Interview with Cala Vento

Labels are awful but... How would you define your sound?

Joan: I would say Pop – Rock - Punk, like that, we get over the shock, right?

Aleix: We make fairly melodic music but it has a groove and, above all, a high level of emotional content.

How was 2019?

J: It was a good year because we were able to do what we like doing most with people we love. We got things rocking in 25 venues on the mainland and at festivals, we did an incredibly long tour by bus and thousands of things have happened to us that we will remember all our lives.

A: With the money that the band has made we were able to buy a safer than to continue touring and travelling all over the place. Up until now, we were using mine with a very high probability of dying in the event of an accident.

Forgive us if this is a bit personal but, now that a few years have gone by, what happened in Chile to the main character of the song “Abril” on your first record? 

J: She lived through the earthquake in February, 2010 when all communication was lost, I was not able to speak with her until three days had gone by.

How have you experienced the years since 2016 that have seen so many changes, when you brought out your first record, two 2019, when you brought out one of the strongest and freshest records on the national scene. From playing in small venues to being on the roster of the main festivals in Spain Low, Sonorama, Mad Cool...)

A: We live immersed in day-to- day life where everything is very normal and clear because we have been working intensely ever since the first moment when

we decided to create Cala Vento. Ever since then, everything has gone on happening slowly without huge leaps and, from the inside, you can see clearly why everything that has happened has happened because we were very much there during every phase and at each moment. We have learnt a huge number of things.

What has not changed about the Cala Vento of 2016? And in what sense are you different in 2020?

J: Writing songs still gives us goose bumps. There are still two of us on the stage and we continue .  

A: My favourites are the songs with more rounded lyrics, the ones where the emotional connection is stronger. So, I could include: Hay que arrimar, Isla desierta, Estoy enamorado de ti, Do de pecho or Fin de ciclo. On the other hand, I do not like playing the ones that feature less meaningful lyrics or with which perhaps I no longer connect so much.

What you think about “mainstream” artists headlining at festivals such as MadCool? Don’t hold back.

J: Well, we ought to simply stop calling them indie or alternative music festivals because, at that level, the idea of alternative music practically doesn’t exist anymore: groups that are considered to be indie try to partner up with mainstream musicians to be more successful and vice versa, but, the fact is that everyone does whatever they feel like doing. Life is too short to spend it talking bad about groups that try to be happy in whatever way they can.

Which national and international groups do you admire?

A: Well, people that we admire for what they do and, above all, the way that they do it. Nueva Vulcano, Viva Belgrado, Berri Txarrak, Pinegrove, Arctic Monkeys.  

A: We remain the same guys who look forward to finding the way of enjoying our music, although we are a little older and more mature. It is obvious that we now work every day with much greater knowledge and experience and that gives us greater confidence when it comes to taking decisions. The backpack is fuller. Even so, we try to use this to see things at a greater distance and begin other projects that it would have been impossible to even think about before, like our own record label.

What is your favourite song by Cala Vento? Are there any that you don’t like playing anymore?

J: I think “Fin de ciclo”, on Balanceo, could be one of my favourites. The ones where the drum sound is more repetitive are the ones that I liked least, but, in the end, they are songs that we have made ourselves and that we believe are incredible. I don’t think that I will ever get tired of playing them (we tend to modify them when we play them live so that they come alive for us again).

What do you think of the alternative rock scene? 

J: That is where alternative music really exists and where there is a public for the scene. There are thousands of incredibly talented guitar bands doing concerts all over the place. Urban music, flamenco, electronic music, dubstep, reggeaton, and bosanova may be in fashion but if there is something that is never going to disappear, it is rock & roll.

A: I will never get tired of repeating it, rock will never die!

Your live acts are very well received... Is there any concert that you remember with particular fondness?

J: From last year’s tour, I remember presenting Balanceo in Barcelona, in the main room of Apolo. I have seen masses of concerts there and I have dreamed about doing one there all my life. To see it full of people singing our songs was amazing; there is a short video on YouTube that shows it... I also remember particularly fondly the one at the BBK Festival. People from all over Spain came together there, the marquee where we were playing was full and it was madness.

All the signs that identify you: the power, the anger, the sadness of Cala Vento. Where does it all come from? 

J: We spent all our lives listening to rock, punk or even hardcore groups. The visceral nature or violence of those groups comes across in their live acts. I suppose that it comes from there because there is nothing intentional about it.

A: From Joan playing the drums.

¡Thanks guys!