For Yung Rajola Being part of the new Catalan wave is a real source of pride. The man from Lleida shows it to us through “Peter Pan” (Halley, 23), his second studio album with which he reveals his more pop side, aiming to carve out a space for himself in the scene that finally seems to receive the recognition it deserves.
To say that the music industry in Catalonia has not taken an unexpected turn in the last two years would be to deny the undeniable. From the monopoly dominated by festive music – from groups like Txarango or Els Catarres – we have moved on to a situation in which multiple proposals expand the cultural offer that existed until now. A range of infinite possibilities then opens before us, among which we find the project of Quintí Casals (aka Yung Rajola). After the release of his debut album in 2021, the rapper and singer returns to his old ways with a second album that he presents as “quite a celebration”.“My first album [“Cor trencat”, 21] era an introspective album; It brought out my vulnerabilities while putting the spotlight on the scenario that my generation has had to live through: how economic opulence became a perpetual crisis. I followed Joji’s example: before he was the cynical Filthy Frank (the worst channel there has ever been in the history of YouTube), but suddenly he decided to be a singer and brought out the softer side of him. I loved that evolution, I took it as a reference to make an album in which to capture personal poetry. ‘Peter Pan’, on the other hand, is more mainstream. I wanted something more colorful. It has the clear desire to be danced; enjoy that, despite everything, we have moved forward. I consider that we are a hedonistic generation that has encountered obstacles and a precariousness that it did not expect at all. I like to compare both albums with yin and yang: the dark part is ‘Cor Trencat’ and the bright part is ‘Peter Pan’. “Both have points contrary to their nature that balance them.”. Although Quintí himself continues to be the narrator of his own story, year after year he has evolved; He now sees things from another perspective. Of course, maintaining the intimate tone that brings personality to his recordings, recovering at the same time the satirical-ironic origins with which he made himself known. “I come from other fields that are not music. That’s why I start with imposter syndrome. Satirizing things helped me face my insecurities; humor takes the edge off the issue. I have always liked rapping, but one thing is clear: this album is pop. Going against that would be useless. What I do believe is that it is a casual pop. It’s cool that it is and dialogue with the initial component of Yung Rajola canallita. It’s pop punk.”
“I feel more like an artist, in general, than a singer as such.”
If something has marked his journey, it has been resilience. When she decided to pursue her own musical career, she was someone outside of music; He has spent his entire life being a painter and currently works as a publicist. Both disciplines influenced Yung Rajola in such a way that they helped him straighten the direction he wanted to take at a time when not even he was clear. “I feel more like an artist, in general, than a singer as such. I have the feeling that my work is a bit of a result of having painted for so many years. When you stand in front of a canvas you never know what is going to come out of it. You know what inspires you, what colors, what sketches… but you never know how it will turn out. For me, painting pictures and writing songs coincide in the sense that you convey all your musings; You are wrong and that, in addition to helping you vent, allows the result to be born from a truth, your truth. As for advertising, I would say that what I have learned is to choose the right words. Today everything has been polarized. “I laugh a little at that.”. Added to this methodology is the obsession for his music to have its own identity. Quintí claims to be an ironic and observant person who loves to expand on true life experiences. “My songs are the consequence of the set of situations that I have experienced. Talking about things that have really happened to me means that, when it comes to defending what I sing, I am not fooling anyone. Now, I won’t deny that I put a little makeup on him. I can’t say everything exactly. Something similar happens to me when giving subjective opinions; Sometimes they are between the two worlds. Nothing is black or white, true or false. For both reasons, the music I make is made with some background. The singles are good, but what allows me to exploit my creativity are the albums”.
Precisely in this one he has chosen to deal with the figure of Peter Pan, a fictional character taken from the novel of the same name written by James Matthew Barrie that tells the story of a boy who does not want to grow up and escapes to Neverland. The fixation on his figure is not accidental, it goes far beyond the generational issue. “I am now twenty-nine years old. I am at the impasse between what is youth and declared adulthood. I feel that I am an adult in some things, but there are others typical of age that generate rejection for me. Many would tell me ‘it’s time’. They are infantile crises that I share with people around me and society in general. In any case, every year is a learning experience. I don’t want to make the same mistakes my eighteen-year-old self made, for example. Certain feelings have an expiration date. The truth is that I am a child playing at being an adult.”. The learning you are talking about comes from afar. Specifically from five years ago. Since 2018, their sound has gone from being recorded at the PutoStudio (Lleida) to the Krakhaus in Barcelona, birthplace of artists such as PAWN Gang, Bad Gyal, Kinder Malo or Pimp Flaco. “Coming to Barcelona and recording in such a popular studio teaches you a lot, especially what the producers explain to you. A producer is your musical partner, there must be chemistry between you. Make it a mutual match so that you can feed each other later. This is what happened to me with Mr. Chen and Pep Saula (Sexenni), although I would highlight Hacha Dastral. Working with him brought me out of my shell when I arrived in Barcelona. He made me feel free to show off to this day; you meet people and create connections. There is also the addition that the new emerging figures (most of us) belong to the same age range. We are very mixed and we get along well. I think that if music in Catalan is starting to work it is because we all go to the same thing”.
The catalog has increased, true, but there is a problem: overbooking is compounded by the fact that programmers are slow to embrace the latest proposals. “It is a fish that bites its tail because, on the one hand, something becomes a trend and they exploit it ad nauseam. On the other hand, it is difficult to deprogram someone by replacing them with another. The competition has grown and things are becoming more complicated. As an artist you also have to learn to leave the circle of friends to be able to reach more people. Hence we come to Barcelona and this is a small Los Angeles”. With his entry into Halley Records in 2020 he put the designation of origin label (as he says) on Yung Rajola, escaping the initial circle. “A label guarantees you, especially at the press level, that they will listen to you. I also don’t want to say that being independent is a bad thing; There are many ways to move, sound and be noticed. In my case, I am in a musical solstice: with ‘Peter Pan’ they will place me a little better”. Finishing, Quintí promises very good concerts that will feature the participation of an instrumental band. “It’s the most beautiful thing, that people sing your songs.” However, the classic question about the defense of the Catalan could not be missed. Here is the answer: “Imposing it is not the solution. Why was there so much talk when we were little? Because we consumed content that was cool; The Catalan was sweet and attractive. “Things have to be cool”.