They define themselves as a community of worker bees, where each one performs different functions to move the wheels of the Balkan Paradise Orchestra, a Barcelona fanfare that has just published Néctar (Calaverita records), the third album that continues its musical evolution, opening the door to electronics and songs with lyrics. They are Alba, Berta, Eli, Eva, Maria Cofan, Núria, Maria Puertas, Mila, Olivia and Laura Cuevas, clarinetist and responsible for giving voice to the band in an interview where she details the work system of the group, one of the few female bands on the Catalan circuit. After passing through Madrid, this March 22 they present their project in the Paral·lel 62 room (9:30 p.m.).
Nectar refers to teamwork
It all comes from one of the songs, Abella Reina, whose lyrics very well defined what our project is like, horizontal, very democratic, a collective project with a lot of teamwork. We liked the idea of ??bees, we felt very identified with the hive, although not so much with queen bees but with worker bees, because we all have other jobs that we combine with the Balkan, be it music, music therapy, teaching, management or management.
Working with 10 people must not be easy
Managing all the work is complicated, not just the composition or arrangements, we work with commissions such as the image commission, which involves video clips and costumes. Our way of operating has been evolving, at first it was completely self-managed but for a few years now we have been working with Sonde3, a management company. It is a very large mechanism and sometimes it is difficult to make decisions, we do it in an assembly manner, there are decisions that we all make together and others that we delegate to the different commissions to move forward on a day-to-day basis. On a musical level we propose the ideas that everyone wants, and whether they are more closed or more open, we take them to the rehearsal, then to the studio with the producer and from there they evolve.
You are all women, is this intentional?
It all arose from three friends, Olivia, Alba and Eva, who thought of putting together a Barcelona fanfare because they had seen many fanfares, such as Fanfare Ciocarlia, Goran Bregovic or Emir Kusturica, Balkan folk composers. At first it was not so explicit, but soon we saw that the scene of music on stage is quite unequal, there is no presence of women. So we asked ourselves, why not set up a project in which we are all female instrumentalists?
Have you had any difficulties?
A few years ago it seemed that there were more and more women on stage. But after the covid, if you review the big festivals at the Catalan level you can see that we have gone backwards. Although there are many female instrumentalists in conservatories, colleges and music universities, on stage the majority of groups are white men. It is something that perhaps is not working, or perhaps more years have to pass and the people who program it will review it in some way.
Is there the same imbalance in music schools?
There are fewer and fewer, we still have the idea that certain instruments are more for girls and others more for boys, the flute is more for girls, the drums are more for boys. But little by little this is evolving and we have more and more girls who, from a young age, from music schools, choose the instrument they want. There are always family pressures, but at all levels, also because of what the instrument may cost, because of the noise it can make or family logistics. But this is also being worked on in schools.
In the first song you collaborated with Meritxell Neddermann, who gave you a very electronic sound.
We have proposed Flowing as a different song, with more disco and electronic touches, a little more pop. We thought that a solo would be very good and the sound of the synthesizer would fit very well. We thought of Mery because we love how she solos, the sound she has with synthesizers and how she experiments.
You have also worked with Maruja Limón in Your Way
One of our trumpet players, Mila González, and the percussionist Leli Fàbregas are part of Maruja Limón. We have also shared a venue for many years, we already have a few songs in common and we have done a couple or three concerts together.
The other novelty of this album is that you put voice to the songs
We have done it in a very progressive way, listening to opinions from people who see us at concerts, and tell us that they appreciate it. The lyrics have to be at the service of what we want to say, not putting a lyric just for the sake of it but with a message that we all agree on together and want to transmit, with care and with meaning. Anyway the album is mainly instrumental and we like to consider ourselves an instrumental band, also for breaking. We like to be part of the Catalan music scene where there are the typical groups of drums, guitar, bass, etc. And we, on the other hand, are a fanfare with instruments that many people may have never heard before.
What do you think instrumental music transmits?
It gives more room for the interpretation of the listeners, the lyrics also have a more or less open interpretation, but with the word you are already sending a message.
The live ones have an important role in the Balkans
It is the center of everything, we give a lot of importance to the scene and the choreography. We have an external person, Cristina Castellà, a dancer, choreographer and teacher as well, who makes the proposals to us. But everything happens through us, proposing transitions that work, specific choreographies for each song, coordinating all this with the body and then also with the instrument. Furthermore, the type of music we make is not simple, it takes a lot of work and putting it all together is what gives us the most work, but at the same time it is very fun and when we complete it we are very proud.
What influences have you had on this album?
There are several because in the Balkans we all have very different tastes, if you look at our history you can see quite a bit. We started making music from the Balkan area, specifically Goran Bregovic or Emir Kusturica, and then we started mixing it with traditional music, Arabic rhythms. In “Nectar” there are two aspects, one perhaps more traditional, more similar to Balkan, also from Cumbia at some point. But then we looked at perhaps more mainstream, more pop songs, we were inspired by Meute, the Lucky Chops, who are a fanfare that is a reference for New York, with Brasstracks also at the event level, and then with any song that each of us can think of. happen, like Coldplay.
Is there a different reaction to your music when you perform abroad?
We have found a pleasant surprise, people who did not know us at all with whom we connected in a very quick and effusive way. Sometimes I have the prejudice that depending on which place we are received in a colder way, because of what the culture is like. But it has been the opposite, we have found that people have had a great time. Outside, people trust the programming, they trust the festival or the venue and they go to see things that perhaps they have never seen before. Here, on the other hand, unless you are in a very small circle, people go more to see the artist and perhaps this also limits you more, the predisposition is more closed.
