Sometimes you want more time and you don’t have it, and sometimes you have plenty and you can do things calmly, with care, with love for art. and the aesthetics.
“Entre fluids” is a title that defines the album quite well. Because within it we find an amalgamation of sounds that match perfectly with your voice. What were you looking for when making this record with such disparate genres?
He wanted to break ground, experiment and show that you don’t have to press the same button 25 times to make a machine work. There are many formulas, many spaces that can be transmitted, I show that I can create from a more rational, fun, revolutionary, intimate or vulnerable part and that there are one-and-a-half-minute compositions that seem short and four-minute compositions that seem too short for you. they take a great trip and may be on the same album. Everything can be part of an experience. Who knows, maybe on the next album I’m experimenting with other harmonies, instruments or plugins.
And, apart from mixing genres, also thematic mixes. You talk about both love and society, playing many different styles. Why did you decide to talk about everything and not make a concept album?
Obviously behind the experimentation there is a skeleton, a collective packaging. You can tell that it has passed through the same hands, because we are the same components, but, for example, many times I started the demos with my colleague Miquel, who is also a producer, other times with Xavi, other times we were all together, other times it was writing and I imagined melodies and producing them with the computer and others were in the same studio. The process is different, the timings are different and the energies are different because we go through phases, therefore, each song has a different vibe. And we wanted to try that, although I am in a pop market, our references, which are practically all from abroad, would be noticed.
Although most of the work is in Catalan, you include “Detroit Tango” together with your first group, Alter Soma, entirely in English. Was it to maintain the essence of the band?
I wanted to give importance to the fact that they are the first music group I’ve had, because we’ve been together for a long time, we sang in English because we liked it, our references were in English and I’m good at singing it. “Detroit Tango” is a song that the whole team is very fond of and we thought it was the perfect opportunity to include a piece in English. And who knows if on the next album or on the next EP there will be an English song, or two, or three. I want to show that I have creative freedom and this is a song that is very experimental, but it has a very Alter Soma energy.
“I think there are few references who sing in Catalan and are not clichés, who do not follow the same pattern of major festivals and such”
Do you consider singing in Spanish?
It has turned out less organic. I have a collaboration that I have sung at some time, but it comes out less organic. One has to be very conscious and faithful to what comes out organically. Obviously I consider writing songs in Spanish, because I could do it. I want to go live in Madrid for a period of my life and I think that if my day-to-day life is surrounded by people who speak Spanish and I start to speed up the creative process more in Spanish, it might be easier for me, so no. I rule it out for nothing. But so far this has not been the reality. My reality has been to compose in Catalan, to think in Catalan, also in English, especially when I am in a festive-creative environment. But for now I want to create songs in Catalan, because I think there are few references that sing in Catalan and are not clichés, that do not follow the same pattern of major festivals and such.
And in all the work you have had Arnau Vallvé (Manel) at the controls of the production. How has it been working with him?
I had different types of demos, some greener, others prettier, some had composition and lyrics, others just composition, other lyrics… and he came in as if to put order to all that amount of instrumentals, we had a Drive full of beats and also I have a document with 37 pages of letters. So we decided which letters are valid, which letters are not, to do a bit of sherpa. In the end, we are in our early twenties and he acted as a guide for us, and he has acted like a motherfucker for us. Thanks to him, the peña has been given a professional sound that he produces with two speakers in a cheap industrial warehouse.
Apart from Arnau and Alter Soma, you have also counted on Ven’nus and Vernat in terms of collaborations, fleeing from possible more mainstream featurings, what is the reason for having them?
Because they are from Sabadell and I have been following them for a long time. Ven’nus is a friend of mine since ESO, we were meeting and we flowed, the creative process was much more agile because we knew each other. And at Vernat’s house we made a song in just two days. I have met another rock with whom I may also make music, but with them it has turned out super well. I am very proud and I can only say nice things about them. And I have not wanted to do a collaboration with other artists just for media convenience.
Now it’s time to capture all this work on stage, but of course, it must be difficult to combine the electronic “Jugular” with the sentimental “Laberint” in the same setlist. How are you preparing it?
Sure, it’s the perfect explanation of the album’s dichotomy. I think that a song with the dancedrop of “Jugular” and then another that is a vomit of feelings and fear like “Laberint” can cohabit, they are compatible, and if the live performance is done well, it could end up fucking great.
And in these concerts, will you include songs that you sang on the show or just the ones from the record?
No, no, we’re going to do Alter Soma songs, we’re going to do a few covers of the show, brought even more to our turf, and we’re going to do the record.
And for this you already have a tour of a large part of Catalonia closed. Counting already with two sold outs, one in Girona and another in the Sala Apolo. Does it give you extra pressure that they have been out of stock for so long?
It gives me a feeling of extreme gratitude, of saying “it’s great that there are people who trust the project.” It’s one more reason to show that it’s worth it and that it’s going to be Los Conciertos. I’m really looking forward to it, there have been changes, because we are constantly building the live show, but it looks good.
Are you considering the next project or are you currently focused on touring with this one?
Sometimes I anticipate and imagine what my next album will sound like, but I try to stay grounded, be present and focus on what I play. But I imagine what my next projects could be like and following the mantra of experimenting, David Bowie’s way, I want to explore the field and use music as a form of therapy, it’s what my body asks of me, a carnal need like whoever eats or who fucks.
Quick Round
A national artist: Rusowsky
An international artist: Arctic Monkeys
A record to listen to in the car: “Swimming” de Mac Miller
An album that everyone should listen to: “Currents” de Tame Impala
A song to cry “1999” de Love of Lesbian
A song to dance to: “Mystery Lady” by Masego
Dream Collaboration: Nathy Peluso
Your favorite piece: “Nirvana”
A place to listen to your music: In a place where you can be in peace of mind
Describe in one word: Odyssey
