WARMER MIXTAPES #1185 | by Ferran Palau (Oh!Fantasma, Toby The Odia), Juanjo Montañés [Mossossoppo], Louise Sansom, Núria Monés (Toby The Odia) and Miquel Plana (Carcoma) of Anímic
Photos by Gustaf Choos & Pablo Maestres
SIDE A | by Miquel Plana
1. Joan Manuel Serrat | Mediterráneo
I arrange my vinyls geographically since I live in the road where the author of this song was born. In the middle of the shelve is Mediterráneo. On the left (West) are the authors from Spain, Portugal, America… Too the right (East) are the authors from Catalonia, France, Europe, Asia and down under… To say now that this song guides my whole life and that I follow each and every one of the instructions in the lyrics, sounds almost, insignificant.
2. Toti Soler | Ombra D'Anna
Love poem from the same period as the before mentioned.
3. Albert Pla | L'Home Que Ens Roba Les Nòvies
Song from the first album sung in Catalan that really marked me. Even though the lyrics scared me then, I was too young to really understand the majority of the songs. Now that I’m older, they scare me even more.
4. Roger Mas A Artà | Goigs De La Mare De Déu Del Claustre De Cordona (Cover Of A Popular Devotion Of The Virgin Mary Song)
I have true faith in this Ecclesiastic style song. I could easily have no clue what he’s talking about, and it would still impress me.
5. Nico Roig | Les Dones Macabres
This musician, and friend, has impacted me like no one else since the Albert Pla I speak of before.
6. Joan Colomo | Màgic
An hymn dedicated to Happiness, by yet another musician, and friend.
7. Alberto Montero | En El Camino
People still have to discover this incredible author who signed one of last year's best albums.
8. Julio Bustamante & Fred I Son | Avions
Complete Valencian Positivism. There’s nothing like being a veteran in almost everything, to be able to appreciate the simplicity of small things.
9. Sr. Chinarro | Babieca
Destroyer has just published a cover album with some of the Seville born artists’ songs. This is the original song. The best thing about it all is that I don’t know what one I like more.
10. Espaldamaceta | Baile Masái
Another musician-friend. With his latest album he has made a radical change in his sound. Now, not only does he invite everyone, including himself, to stand up when he’s playing, he also makes us jump!
+11. Medievo | Cloacas De Paz
Negativity and Reality. When the whole World goes down the shithole I’ll be delighted to hold on to these songs in one hand and flush the toilet with the other. Fan.
+12. La Débil | Sángrala
These guys from Madrid decided to pull the chain by themselves, in time as well. Lucky enough they left us this incredible album.
+13. Will Johnson | Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming
We (Anímic) had the good luck and great pleasure of being able to play with the only International artist on my list. To play this song with him live was one of the most touching moments of our lives.
+14. Cobra Laser | The Flying DeLorean
This band appeared and disappeared around 2005. I was one of the lucky ones that got to see them perform and they left me fascinated. I never forgot them, and years later (just a few days ago) we contacted them to ask for a remix of one of our songs. I still cry with excitement every time I listen to the result.
+15. Oso Leone | Alçaria
How do you say in English La están petando?… Err… Whatever, that’s what their doing and that’s what they deserve.
+16. Hans Laguna | Clasificación General
Oops, another musician-friend! I’m not sure if he’s more a friend or more a musician… I’m facing a dilemma here! What I don’t understand is that being such a good friend he had to explain each and every song from the album to me. Maybe he is more of a musician then a friend?
+17. Hidrogenesse | El Beso
The union of two of my many passions: The Coldness of Machines and the Warmth of a Kiss.
SIDE B | by Núria Monés
1. Fleet Foxes | White Winter Hymnal
The main reason I bought a three-day festival ticket was to see Fleet Foxes when they came to Barcelona. On the third day, just a few minutes before reaching the concert I realized I had left the ticket at home. I was in so much despair that my friend gave me her ticket just to see the concert. As I ran in the first notes of White Winter Hymnal were just starting. The Sun was going down and I could feel a light breeze from the Sea. I cried. I then drove back home to get my ticket.
2. Nightwish | Ghost Love Score
Last album to feature Tarja Turunen on lead vocals. There’s no comparing, she is The Voice of Nightwish. What a woman, what a presence, what elegance. It’s the perfect Symphonic Metal song (all those followers of those that understand the genre are free to attack me). A whole ten minutes full of landscapes. The live act means goose bumps whether you like them or not.
3. Green Day | Worry Rock
My first concert in a real venue, Greenday's Nimrod tour. I was 14 years old, Barcelona city; I got drunk on just one (shared) can of beer… I still get goose bumps when I hear the song, I can listen to all the songs on any of their albums, but this one in memorable... Brrr!
4. Soulsister | The Way To Your Heart
The video is something you can’t miss. Flashy, the dancing, those dimples, that hair, just plain nice I’d say. After having seen that video, every time I even think of the song it puts in a good mood.
5. The Fresh & Onlys | Waterfall
There’s no way to describe this. This, for me, is one of the best guitar riffs I’ve ever heard (OK, OK). To see that solo guitarist, so small, twisting around like that, it’s just fantastic. For a Summer afternoon, on a big stage and a light breeze on your face. I must say the video is a bit disturbing though…
6. The Strokes | You Only Live Once
I’m sorry, but they are just so good looking… And Julian Casablancas, even if he looks like a bit of an arse, is sooo sexy. I remember being in a club once with Louise, we were dancing away and this song came on with the video playing on the stage, I remember us stopping and just starring at the whole video from start to end, hugged together and nodding. That good boy's face on such a big screen, and I love they get dirty too…
7. Standstill | 1, 2, 3, Sol
Because they were and are, one of the best. They have one of the best live acts in Spain. With Viva La Guerra I spent a whole summer going from one of their concerts to another, there was just nothing better to do. I cried a lot when they played this song at the end of the album's tour.
8. Cat Stevens | The Wind
I was at a party not long ago. Karaoke. I was singing Circle Of Life by Elton John. A few days after I decided that the only song I would ever sing again at a Karaoke would be The Wind by Cat Stevens. We do a great duet.
9. Satanic Surfers | Hero Of Our Time
This is the top song of my teenage years. Melodic Hard-Core. Unconditional Love. Maybe the only song I know all the lyrics to (I make a good duet with Cat Stevens, but I have to sing a bit low, 'cause I forget the words…).
10. Janelle Monaé | Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)
The perfect song and once you’ve seen the video you can’t help dancing. Well, you can’t help trying to do a cheap imitation of the way she dances anyway, you have a great time though.
SIDE C | by Louise Sansom
1. Technotronic | Pump Up The Jam
I remember it being one of my first tapes, up to then I listened to my mum's Whitney Houston’s tapes. It was 1989 and I was 10-year-old, I don’t know where I got it from, but I was a kid stuck to a Walkman and to listen to that tape made me feel really cool, for some reason it made me feel like I was at last what I wanted to really be...
2. Elastica | Stutter
1995, I had moved to Spain a few years before and was completely lost Music wise as the kind of Music being listened to in my area was very crappy indeed, my aunt sent a birthday present that included a Blur album (The Great Escape) and this Elastica album, both completly changed my life and the way I thought about Music. It made me feel like I had a choice.
3. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds & PJ Harvey | Henry Lee (Traditional Folk Song 'Young Hunting' Cover)
It’s not one of my favourite songs, but it’s the first time Nick Cave and PJ Harvey stormed into my life. I was a teenager and managed to buy a magazine that came with a free tape. I remember laying in bed and it came on and I just knew they would be part of my life. One of my favourite albums of 2011 was Harvey’s Let England Shake.
4. Sufjan Stevens | John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Zuma did one of his mixed CDs and this song started it of, I didn’t know it was Sufjan Stevens and for quite a while thought it was a very old song sung by a woman, until I asked and was surprisingly told it was he. It’s a very emotional song for me, something in it makes me feel sad but at home.
5. Cat Power | Silver Stallion (Lee Clayton Cover)
When I was pregnant with my baby girl I had quite a few ups and downs, this song for some reason was the only thing I could listen to that would help me cry and instantly feel relieved, the smoothness in her voice and the way she sings is almost as if she’s stroking your hair and telling you you're the strongest woman in the world.
6. Anika | Masters Of War (Bob Dylan Cover)
I was amazed to know that Anika had recorded this album in just a short time and being a fan of Portishead and Geoff Barrow I felt a large curiosity to listen to it. Again it’s an album and song that give you new ways of seeing Music, where Imperfection is beautiful and emotional. It's got a real Punk attitude to it.
7. M.I.A. | Bucky Done Gun
This is for my four year old Mia, there isn’t a day I don’t put this song on for her and we dance like mad. It’s one of her favourite albums and was the first song she ever asked for (she was not even three at the time). The whole album is so fresh, every summer there’s a day or two where the volume goes up and the car windows come down to listen to this album.
8. Betunizer | Imagina Que Matas A Jota
This is one of my favourite Spanish bands of the moment and this is my favourite song. Their energy and the broken mad drums are something hard to find lately, their live shows are completely nuts and you can’t help ending up pushing the people around you. Highly recommendable to all UK listeners!
9. The xx | Shelter
Any song on their first full lenght... The perfect album for cold or warm night walks through Barcelona city, calms and relaxes you after a tough day, makes you remember simple things that no one has time to think about anymore.
10. Núria Graham | On The Bus
This girl is like 17 years old; she’s releasing her debut album early 2015, but has been doing some concerts with her demo. She’s one of those talents that’s just gonna spring up, all songs are hers, lyrics, Music and all. I may not listen to her demo too much, but I go and see her live performances whenever I can. She’s Pure Magic.
+11. These New Puritans | Attack Music
Swords! They use the sound of a sword as an instrument! This band is so inspiring, elegant and with a real unique sound. They do completely what they want and don’t care what others think and that filters through every note they play.
SIDE D | by Juanjo Montañés
1. White Noise | Love Without Sound
A song that was hard to accept at that moment of time. Real pioneers, they made an album 50 years before its time or maybe they were just some crazy guys that did it all wrong, but with a lot of taste. I think Delia Derbyshire and others from BBC Radiophonic workshop.
2. Franco Battiato | Centro Di Gravità Permanente
It's one of my favourite songs, by one of the most free and inhibited artists I know. He’s really big in Italy and his lyrics are a real declaration.
3. Astrud | El Vertedero De São Paulo
There was a time where I would wake up every day singing this song, I couldn’t get it out of my head, I even got worried about it. I ended up giving away the album so I could listen to other catchy songs and try and forget it. I still really like it though.
4. Caetano Veloso | Tropicália
I could do a list of ten favourite songs just with Brazilian Music, for this occasion I’m going to choose Caetano Veloso, he uses Avant-Garde arrangements in Popular Music. Unbelievable that it once caused a stir for being revolutionary. Dance and smile.
5. Kraftwerk | Neon Lights
It’s like a melancholic lullaby; ideal for walking while the Sun goes down. It’s the best example of how the Future already happened 40 years ago.
6. Stevie Wonder | Race Babbling
Stevie Wonder is another of my obsessions, for this list I choose a very peculiar song from one of his weirdest albums. It has a really danceable rhythm, but on the other hand it sounds like Videogame Music, a bit Dub, it could be a great track for a DJ session but then it does start getting a bit twisted towards the end and would probably turn your night into a real nightmare!
7. Ennio Morricone | Once Upon A Time In The West (with Edda Dell'Orso) (Once Upon A Time In The West Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Another of my obsessions, it’s impossible to separate his music from the images it was made for. Even so, it’s the perfect Music to make everyday life epic.
8. The Beatles | Everybody's Got Something To Hide Expect For Me And My Monkey
Until I was a teenager I only listened to The Beatles, I was lucky as they had quite a few albums. It’s amazing the amount of roads The Beatles go down through their career, you’ve got emotional Love songs or nutty accelerated hits like this. I suppose that’s what happens when you take drugs.
9. Sparks | This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
You have permission to go mad with this song; it’s glamorous, excessive, operatic and frenetic. I don’t suppose that’s a surprise; everyone likes this song, don’t they?
10. Camarón | La Leyenda Del Tiempo
It’s the song that opens up and gives name to what is considered the best album in the history of Spain. Apart from that it’s a song that makes you shudder, it’s energetic and mysterious. It’s a classic that I listen to when I’m on the road and the only example of Flamenco where I recognize the synthesizers.
SIDE E | by Ferran Palau
1. Nick Drake | River Man
It’s one of the songs that most touched me in life. I heard it in 2001 and it changed my life, when I found the vinyl in a shop in London my heart nearly came out of my chest, it wasn’t easy to find in Barcelona then.
2. Tiger Menja Zebra | No Cal Ser De Brooklyn
They played after us at an underground off festival called Hoteler. I couldn’t see the stage 'cause there was loads of people, but the sound was infernal, the most sick and incredible thing I’d heard in ages.
3. Low | Born By The Wires
A friend helped me steal this album from a store many years ago and I don’t think I’ve heard anything so sad since… When I listen to it, it makes me think of the (lovely) couple they make, I can almost hear them whispering to each other come on, let’s get through another day…
4. Swans | The Seer Return
This made a big impact on me artistically, at first I couldn’t manage so many minutes of Noise, but then I put it on again with headphones, laid on my bed and the Magic occurred. The answer is in the Repetition.
5. Talk Talk | Myrrhman
I never thought I would end up listening to Talk Talk. I am a big fan of These New Puritans and a friend told me they had a lot to do with this album, a few days later he bought it for me. I found a large parallelism between the two sounds and the way they arrange their albums.
6. Portishead | Machine Gun
One of the most important and incredible things that have happened to Anímic was when Portishead chose us to open their concert in Barcelona; they watched YouTube videos of us! It was a magical night even though I ended up really drunk.
7. Silver Apples | Oscillations
They invented Techno in the 60’s! Zuma put it on once in the kitchen and I remember saying hey, those drums are amazing!, then he told me where they came from and that. Not long after that day Portishead released Third and we were amazed at how the sound was so similar to that of the 60’s sonic duo. I love those kinds of casualties.
8. Joy Division | The Eternal
It’s silly to try and choose just one Joy Division song, there’s so many feelings and sensations in all of their songs. I feel real fascination in knowing how they could unite something so cold to something with so much feeling and in sucha special way…
9. Nico | Janitor Of Lunacy
Desertshore... This album is recorded nearly entirely with a harmonium. John Cale helped out. I like women that sing that way, they seem to push away their feminine side and turn into something divine, nor woman nor man. It’s the perfect song for the end of the World. I read that Nico once gave her son a heroin kit so he would enter the world of drugs in a more secure and clean way. Weird.
10. Pink Floyd | Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Part 1 (Live In Venice - July 15, 1989)
Every single Sunday morning my dad would put on this concert. We would watch while we drank hot chocolate and ate churros. I was about 7 or 8 and back then I hated that kind of Music, but with time I realized how much I appreciate that my dad did that every week. The answer is in Repetition!
1. Joan Manuel Serrat | Mediterráneo
I arrange my vinyls geographically since I live in the road where the author of this song was born. In the middle of the shelve is Mediterráneo. On the left (West) are the authors from Spain, Portugal, America… Too the right (East) are the authors from Catalonia, France, Europe, Asia and down under… To say now that this song guides my whole life and that I follow each and every one of the instructions in the lyrics, sounds almost, insignificant.
2. Toti Soler | Ombra D'Anna
Love poem from the same period as the before mentioned.
3. Albert Pla | L'Home Que Ens Roba Les Nòvies
Song from the first album sung in Catalan that really marked me. Even though the lyrics scared me then, I was too young to really understand the majority of the songs. Now that I’m older, they scare me even more.
4. Roger Mas A Artà | Goigs De La Mare De Déu Del Claustre De Cordona (Cover Of A Popular Devotion Of The Virgin Mary Song)
I have true faith in this Ecclesiastic style song. I could easily have no clue what he’s talking about, and it would still impress me.
5. Nico Roig | Les Dones Macabres
This musician, and friend, has impacted me like no one else since the Albert Pla I speak of before.
6. Joan Colomo | Màgic
An hymn dedicated to Happiness, by yet another musician, and friend.
7. Alberto Montero | En El Camino
People still have to discover this incredible author who signed one of last year's best albums.
8. Julio Bustamante & Fred I Son | Avions
Complete Valencian Positivism. There’s nothing like being a veteran in almost everything, to be able to appreciate the simplicity of small things.
9. Sr. Chinarro | Babieca
Destroyer has just published a cover album with some of the Seville born artists’ songs. This is the original song. The best thing about it all is that I don’t know what one I like more.
10. Espaldamaceta | Baile Masái
Another musician-friend. With his latest album he has made a radical change in his sound. Now, not only does he invite everyone, including himself, to stand up when he’s playing, he also makes us jump!
+11. Medievo | Cloacas De Paz
Negativity and Reality. When the whole World goes down the shithole I’ll be delighted to hold on to these songs in one hand and flush the toilet with the other. Fan.
+12. La Débil | Sángrala
These guys from Madrid decided to pull the chain by themselves, in time as well. Lucky enough they left us this incredible album.
+13. Will Johnson | Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming
We (Anímic) had the good luck and great pleasure of being able to play with the only International artist on my list. To play this song with him live was one of the most touching moments of our lives.
+14. Cobra Laser | The Flying DeLorean
This band appeared and disappeared around 2005. I was one of the lucky ones that got to see them perform and they left me fascinated. I never forgot them, and years later (just a few days ago) we contacted them to ask for a remix of one of our songs. I still cry with excitement every time I listen to the result.
+15. Oso Leone | Alçaria
How do you say in English La están petando?… Err… Whatever, that’s what their doing and that’s what they deserve.
+16. Hans Laguna | Clasificación General
Oops, another musician-friend! I’m not sure if he’s more a friend or more a musician… I’m facing a dilemma here! What I don’t understand is that being such a good friend he had to explain each and every song from the album to me. Maybe he is more of a musician then a friend?
+17. Hidrogenesse | El Beso
The union of two of my many passions: The Coldness of Machines and the Warmth of a Kiss.
1. Fleet Foxes | White Winter Hymnal
The main reason I bought a three-day festival ticket was to see Fleet Foxes when they came to Barcelona. On the third day, just a few minutes before reaching the concert I realized I had left the ticket at home. I was in so much despair that my friend gave me her ticket just to see the concert. As I ran in the first notes of White Winter Hymnal were just starting. The Sun was going down and I could feel a light breeze from the Sea. I cried. I then drove back home to get my ticket.
2. Nightwish | Ghost Love Score
Last album to feature Tarja Turunen on lead vocals. There’s no comparing, she is The Voice of Nightwish. What a woman, what a presence, what elegance. It’s the perfect Symphonic Metal song (all those followers of those that understand the genre are free to attack me). A whole ten minutes full of landscapes. The live act means goose bumps whether you like them or not.
3. Green Day | Worry Rock
My first concert in a real venue, Greenday's Nimrod tour. I was 14 years old, Barcelona city; I got drunk on just one (shared) can of beer… I still get goose bumps when I hear the song, I can listen to all the songs on any of their albums, but this one in memorable... Brrr!
4. Soulsister | The Way To Your Heart
The video is something you can’t miss. Flashy, the dancing, those dimples, that hair, just plain nice I’d say. After having seen that video, every time I even think of the song it puts in a good mood.
5. The Fresh & Onlys | Waterfall
There’s no way to describe this. This, for me, is one of the best guitar riffs I’ve ever heard (OK, OK). To see that solo guitarist, so small, twisting around like that, it’s just fantastic. For a Summer afternoon, on a big stage and a light breeze on your face. I must say the video is a bit disturbing though…
6. The Strokes | You Only Live Once
I’m sorry, but they are just so good looking… And Julian Casablancas, even if he looks like a bit of an arse, is sooo sexy. I remember being in a club once with Louise, we were dancing away and this song came on with the video playing on the stage, I remember us stopping and just starring at the whole video from start to end, hugged together and nodding. That good boy's face on such a big screen, and I love they get dirty too…
7. Standstill | 1, 2, 3, Sol
Because they were and are, one of the best. They have one of the best live acts in Spain. With Viva La Guerra I spent a whole summer going from one of their concerts to another, there was just nothing better to do. I cried a lot when they played this song at the end of the album's tour.
8. Cat Stevens | The Wind
I was at a party not long ago. Karaoke. I was singing Circle Of Life by Elton John. A few days after I decided that the only song I would ever sing again at a Karaoke would be The Wind by Cat Stevens. We do a great duet.
9. Satanic Surfers | Hero Of Our Time
This is the top song of my teenage years. Melodic Hard-Core. Unconditional Love. Maybe the only song I know all the lyrics to (I make a good duet with Cat Stevens, but I have to sing a bit low, 'cause I forget the words…).
10. Janelle Monaé | Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)
The perfect song and once you’ve seen the video you can’t help dancing. Well, you can’t help trying to do a cheap imitation of the way she dances anyway, you have a great time though.
1. Technotronic | Pump Up The Jam
I remember it being one of my first tapes, up to then I listened to my mum's Whitney Houston’s tapes. It was 1989 and I was 10-year-old, I don’t know where I got it from, but I was a kid stuck to a Walkman and to listen to that tape made me feel really cool, for some reason it made me feel like I was at last what I wanted to really be...
2. Elastica | Stutter
1995, I had moved to Spain a few years before and was completely lost Music wise as the kind of Music being listened to in my area was very crappy indeed, my aunt sent a birthday present that included a Blur album (The Great Escape) and this Elastica album, both completly changed my life and the way I thought about Music. It made me feel like I had a choice.
3. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds & PJ Harvey | Henry Lee (Traditional Folk Song 'Young Hunting' Cover)
It’s not one of my favourite songs, but it’s the first time Nick Cave and PJ Harvey stormed into my life. I was a teenager and managed to buy a magazine that came with a free tape. I remember laying in bed and it came on and I just knew they would be part of my life. One of my favourite albums of 2011 was Harvey’s Let England Shake.
4. Sufjan Stevens | John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Zuma did one of his mixed CDs and this song started it of, I didn’t know it was Sufjan Stevens and for quite a while thought it was a very old song sung by a woman, until I asked and was surprisingly told it was he. It’s a very emotional song for me, something in it makes me feel sad but at home.
5. Cat Power | Silver Stallion (Lee Clayton Cover)
When I was pregnant with my baby girl I had quite a few ups and downs, this song for some reason was the only thing I could listen to that would help me cry and instantly feel relieved, the smoothness in her voice and the way she sings is almost as if she’s stroking your hair and telling you you're the strongest woman in the world.
6. Anika | Masters Of War (Bob Dylan Cover)
I was amazed to know that Anika had recorded this album in just a short time and being a fan of Portishead and Geoff Barrow I felt a large curiosity to listen to it. Again it’s an album and song that give you new ways of seeing Music, where Imperfection is beautiful and emotional. It's got a real Punk attitude to it.
7. M.I.A. | Bucky Done Gun
This is for my four year old Mia, there isn’t a day I don’t put this song on for her and we dance like mad. It’s one of her favourite albums and was the first song she ever asked for (she was not even three at the time). The whole album is so fresh, every summer there’s a day or two where the volume goes up and the car windows come down to listen to this album.
8. Betunizer | Imagina Que Matas A Jota
This is one of my favourite Spanish bands of the moment and this is my favourite song. Their energy and the broken mad drums are something hard to find lately, their live shows are completely nuts and you can’t help ending up pushing the people around you. Highly recommendable to all UK listeners!
9. The xx | Shelter
Any song on their first full lenght... The perfect album for cold or warm night walks through Barcelona city, calms and relaxes you after a tough day, makes you remember simple things that no one has time to think about anymore.
10. Núria Graham | On The Bus
This girl is like 17 years old; she’s releasing her debut album early 2015, but has been doing some concerts with her demo. She’s one of those talents that’s just gonna spring up, all songs are hers, lyrics, Music and all. I may not listen to her demo too much, but I go and see her live performances whenever I can. She’s Pure Magic.
+11. These New Puritans | Attack Music
Swords! They use the sound of a sword as an instrument! This band is so inspiring, elegant and with a real unique sound. They do completely what they want and don’t care what others think and that filters through every note they play.
1. White Noise | Love Without Sound
A song that was hard to accept at that moment of time. Real pioneers, they made an album 50 years before its time or maybe they were just some crazy guys that did it all wrong, but with a lot of taste. I think Delia Derbyshire and others from BBC Radiophonic workshop.
2. Franco Battiato | Centro Di Gravità Permanente
It's one of my favourite songs, by one of the most free and inhibited artists I know. He’s really big in Italy and his lyrics are a real declaration.
3. Astrud | El Vertedero De São Paulo
There was a time where I would wake up every day singing this song, I couldn’t get it out of my head, I even got worried about it. I ended up giving away the album so I could listen to other catchy songs and try and forget it. I still really like it though.
4. Caetano Veloso | Tropicália
I could do a list of ten favourite songs just with Brazilian Music, for this occasion I’m going to choose Caetano Veloso, he uses Avant-Garde arrangements in Popular Music. Unbelievable that it once caused a stir for being revolutionary. Dance and smile.
5. Kraftwerk | Neon Lights
It’s like a melancholic lullaby; ideal for walking while the Sun goes down. It’s the best example of how the Future already happened 40 years ago.
6. Stevie Wonder | Race Babbling
Stevie Wonder is another of my obsessions, for this list I choose a very peculiar song from one of his weirdest albums. It has a really danceable rhythm, but on the other hand it sounds like Videogame Music, a bit Dub, it could be a great track for a DJ session but then it does start getting a bit twisted towards the end and would probably turn your night into a real nightmare!
7. Ennio Morricone | Once Upon A Time In The West (with Edda Dell'Orso) (Once Upon A Time In The West Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Another of my obsessions, it’s impossible to separate his music from the images it was made for. Even so, it’s the perfect Music to make everyday life epic.
8. The Beatles | Everybody's Got Something To Hide Expect For Me And My Monkey
Until I was a teenager I only listened to The Beatles, I was lucky as they had quite a few albums. It’s amazing the amount of roads The Beatles go down through their career, you’ve got emotional Love songs or nutty accelerated hits like this. I suppose that’s what happens when you take drugs.
9. Sparks | This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
You have permission to go mad with this song; it’s glamorous, excessive, operatic and frenetic. I don’t suppose that’s a surprise; everyone likes this song, don’t they?
10. Camarón | La Leyenda Del Tiempo
It’s the song that opens up and gives name to what is considered the best album in the history of Spain. Apart from that it’s a song that makes you shudder, it’s energetic and mysterious. It’s a classic that I listen to when I’m on the road and the only example of Flamenco where I recognize the synthesizers.
1. Nick Drake | River Man
It’s one of the songs that most touched me in life. I heard it in 2001 and it changed my life, when I found the vinyl in a shop in London my heart nearly came out of my chest, it wasn’t easy to find in Barcelona then.
2. Tiger Menja Zebra | No Cal Ser De Brooklyn
They played after us at an underground off festival called Hoteler. I couldn’t see the stage 'cause there was loads of people, but the sound was infernal, the most sick and incredible thing I’d heard in ages.
3. Low | Born By The Wires
A friend helped me steal this album from a store many years ago and I don’t think I’ve heard anything so sad since… When I listen to it, it makes me think of the (lovely) couple they make, I can almost hear them whispering to each other come on, let’s get through another day…
4. Swans | The Seer Return
This made a big impact on me artistically, at first I couldn’t manage so many minutes of Noise, but then I put it on again with headphones, laid on my bed and the Magic occurred. The answer is in the Repetition.
5. Talk Talk | Myrrhman
I never thought I would end up listening to Talk Talk. I am a big fan of These New Puritans and a friend told me they had a lot to do with this album, a few days later he bought it for me. I found a large parallelism between the two sounds and the way they arrange their albums.
6. Portishead | Machine Gun
One of the most important and incredible things that have happened to Anímic was when Portishead chose us to open their concert in Barcelona; they watched YouTube videos of us! It was a magical night even though I ended up really drunk.
7. Silver Apples | Oscillations
They invented Techno in the 60’s! Zuma put it on once in the kitchen and I remember saying hey, those drums are amazing!, then he told me where they came from and that. Not long after that day Portishead released Third and we were amazed at how the sound was so similar to that of the 60’s sonic duo. I love those kinds of casualties.
8. Joy Division | The Eternal
It’s silly to try and choose just one Joy Division song, there’s so many feelings and sensations in all of their songs. I feel real fascination in knowing how they could unite something so cold to something with so much feeling and in sucha special way…
9. Nico | Janitor Of Lunacy
Desertshore... This album is recorded nearly entirely with a harmonium. John Cale helped out. I like women that sing that way, they seem to push away their feminine side and turn into something divine, nor woman nor man. It’s the perfect song for the end of the World. I read that Nico once gave her son a heroin kit so he would enter the world of drugs in a more secure and clean way. Weird.
10. Pink Floyd | Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Part 1 (Live In Venice - July 15, 1989)
Every single Sunday morning my dad would put on this concert. We would watch while we drank hot chocolate and ate churros. I was about 7 or 8 and back then I hated that kind of Music, but with time I realized how much I appreciate that my dad did that every week. The answer is in Repetition!
