Considered one of the great icons of the Spanish independent scene, Antonio Luque (Seville, 1970) is an atypical creator, maker of lyrics and music that come and make you enjoy and reflect. His artistic alter ego is Sr. Chinarro, a referential rock proposal although perhaps not very popular that walks with his head held high
His artistic alter ego is Sr. Chinarro, a referential rock proposal, although perhaps not very popular, who walks with his head held high. In his already long career he will have published close to twenty albums, in which he has reflected his mastery as a lyricist and effective musical composer.
Last October he published his latest work Reality Show (Mushroom Pillow), with current, raw and direct lyrics. The same musicians with whom he created and gave life to the album are the ones who now accompany him live, a very high-class trio: Dani Vega (Mishima guitar), Miquel Sospedra (bassist for Amaia, Alizz or Refree) and Xavi Molero (drums by Iván Ferreiro, Zahara or Christina Rosenvinge).
In fact, when talking about live, Mr. Chinarro has only premiered a Reality show at the Conde Duque in Madrid, yesterday it was scheduled in Girona and now, today, tonight, he is presenting it in Barcelona in the Wolf room (9:00 p.m.).
What will the fans who come to your concert today hear?
The same repertoire as the one we did in Madrid, the entire album and the greatest hits, if we can say so.
What is remarkable from the outset is that on this occasion he has surrounded himself with a truly luxurious band. As was?
Well yes. I first contacted Dani Vega a few years ago in Barcelona and now I finally do. Then I asked Fernando Alfaro for a drummer and that’s how Xavi Molero came along, and he recommended Miquel Sospedra. In very few rehearsals we put together the songs he had, all the sketches he had on the computer, we took the best ones and went to record.
Living from music during the pandemic hasn’t been easy, has it?
Yes, but fortunately I didn’t have many fixed expenses, but the worst of all I think was seeing how badly the sector was treated, which seemed like the last thing that could be done again. People were already flying, the planes were full, and instead you couldn’t sit in theaters or concert halls. Clearly it was a very mistreated sector and without any type of aid. Imagine in these circumstances a union always marked by precariousness.
Does the album you present now reflect that in any way?
Well…
At least and I don’t know if by chance, the lyrics of his songs are more understandable and direct than ever; do you agree?
Yes, I did it on purpose. The previous album, El banco bueno, was a bit more mystical, and it also came out in the midst of a pandemic and it didn’t work very well, it was practically ignored. In this, after everything that happened, I wanted to be understood, I came out wanting to communicate and say what I think. There is a song like False self-employed that talks about the precariousness of a musician, his partner, his environment. Before that precariousness was almost exclusive to show business, to musicians, now it is in many sectors of society. I remember that he said it at the dawn of the internet and such, ‘laugh at the downloads and such, that later they will come after us’. and so it has been
Does Mr. Chinarro’s public renew itself over time?
There are platforms like Spotify Artist that tell you the age of your audience and of course, there are very few of them in their twenties, under thirty I think we only have two percent. There Chinarro has a problem, although perhaps the problem is theirs, who have less and less vocabulary and that’s why they don’t know the letters. I am not going to reduce my speech to four words; I am not going to lower my level so much to reach people. Look, to fill big halls and do big tours you have to reach all ages, including twenty-somethings; but I see the music that they listen to and I’m not going to do that.
Can the fact that post punk is somewhat fashionable now benefit you?
Yes, it’s fashionable, and you just have to see that Joy Division has more and more listeners, and I suppose we’re not just one of those who have always listened to that band, we’re already old.
By the way, from that national post punk scene who did you have as references?
If I have to look at bands from that time, I prefer Illegal, Low Blows, or Permanent Paralysis, and I think there are some songs by Sr. Chinarro that are post punk like that Los Angeles. It’s a kind of music that I really like, like Interpol.
With the perspective that time gives you, have you had to make any concessions to make a living from music?
I don’t know. When Jota, from Los Planetas, produced the album El fuego amigo a Sr. Chinarro, he made decisions that I did not share, such as that Enrique Morente should sing, something that was not clear to me at all… but after a few years months people would not stop listening to that song [El rito] in the car. Also, this stuff of sticking flamenco in the nose bothers me a bit, I’ve rebelled; I was about to put a sticker on the record that said “one hundred percent palm-free”.
But staying out of fads, in your realm, can be onerous, right?
Yes, it’s easier to follow her. I have listened to the new album by La Bien Querida that I like very much and there is a song that seems to be a South American theme. Ana has a lot of art, she fills the places, but I don’t know what to tell you.
Listening to the Reality Show that is presented live, how would you define it?
It’s pop-rock, which is what we always do. Some songs come out slower, others faster, some cleaner, others with acoustic guitar.
And do they send the letters?
Well, the point is that later I have to sing them in front of people, and then I try not to be embarrassed. If I had to sing some things that succeed… I won’t tell you. What is done now bores me a lot.
Is rock as a style definitely in the background within the popular preferences in general?
I think not, but what happens is that all the kids have a tool at home, the computer, which with little effort can make a couple of tapes. I find that boring but the kids use it to tell their concerns. And I think that the lack of musical training in schools has a lot to do with this. Surely this is either happening in Sweden or Argentina, where there is that musical formation.
Do you feel like an outsider?
Yes, always have been. Furthermore, if one is chasing the fashion when one arrives the fashion has already passed. I also like to be contrary to generate conversation, because I like that there is debate. I’m a shy guy and if I don’t generate it then I don’t talk
Do you like or dislike Rosalía?
No. Both of their albums I’ve only worn them once. It doesn’t attract me.
Do you feel nostalgic for the musical past, or a certain melancholy?
Logically when we were teenagers we all thought that things were going to get better. I just think what I said before. In other words, there should be more musical training in schools, there wasn’t then and there isn’t now.
Before, did you enjoy music more with and?
Almost the same, because Chinarro has never been a group with a large audience. Now I don’t know how many people go to our concerts. I don’t miss it, but the truth is that if I want to listen to music I think that the groups of the eighties in Spain were better than those of today. But very soon I began to listen to Anglo-Saxon music together, groups from the eighties began to break up or do nonsense like Radio Futura, that is, The Cure, Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Dvision and I continued there. And I continue.
