“Pueblo que canta, no muere”
“A people that sings, does not die”
Nací hace 40 años en el extrarradio barcelonés, pero vivo desde hace 15 en Barcelona. Toco música desde los 17, he tenido muchas bandas y la suerte de editar discos por aquí y por allí, sin asomar nunca la cabeza fuera del subterráneo. Empecé a hacer canciones como J.G.G. en 2013 y sigo en ello. También hago música con Pablo Volt y con Xabel Ferreiro en Aguafuerte. Dirijo con mano de hierro el sello Ediciones Populares con el que ahora solo publico cintas, aunque también he editado vinilos y fanzines. Nada de lo anteriormente mencionado me ha dado nunca dinero pero sí ganas de vivir. Solo se puede vivir de la música en alineación con el capitalismo y no tengo ningún interés en que eso suceda.
j-gg.bandcamp.com
edicionespopulares.bandcamp.com
I was born 40 years ago in the outskirts of Barcelona, but I’ve been living in the city for the past 15 years. I’ve been making music since I was 17, I’ve had many bands, and I’ve been lucky enough to release records here and there—always underground, never poking my head above the surface. I started writing songs as J.G.G. in 2013 and I’m still at it. I also make music with Pablo Volt, and with Xabel Ferreiro in Aguafuerte. I run the label Ediciones Populares with an iron fist; these days I only release tapes, although I’ve also put out vinyl records and fanzines. Nothing I’ve mentioned above has ever made me any money, but it has given me plenty of reasons to live. You can only make a living from music when you’re aligned with capitalism, and I have absolutely no interest in that happening.
j-gg.bandcamp.com
edicionespopulares.bandcamp.com
I was born 40 years ago in the outskirts of Barcelona, but I’ve been living in the city for the past 15 years. I’ve been making music since I was 17, I’ve had many bands, and I’ve been lucky enough to release records here and there—always underground, never poking my head above the surface. I started writing songs as J.G.G. in 2013 and I’m still at it. I also make music with Pablo Volt, and with Xabel Ferreiro in Aguafuerte. I run the label Ediciones Populares with an iron fist; these days I only release tapes, although I’ve also put out vinyl records and fanzines. Nothing I’ve mentioned above has ever made me any money, but it has given me plenty of reasons to live. You can only make a living from music when you’re aligned with capitalism, and I have absolutely no interest in that happening.
Item #1. Entrevista Rashied Ali + Henry Grimes
En el canal de youtube Filius Jazz Archive del Hamilton College hay unas entrevistas alucinantes a músicos y gente relacionada con el jazz. Casi todas las hace un periodista llamado Monk Rowe y llevan más de 500 desde que empezaron en 1995. Jamás podré agradecer lo suficiente a mi amigo Pope que me hablara de ellas y me insistiera para que investigara en esta mina de tesoros. Una de mis favoritas es esta conversación con Henry Grimes y Rashield Ali. El primero fue un contrabajista que tocó con gente como Albert Ayler, Don Cherry o Pharoah Sanders, y el segundo un batería increíble conocido por aparecer en los dos últimos discos de John Coltrane pero que ha hecho millones de cosas más. Me parece lo más inspirador del mundo escuchar la historia de estos dos músicos increíbles de su propia boca, incluyendo algunas desgracias varias (Grimes vivió durante muchos años en la calle, aunque no se mencione) e incluso cómo se dedicaban a hacer sus discos de forma autogestionada tal y como hacía Sun Ra, adelantándose en años al punk.
On the YouTube channel Filius Jazz Archive from Hamilton College, there are some incredible interviews with musicians and people connected to jazz. Most of them are conducted by a journalist named Monk Rowe, and they’ve done more than 500 since they started in 1995. I’ll never be able to thank my friend Pope enough for telling me about them and insisting that I dig into this treasure trove.
One of my favorites is this conversation with Henry Grimes and Rashied Ali. The first was a double bassist who played with people like Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, and Pharoah Sanders, and the second an amazing drummer best known for appearing on John Coltrane’s last two albums, though he did countless other things as well. I find it incredibly inspiring to hear these two extraordinary musicians tell their own stories, including some of the hardships they went through (Grimes spent many years living on the streets, though it isn’t mentioned), and even how they produced their records independently, just like Sun Ra did years before punk came along.
On the YouTube channel Filius Jazz Archive from Hamilton College, there are some incredible interviews with musicians and people connected to jazz. Most of them are conducted by a journalist named Monk Rowe, and they’ve done more than 500 since they started in 1995. I’ll never be able to thank my friend Pope enough for telling me about them and insisting that I dig into this treasure trove.
One of my favorites is this conversation with Henry Grimes and Rashied Ali. The first was a double bassist who played with people like Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, and Pharoah Sanders, and the second an amazing drummer best known for appearing on John Coltrane’s last two albums, though he did countless other things as well. I find it incredibly inspiring to hear these two extraordinary musicians tell their own stories, including some of the hardships they went through (Grimes spent many years living on the streets, though it isn’t mentioned), and even how they produced their records independently, just like Sun Ra did years before punk came along.
Item #2. "Con la Miel en los Labios" de Azúcar Moreno
El primer disco de Azúcar Moreno es increíble y me da pena que no sea más conocido, porque para mí es uno de los mejores discos de pop en español de los 80. Mezcla rumba, tecnopop, flamenco... y tiene alguna de mis canciones favoritas de esa época, escritas por gente tan variopinta como Fernando Márquez, Pepe de Lucía, Jose María Cano o Ariel Rot. La producción es muy de su tiempo y puedo entender que suene algo anacrónica, pero para mí la calidad de "No quiero que me quieras", " Más al sur" o "Azúcar Moreno" supera todos los prejuicios que se puedan tener al respecto. No está en este disco, pero su "Carne de melocotón" (escrita por las Vainica Doble) de unos años después es otra joya que merece la pena ser descubierta.
Azúcar Moreno’s first album is incredible, and it makes me sad that it isn’t better known, because to me it’s one of the best Spanish-language pop records of the ’80s. It mixes rumba, technopop, flamenco… and it includes some of my favorite songs from that era, written by people as varied as Fernando Márquez, Pepe de Lucía, José María Cano, and Ariel Rot. The production is very much of its time, and I can understand why it might sound a bit dated, but for me the quality of “No quiero que me quieras,” “Más al sur,” or “Azúcar Moreno” far outweighs any prejudice one might have about it. It’s not on this album, but their song “Carne de melocotón” (written by Vainica Doble) from a few years later is another gem worth discovering.
ITEM #3 Los dibujos de Jose Fernández
Trabajo con personas mayores y mi labor del día a día suele estar bien diferenciada de mi parte "creativa" o no productiva. Pero algunas veces suceden cosas que rompen esa barrera, y eso es lo que me pasó con los dibujos de José Fernández. José es un señor que ha hecho muchas cosas distintas a lo largo de sus 86 años y entre otras cosas le gusta pintar al óleo. A veces también hace dibujos y me maravilla su imaginación (qué se puede esperar de alguien que se puso a trabajar diseñando robots sin haberlo hecho nunca antes!), su sencillez y la sensibilidad que desprende. He tenido la suerte de facilitar que José ilustre la portada del libro "Cosita" de mi amiga Alba G. Mora, que ha quedado tan bonito por dentro como por fuera y que también recomiendo vivamente.
I work with older adults, and my day-to-day job is usually very separate from my “creative” or non-productive side. But sometimes things happen that break that barrier, and that’s what happened with José Fernández’s drawings. José is an 86-year-old man who has done many different things throughout his life, and among them he enjoys oil painting. Sometimes he also makes drawings, and I’m amazed by his imagination (what else can you expect from someone who once started designing robots without ever having done it before!), by his simplicity, and by the sensitivity that shines through in his work.
I’ve had the good fortune of helping José illustrate the cover of Cosita, a book by my friend Alba G. Mora, which has turned out beautifully inside and out, and which I also highly recommend.
ITEM #4 Los desayunos
Uno de los motivos principales que encuentro cada mañana para levantarme es prepararme un desayuno que aumente mis ganas de vivir y enfrentarme al mundo. A lo largo de mi vida he pasado por diferentes etapas en este ámbito, pero gracias sobre todo a las recomendaciones de la gente que me rodea he conseguido ir refinando mis opciones hasta conseguir una combinación que por ahora no voy a cambiar. En esta época de otoño invierno, y gracias a que se pueden comprar granadas de temporada y de proximidad (jamás israelíes!), puedo combinar una tostada con tahina, aguacate y granada, un huevo revuelto y otra tostada con mantequilla y mermelada casera de higos. De este modo consigo mi pico de felicidad a primera hora del día, del que solo puedo descender gracias al trabajo asalariado y los demás sinsabores de la vida adulta.
One of the main reasons I find each morning to get out of bed is to prepare myself a breakfast that boosts my will to live and face the world. Throughout my life I’ve gone through different phases in this department, but thanks mostly to the recommendations of the people around me, I’ve managed to refine my options and arrive at a combination that, for now, I’m not planning to change.
In this autumn–winter season, and thanks to the fact that you can buy local, in-season pomegranates (never Israeli ones!), I can put together a toast with tahini, avocado, and pomegranate, some scrambled eggs, and another toast with butter and homemade fig jam. That way, I reach my peak happiness first thing in the morning, from which I can only descend thanks to wage labor and the other disappointments of adult life.
