Where do the songs of ‘Carreiro’ come from?

TOÑO MARGARIÑOS – The songs of ‘Carreiro’ were not all formed at the same time. They do not have a single origin,
but they were composed for years instead, they are part of the bulk that was appearing during the first two, three years of the band’s formation. They were composed at different times.

How was the songwriting process?

The songs were composed independently of the line-up. We compose in a very basic way and then we rehearse them as a band together, just to prepare them for live. The songs are composed and designed in a very simple way.

How would you describe your songs?

In my opinion they are ultra simple songs. There is no intention of doing anything strange at the metric level, harmonies or structures. There is no desire to purportedly complicate the song structures. In this project the aim is to make music simple and easy, looking for that instant feeling that you can find naturally in popular music.

What does the album title mean?

We tried to find a common thread in hindsight and, well, there are several themes that are found in several songs. Basically love in all its meanings. Brotherly love, admiration, sensual love from a subject to the outside, for himself, for others, for nature… in short, there’s various ways of understanding love.

What does the order of the tracks respond to?

It is not very thought out, except for the position of some marked songs, such as the first one, which is ‘Burato’. An opening song, very gestural, which for me has an opening structure. Also ‘Renacemento’, which is the last of the second side, the last of the album. In that case, just the opposite, it is a hopeful and emotionally very positive ending.

How was the recording process?

The album was recorded mostly by us, with the help of many friends. The Cro! people, like David and Xavi, as well as many other who contributed on voices, like Laura, like Inés, don’t forget Muqui’s drums, plus other instruments that they loaned us… It took a long time, with the collaboration of many people and always in our homes. Each one by his side but, sometimes (in the times when it was allowed) getting together.

Who did you mix and master with?

We pre-mixed, we made spontaneous mixes. That material, as we are not professionals nor do we intend it, we sent it to Xavier Muñoz, who is the bassist of the singer of Stereolab, bassist of Alberto Montero as well, etc, a guy who works very well. He was in charge of making the mix. Later the master was done by Rafa Martínez del Pozo, an old acquaintance of the label (before Repetidor knew about this, we already undertook that work with him). In this type of productions, he is a person who respects the spaces and depths of the mix, something key in this type of music.

How should a first listening to ‘Carreiro’ be?

I don’t know if we are the ones who must say if the album is accessible or not but, of course, I always work with the desire that the songs will accessible. I have no interest in targeting a very specialized audience interested in one type of music. I think that what we have to do in this project is to make popular music, that’s it. Popular in every way, accessible and easy to listen to. Music that can develop its own speech from that simplicity, not the other way around. I’m not interested in making very complex music with very simple messages, but I want to make very simple music whose speeches – even political ones – appear after those first listens instead. I think this way is better or, at least, I aspire to it.

I hope you like this album. We have been doing it for years and finally we have been able to get it out, so even in this shit context that we have now, it’s a total success that it sees the light. We hope that something of what we’ve put into this album reaches you, and so that you’ll enjoy it. Thank you.