Nine months have passed since he released his first album, but Francesc Fuentes, Triquell, returns to the fray with FOMO, six electronic invoice songs born after breaking the link with Eufòria, the program that made him known and with which he has shown extremely critical. This intense period in which he has made his first tour fuels the creativity of the Vallesano, who draws the darkest parts of his recent life, sounds designed to be combined with images in the concerts that he will perform at the Ideal del Poble Nou.
There is a lot of anthropological observation work in FOMO, an acronym for “Fear of missing out”, fear of a disconnection that, on the contrary, Triquell defends in order not to fall into the deception “of these masses that are considered high culture or influential culture. “I was part of this, I have been a victim,” she explains relaxedly in a cafe in Barcelona. “M’atonta tant de tanta tonteria” is another way of explaining it, as he sings in Plàstic to describe a situation of which he considers himself a victim. “It’s like a toxic relationship that you maintain because it generates adrenaline and, in my case, creative inputs”, critical concepts where he attacks musicians who sell themselves, cities that empty you inside with their superficial life, environments that They attract like sirens to devour you. Far away from the city and the environment that fosters these environments, he feels more inspired although he considers himself “tormented.”
The result is songs that range from pop to experimental with visits to club music, including such psychedelic pieces as Treu-me, where Triquell’s voice becomes an instrument. “I like to treat my voice as another element in the mix, that doesn’t stand out. If one part eats up the theme, you are not creating harmony.” In this work he has surrounded himself with his usual allies, colleagues and friends who form the character known as Triquell, “a character that I control.” In the credits are Xavier Rueda, producer of his previous band, Alter Soma. Also Skotty Dk, a neighbor in his house from Vallés, or Bernat, a friend from Sabadell, a team with which he has mixed and produced all the songs himself.
“FOMO is a very clear commitment to the music that we understand and that defines us, it makes much more sense than Jugular, which was more of an experimentation of different forms of pop.” An experience that is completed with Xrstage, four concerts that Triquell will perform at the Ideal theater in Poble Nou this weekend, taking advantage of the space’s four giant screens to add a visual layer to the music. “The priority is for me to stop being the center of attention, for the project to acquire an audiovisual magnitude that replaces the ego.”
Asked about his sonic influences, Triquell opens his phone and mentions a few names that stand out on his Spotify, a mix of current and surprisingly classic artists: Massive attack, Blood Orange, Leonard Cohen, Fleetwood Mac, Amore or Strokes, “they are people who have set up their own little world, defending their own truth.” His recipe comes from the platform’s own algorithm, a tool that he previously hated, “but when you understand it and know what to give it, you can master it. The moment I felt like its master and tamer, better recommendations began to appear, I stopped watching the content that caused me anxiety, things from people who only feed their narcissism and vanity.”
It is surprising that one of the few Eufòria participants who have maintained their musical career is one of the most critical of the program that made him famous. “It says more about the program than about the artists themselves,” reflects Triquell, convinced that “if it weren’t for the project and the team we created, I would have eaten my snot.” The musician remembers that what attracted him to the program was the idea of ??giving projection to his musical career, as proposed in the casting, but he found himself with a project “that feeds a lot of the character and nothing of the work, they give projection to characters that they themselves have created and stigmatized. It is something cruel, because the participants feel with the responsibility of selling themselves as people, of being commercial of their person and not of the work they defend.”
Once the euphoric stage was over, Triquell’s goal was to find his own artistic path. “If I worked to adapt to the industry I would feel like I was putting a noose on a natural and organic creative process,” a risk that he rejects to the point that “sometimes, when I notice that a song is canonical at the level of structure or sound , I discard it, it bores me. I have rejected many songs that could sound perfectly on the radio.” Escape from fashion to transcend in the search for the romantic ideal of pure art. “I fight so that 30 years from now I can feel proud of what I have done, so that it does not seem like I was part of a trend, I know it sounds pedantic and narcissistic, but I try not to reflect on my neighbor”