The beautiful Greta Garbo decided to retire from the cinema when she was at the height of the seventh art. She was only 36 years old and had a long career ahead of her, but in a display of personality she chose to leave Hollywood behind to live her own life. A decision, to retire, that Enrique Bunbury was forced to make in 2022 after canceling his tour in Chicago due to physical problems that prevented him from acting properly. He later discovered that it was the Glycol, a component of the smoke that is released to give atmosphere, that was responsible for his physical problems. He did not stop composing, however, and the result of this work was born Greta Garbo, her last album with a new band and a new twist to her style that continues to be recognizable, rooted in rock. An album has become the best-selling in Spain in all formats during its first week in stores, and that the Aragonese artist, formerly of Héroes del Silencio (another withdrawal at the top) will present with ten unique performances at the end of year, including a Wizink Center that has filled in just 48 hours. Decisions that the Los Angeles-based artist comments through a questionnaire answered in his own handwriting.
She presents a new album, Greta Garbo, with her retirement from the stage as a context. What have you learned from this period?
I guess there’s a part of me that was left there in Chicago when we canceled the whole tour. It is possible that my vision of the present has been magnified and I care less about making plans, the agenda causes me a certain rejection, I prefer to live as up to date as possible.
What does Greta Garbo have that attracts you so much as to give the album its name?
Greta Garbo became a symbol. During the period in which she was writing the songs, while everything was collapsing around me, the example of Greta Garbo, who voluntarily retired from acting to never look back, seemed magnificent to me. In my case, the withdrawal was forced, against my will, but at the same time there was an enthusiasm that was difficult to explain. Think of a new chapter in my life, with other interests and other goals.
What emotions did you feel when you accepted that maybe you couldn’t perform live anymore?
Mixed emotions lived in me, enthusiasm and sadness, hope and despondency. I knew that not having that contact with the public took away something substantial from my work. With the communion of the direct ones disappearing, it seemed to me that I was left in a bubble, isolated. At the same time, I wanted to focus my career more on the creative, and leaving acting aside didn’t seem so terrible to me.
In the decision to retire, did fatherhood and the possibility of reinventing yourself also weigh?
No, the decision was given by the problems on the tour. Having every night to face a throat destroyed by coughing and lungs clogged by smoke from the shows. I have been touring with my entire family since 2011 and we are used to nomadism, it is not something that has weighed in the decision. And the need to find and offer new contexts for my songs was always there.
You have been in music for more than three decades. What sense does this art have for you?
It is food and a means of expression. The creative need is difficult to explain, I suppose we all have it to a greater or lesser extent. In addition to wanting to explain oneself and try to understand the world in which one has lived, there is also the need for communication. Music has helped me to explain myself much better than with spoken language, due to shyness and introspection.
He has recently announced a few concerts
You make decisions by valuing the data and information you have at all times. When I decided not to turn again I did not know anything about the origin of the problem, it was months later when I managed to have a diagnosis that substantially changed the situation. From thinking that I had a disease that was causing the problem in my throat and lungs to knowing that the problem was outside, that it was the Glycol. It’s not really a tour anyway, I’m still very reluctant to tour again.
You have also published your second collection of poems, MicroDosis. What do you find in poetry that you cannot convey through music?
Poetry is not necessarily as corseted as song lyrics, which are due to a structure, verses, choruses, bridges, codas. In poetry you don’t necessarily owe yourself to rhyme and meter and, thematically, there are observations that work worse in songs that aim to be melodic and able to be sung. That’s why I made the effort to look for a different voice from the one in my songs, to express myself with another tone and in my poetry, the newspaper, humor appears, upon reflection,… and I try to have a narrative that unites the poems forming a story. internal.
The title refers to the consumption of hallucinogens, I don’t know what you think about their legalization.
I think like Escohotado, (I suppose the person who has known the most about the matter worldwide): from the skin to the inside, my strictest jurisdiction begins. Also, I think it goes without saying, you can’t ban a plant. Or do you think the civil guard is going to look for mushrooms in the cow shit?
You have lived in Los Angeles for more than 10 years. Do you feel like an Angeleno?
What is it to be an Angeleno? Paying taxes? Born in the city? I don’t know, I don’t think too much in those terms. I have lived in Los Angeles for thirteen years and I feel loved in the city and I like it very much. It is a complex city, actually a group of cities, very extensive, in which you can lead as many lives as you want. Culturally it is one of those cities in the world where absolutely everything happens, which is always pleasant. And you have the weather, the sea and the canyons and the desert. And Mexico next door, and the food, of course.
What do you miss about Spain?
Actually nothing, because I come very often and I enjoy my family and friends and the little things that I like. Being able to come and go is wonderful.
Returning to the previous question, why are we so fascinated by California?
I don’t know, everyone will have their reasons. There are many different Californias and I know many who arrive and feel a certain rejection, and others who are fascinated. It is a landscape that is very familiar to us from the movies and novels and records that we love. I suppose that these cultural references help to elevate a city that later, like all, has its complexities and pelotism.
Your music is a standard-bearer for rock at a time when electronic music is prevailing even in this genre. How do you see the future?
The future of music is very clear, as it always depends on a good song, on someone with a talent for communicating with the public. We know about music that is currently in fashion, but fashions come and go, important artists are not necessarily part of a current or trend. Many tend to go for free, to their ball, and have a significance that is seen with the passage of time. As for working without a band in front of a computer, it is an option. It does not seem better or worse to me, it all depends on the talent of the creator.
Do you take sides in the artificial intelligence debate?
I don’t know much about it, I like Miles Davis and Billie Holiday and David Bowie and Bob Dylan and Nick Cave, for example. I wonder if artificial intelligence will allow us to create an artist of that category or can simply imitate what has already been created by the human being. I mean a new talent that didn’t exist previously, with such an exciting discography. Allow me to doubt it, it is possible that it is a tool that in the hands of a talented guy can give good results and in the hands of someone less talented it offers us cheap copies of what already exists. Don’t you think?
