Number 84 Ávila Street in Poblenou is home to a global phenomenon that has accumulated more than 50 million views on YouTube to date. The Gallery Sessions are held there, a project that emerged in Barcelona but is now international. What at first glance seems like an ordinary showcase transforms at the right moment into an intimate recording studio, giving life to live music sessions comparable to any stadium concert. Some of the most important artists on the current music scene have passed through there, such as Rigoberta Bandini, Morad, Duki, Bizarrap and more recently Julieta, who gave the studio’s first session in Catalan.
The singer chose this format to premiere her new single Lokura, the day before her show at the Apolo room. “The song had just come out a day ago and people already knew the lyrics,” Julieta reveals to La Vanguardia. “It is a super interesting window for emerging and not so emerging artists.” The sound achieved in these sessions is unique, explains the Catalan, as it requires movement unlike the more rigid way in which songs are recorded in traditional studios.
The Gallery Sessions project arose from the creative agency Folch and the audiovisual production company White Horse, who were in charge of purchasing the space that their office, Acid House, currently occupies in Poblenou. From the beginning they left one of the rooms overlooking the street empty, with the aim of exhibiting physical art there. Soon, the showcase became a little music box. The premiere was with The Meeting of Alizzz and Amaia. “It worked very well and we understood that it could be a great format,” explains Genís Pena, Project Manager of Gallery Sessions. “I came from working in the music industry and they needed someone who was from that world, that’s why they chose me.” Pena is today the one who coordinates the sessions and, together with the team, chooses the artists who will go through the showcase.
Those who watch it through social networks wonder how it is possible to lock Bizarrap in a shop window and no one stops to see it. “That’s the great thing about Gallery, everyone wonders why don’t they turn around? Why don’t they see it? “People passing by on the street don’t hear him or know what’s happening.” The sound can only be heard inside the studio and the artist can only see its reflection through the glass. In her case, Julieta thought that the space was open to the street and she was surprised when recording her session. “Maybe there is a group of like 20 people between cameras and such on the other side, but you only see yourself, like a mirror.”
The white background behind each session is always the same and has even become an icon of the project. “It is a blank canvas, what the artist is wearing is everything visual that the video has,” explains Genís Pena. That is why his creative team also participates in the artist’s styling. Gallery Sessions has expanded and they have recently recorded videos in Madrid and Mexico. The next destination will be Buenos Aires. Although this is a very “internationalizable” project, Pena explains, “the idea is that the base will always be in Barcelona.”
This showcase has become a unique meeting point between talented artists and a global audience eager for authentic musical experiences. What began as a local initiative has resonated throughout the world and today brings art and music from the streets of Poblenou to screens around the planet.