The tracks left behind by their fantastic first EP, ‘Una idea, pero es triste’, already strongly anticipated what has ended up being La Paloma’s long-format debut: a flood of reality, energy, reaction and action. And it is that, only two years after being born, the Madrid band has signed with ‘Todavía no’ one of those first steps that leave their mark thanks to songs as resounding as ‘I’m still here’, ‘Caracola pálida’, ‘All this’ or ‘Simple things’. Guitars, nerve, melodies and conviction. And this is only the beginning. We spoke to them before they star in one of the unavoidable events of this musical weekend in the Region of Murcia.
-Lets start by the beginning. Although there were many proposals that arose at that stage, how do you go about developing a musical project in the toughest weeks of pandemic confinement?
–The months of confinement were an opportunity to put ideas in order and present the project. We were lucky to be able to live remotely connected, which allowed us to have constant conversations about the band. We didn’t want the desire we’d had to put together a band to be dissipated by the pandemic, so we managed to keep it afloat.
–’Todavía no’ is one of those albums capable of sounding live without losing the sonority and intensity characteristic of the studio. How was the work to manage to stay between these two terrains?
–Yes, the idea from the beginning was to take our live sound to a record. We wanted the intensity and spontaneity of a concert, but maintaining a neatness in the sound aspect of the highest quality that we could achieve. In this work we have given a little more importance to the voice and the lyrics, putting them in the foreground, but without leaving aside the guitar and band essence that we believe represents us. The work of Diego Escriche, our producer, was vital to this process, who helped us materialize what we had in mind, the way in which we saw the album aesthetically and the way to bring to earth all the ideas we had about sound. .
– Were the urgency and immediacy that the album gives off also present in the composition of the songs?
–We composed freely, without putting ourselves under any kind of pressure or preconceived idea of what this record should be. We always say that the only thing we wanted in ‘Not Yet’ was to be honest in every way.
–You have commented on numerous occasions the importance you give to the order of the songs on an album. What criteria did you follow for this in ‘Todavía no’ and what effect did you seek to generate in the listener?
–Once we had all the songs we worked on the order trying to find a narrative, not so much lyrical, but more listening. The idea was to order the songs in a coherent way and to invite you to listen to the entire album.
–In many of the songs, led by the wonderful ‘I threw a stone in the air’, they talk about issues such as failure, resignation or the absence of hope through tremendously radiant and accessible melodies and sounds. Do you particularly enjoy playing with these contrasts?
It’s fun to play with contrasts. It is a way to find original elements. We usually work on songs intuitively, composing without scruples, and sometimes these kinds of inconsistencies between melodic music and darker or sadder themes emerge. It is something that freaks us out to do.
-Do you still compose daily?
–Yes, we continue composing constantly because it is the way in which we understand the band. We like to think that we do not stop evolving and that we are always looking for new ways. Finding those paths is only possible if you keep working non-stop.
–Does evolution continue to be such an important element of analysis and debate for the band?
–We don’t even talk too much about it, we just keep composing and playing, coming up with new ways of doing things and jumping into all the pools we see fit.
–How are you managing the positive reception that this first album has had and the brutal way in which the band is growing?
–We are very happy and eager to continue doing this for as long as possible.
#stop #evolving
