The attractive Greta Garbo decided to retire from cinema when she was at the height of the seventh art. He was only 36 years old and had a long career ahead of him, but in a show of personality he chose to leave Hollywood behind to live his life. A decision, to retire, that Enrique Bunbury was forced to take in 2022 after canceling the tour in Chicago due to physical problems that prevented him from performing as he should. He later discovered that it was glycol, a component of smoke that is released to create atmosphere, that was responsible for the physical problems. He did not, however, stop composing, and as a result of this work Greta Garbo was born, the last album with a new band and a twist to the style that is still recognizable, rooted in rock. An album that has become the best-seller in Spain in all formats during the first week in stores, and that the Aragonese artist, ex of Héroes del Silencio (another withdrawal above all), will present with ten unique performances at the end of the year, including a WiZink Center that filled up in just 48 hours. Decisions that the artist established in Los Angeles comments on through a questionnaire answered by his own hand.
Presents new album, Greta Garbo, with the withdrawal from the stages as context. What have you learned from this period?
I guess there’s a part of me that stayed there, in Chicago, when we canceled the whole tour. It is possible that my view of the present has become enlarged and I care less about making plans, the schedule causes me a certain rejection, I prefer to live as much as possible.
What is it about Greta Garbo that attracts her so much?
Greta Garbo became a symbol. During the period when I was writing the songs, while everything was falling apart around me, the example of Greta Garbo, who voluntarily retired from acting never to 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 is difficult to explain. Thinking about a new chapter in my life, with other interests and other goals.
How did you feel when you found out you couldn’t perform live?
Contradictory emotions coexisted in me, enthusiasm and sadness, hope and despondency. I knew that not having contact with the public took something substantial away from my work. With the disappearance of the communion of the directs, it seemed to me that I remained in a bubble, isolated. At the same time, I wanted to focus more on the
When he decided to retire, did he also weigh fatherhood and the possibility of reinventing himself?
No, the decision was made because of the problems on the tour. Having to face every night a neck destroyed by the cough and lungs obstructed by the smoke from the shows. I’ve been touring with my family completely since 2011 and we’re used to being nomadic, it’s not something that weighed on the decision. And the need to find and provide new contexts for the songs was always there.
You have been involved in music for more than three decades, what is the meaning of this art for you?
It is food and means of expression. The creative need is difficult to explain, I guess we all have it to a greater or lesser extent. In addition to wanting to explain ourselves and try to understand the world we live in, 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 gigs…
One makes decisions by evaluating the data and information available at each moment. When I decided not to tour again I didn’t know anything about the origin of the problem, it was months later when I managed to get a diagnosis, which changed the situation substantially. It’s not really a tour anyway, I’m still very reluctant to do it again.
He has also published the second collection of poems, MicroDosis. What does he find in poetry that he cannot convey through music?
In poetry you don’t necessarily depend on rhyme and meter and, thematically, there are observations that work worse in song, which aims to be melodic and be able to be sung. That’s why I made the effort to find a voice different from that of the songs, to express myself with a different tone, and in my poetry there appears reflection, journaling, humor… and I try to have it a narrative that unites the poems and forms an internal story.
He has been living in Los Angeles for over 10 years. Is it rooted?
Los Angeles is a complex city, in reality it is a set of cities, very extensive, where you can have as many lives as you want. Culturally it is one of the cities in the world where absolutely everything happens, which is always nice. And you have the weather, the sea and the gorges and the desert. And Mexico next door, and the food, of course.
Do you take sides in the debate on artificial intelligence?
I don’t know much about the subject, 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 this category or if it can simply imitate what has already been created by humans. I mean a new talent that didn’t exist before, with such an exciting discography. Allow me to doubt it, it may be a tool that in the hands of a talented guy can give good results and in the hands of someone less talented offer us cheap copies of what already exists. Don’t believe it?
