The presence of Alizzz, that is, Cristian Quirante, is one of the highlights of Mercè Música's offer today, Friday (Bogatell beach, 11:30 p.m.). His concert also comes in the midst of the echo produced by his first single in Catalan Que pasa nen, where he vindicates the Baix Llobregat entity and regrets not being considered part of Catalan culture.
The producer, among others, of C. Tangana, will unravel his first solo album today There has to be something else (Warner).
What will be heard at La Mercè, will it be the concert of, as you say, a rock band with electronic touches?
We continue to present the album There has to be something else, we have added some songs, we will do some versions, and we will play live for the first time the new single Que pasa nen, a more extended version than the single. And yes, we continue doing a rock concert with electronics, with synths. And I believe more and more that the concert is rock because of its energy, its feeling.
So it will be the premiere of his controversial song, which is also his debut in Catalan.
Yes. Since the single came out we've played in Lorca and Granada, and they asked me for it at both concerts. And it is not strange because looking at the statistics, a lot is being heard outside of Catalonia, practically half and half. In fact, listeners in Madrid and Barcelona capitals are on a par.
What reading can be drawn from this data?
I have a lot of repercussion in both cities and the people who follow me want to know what this is about, even if it is in a language they do not control. I think that the song as a song, beyond its speech or content, is very well rounded, is very well done and can be enjoyed understanding it more or less, simply as music.
When you released the single Que pasa nen, did you imagine its repercussion?
Yes. The song is above all a vindication of my region, Baix Llobregat, and my town, Castelldefels. It is like an ode, to value, dignify and say that we are also the best and that we can also feel proud. Because it is a parodied area, reviled, like a little stigmatized. And I wanted to turn that around and feel proud of myself and my countrymen. And then also where to declare myself part of the Catalan culture because I think there is a sociopolitical imaginary that considers that I am not part of it, and it seemed interesting to me to put the debate on the table and put it in the form of hesitation, of egotrip, like what It was used in rap.
But it has gone further...
A policy of EnComú Podem reciting a piece of the song in Congress, and at the same time I've gotten tired of reading articles thinking about them and putting some things in my mouth that I would never say. But we come from difficult times in Catalan political history and I also understand that there are people who take it very seriously and tell me everything. But it all seems like a healthy debate to me.
In all this, does it matter that you sing in Spanish?
There is the more essentialist idea that Catalan culture can only be done in Catalan, which seems legitimate and defensible to me, but it also seems like denying a reality. It has been written about me, I think in an article in Enderrock magazine, that I freely decide to use Spanish and thus not be part of Catalan culture. It seems to me a fallacy: I do not freely decide to use Spanish, but my mother and father spoke to me in Spanish, at school everyone spoke to me in Spanish because, after all, I live in a town where immigration was very large, although Catalan forms an equally important part of our lives. The songs have come naturally to me like that, and in one fell swoop I took away a large part of my identity and didn't let myself be part of the Catalan culture. This is what it's about. But when you have very strong opinions on this subject, hatred is generated and they tell me everything, from Catalanophobic to Nazi to lerrouxist.
Where do you stand?
I represent a reality of Catalonia and I consider that what I do is part of the Catalan culture, of which I want to be a part. If they suddenly tell me that I can't be part of it, they take away a very important pillar of my existence. I am from Castelldefels, I am Catalan and I do Catalan culture.
You have said that what you do on a musical level has more national and international recognition than Catalan, is it something linked to this?
I am lucky to be very successful nationally and even internationally and I have a mixed feeling when I realize that in my house the recognition is much less. But it just affects me, because I have other channels where I have been successful and earn a very good living... but not letting me be part of that culture leaves me with a very bad feeling because the first thing is that I feel Catalan and I am part of it. And it also seems unwise to me not to let myself or other important artists form part of Catalan culture because the Catalan music industry is in a very big setback, there is a brain drain, artists, producers and composers towards Madrid and I think that we It should give the possibility of taking up the Catalan flag and make that flag worth the redundancy and make the industry grow a little here.
What is this setback due to?
It's a constant trickle, especially from artists. And I'm not saying that we're doing it wrong as a country, like Catalonia, but I think that decisions should be taken into account and made so that it doesn't continue to happen and to gain a little strength. The three record multinationals and the three largest publishers are in Madrid, and the same goes for the distributors. Somehow this should be encouraged so that people don't have to leave to get a job. A long time ago I decided to stay here and do my battle from here. That means that if someone wants to make music with me they will have to come here and I will continue explaining that I am from Castelldefels, that I am Catalan, in order to value our culture and my people. But things are lacking at the political level, in terms of investment and ideas.
People from outside Baix Llobregat, do you think you've understood the playful tone of the song?
I think so. People in general understand that this is a playful way of speaking, that just because you're from outside the Baix Llobregat you're not boring and stuffy, obviously. But there are things that are, and I think it's a good way to say that very interesting things are also done in the Baix at the level of popular culture and that we are avant-garde. We are without a doubt: there are things here that have not only been commercially successful but have meant cultural revolutions such as Rosalía herself or my contribution to the El Madrileño album, which is considered one of the most important of the last ten years.
You produced the song Before I died, when Rosalía and C. Tangana were a couple. Listening to her now, what goes through her head?
It's a great theme and a great song, and as such it will stand the test of time. And above all it seems to me a milestone because it is the first song from the urban world that managed to cross the border of the mainstream and become part of popular culture.
