I hope everybody had a dope holiday season. Here in Madrid I’m without internet at home and hella places are closed because it’s El Día de los Reyes Magos. Props to Ojála (where I also did some mastering of Cold Bed) for being open and having good ass Wifi. Also shout out to “Message From Ancient Days,” the textbook my pops used to teach to 8th graders in Alameda, which serves as a great stand for the Novation Launchpad I was using. This New Years Megan, V, and I reunited for the first time as a group in over a year. Whenever we meet I try and get a session in with Megan (see He’s Your Guy Acoustic) who has a dope and unique voice. V snapped some Tools of the Trade pics while we worked. The forthcoming track features some new instrumentation I haven’t had the chance to really explore in a while such as banjo and electric guitar. Look out for the track coming up on the LIFESTYLE Original Monday Series!
To kick off a three-part “Voices From León” miniseries within our ongoing Feature series, we are proud and excited to present Los Platillos Volantes. Los Platillos represent a leading rock group in the Leon music scene and have participated in festivals and concerts throughout Spain, such as Purple Weekend. Los Platillos is a powerful combo that features Sam on drums, Miguel on bass, Dani on lead guitar, and J on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Channeling the energy and aesthetic of rock music from the 1960’s, the band’s original hybrid of blues, rock, garage, and psychedelic make them a favorite in the current modern Spanish classic rock scene. In our interview with J we learn about the experience of playing current music informed by the past in León, España. Check the dialogue and footage of the group performing at the 2012 La Mar de Ruido festival in Avilés, Spain.
Para empezar con algunos puntos básicas, de dónde vienes? Dónde estás?
Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?
J: Venimos de León ( España ) y estamos en León. Tenemos el local de ensayo y estudio en un pequeño pueblo a unos 20 kilómetros de la ciudad. Solemos tocar cerca de aquí: León y provincia, Asturias, Cantabria, aunque a veces vamos un poco mas lejos como Bilbao, Madrid. Siempre intentamos ir un poco más lejos, ir abriendo fronteras, ya me entiendes.
J: We are from León, Spain and we are still in this city. Our practice space and recording studio is in a small town 20 km from the center. Most of our shows are nearby: León and it;s surrounding area, Asturias, Cantabria, though sometime we travel further to Bilbao or Madrid. We always aim to go further and cross new frontiers, if you know what I mean.
Que quiere decir “reflexión,” y “respuesta,” para vosotros?
What does Reflection and Response mean to you?
J: Reflexión es lo que piensas que vas a hacer y respuesta es lo que realmente haces, es decir: tienes una idea y la maduras en tu cabeza (reflexión), luego la pones en práctica (respuesta), si todo va bien la respuesta es igual a la reflexión, aunque hay veces que entre la reflexión y la respuesta se te quedan cosas por el camino.
J: Reflection is what one considers doing and response is what one does: an idea grows and matures in the head (reflection), which is then put into practice (response), and if all goes well the the response is the same as the reflection, though sometimes things get lost between reflection and response.
Cómo se mete Los Platillos Volantes en esta definición?
How does Los Platillos Volantes fit in with that definition?
J: Los platillos volantes vamos pensando cosas y haciéndolas, eso si poco a poco, sin prisa pero sin pausa. Una canción, una versión, una grabación, tocar aquí o allá…
J: In The Platillos Volantes we are constantly considering ideas and carrying them out, slowly and without rushing but also without pause. An original song, a cover, recording, performing here and there…
Que más están haciendo actualmente? Que proyectos estás pensando trabajar próximamente?
What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?
J:Nuestro proyecto constante es hacer conciertos, tocar en vivo, para eso tenemos un grupo ¿ no? Aparte hemos terminado de grabar un EP de 4 canciones en vinilo que estamos mezclando con dos temas propios y dos versiones que próximamente saldrá a la luz, también tenemos un proyecto ” aunque ahora está un poco parado ” de tocar con Gabi, cantante de ” Los Salvajes ” grupo por excelencia del rock español de la década de los 60.
J: The Platillos main project is performing and playing live and for that reason we have a band, right? We are in the process of mixing an EP of 4 songs on vinyl that consists of two original songs and two covers. We also have been working with Gabi, singer of “Los Salvajes,” a leading Spanish rock group from the 1960’s.
Quien o que les inspira?
Who or what inspires you all?
J: En general nos inspiran las bandas americanas, británicas… de los 60 de blues, rhythm and blues, psicodelia, garaje…pero mas en concreto las bandas españolas de esa década.
J: American and British bands are a big inspiration. Especially those that play blues, rhythm and blues, psychedelic, garage…Additionally Spanish bands from the same time period.
Hay algo más que quieren que sepa el Collectivo?
Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?
J: Si, queremos que todo el mundo escuche nuestra música y ya sabes que el mejor medio es la red de redes, por lo tanto aquí te dejo un par de webs.
J:A ti por supuesto y a tu compañero que está contigo en todo esto, también a toda la gente que viene a nuestros conciertos y disfruta de ellos. Un saludo y suerte con el blog.
J: Shout out to you and your partner that works with you on all this and all the people that come to enjoy our shows. Un saludo and good luck with the blog.
These three tracks come from the later garageband period. We still worked at Monterey Market, the produce market down the street from Peter’s parents house, where we recorded. On off days or after work we’d work these tunes out.
Shades of Green started as a jam over the guitar effect heard at the beginning and then revolves around a chord progression: E minor, F major, D minor. There’s a bridge on A major and some strings provided by V that finish the track up.
Shades of Green
taquito-hoope-sweesh-donke is a four piece track with various elements coming together to form our arrangement. We were messing with the idea of mixing distorted electric guitar and synth strings and brass which comes out around 1:40. We threw in some slide guitar to mix it up after that section to mix it up.
taquito-hoope-sweesh-donke
Complete Darkness comes from a chord progression that we wrote before the garageband days. This track has most of the components of this period of growth: guitar solos by P while the bass, keys, and synth strings are held down by V.
the LIFESTYLE 