Part 2

Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work? Do you have a fixed schedule? How do music and other aspects of your life feed back into each other - do you separate them or instead try to make them blend seamlessly?


I work doing sound design for film and also, I write music for film. I’m now trying out a routine of making music for 15min a day at least; actual music-making, not looping to your own music or watching tutorials, 15 minutes of working on a beat or on a song or whatever. I feel it’s helping me establish habits. Most days I end up working for longer on music, but at least worst case I know I can always fit in 15min a day.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece or album that's particularly dear to you, please? Where did the ideas come from, how were they transformed in your mind, what did you start with and how do you refine these beginnings into the finished work of art?

The song “Ausencias” came from an arpeggiator line I created while sitting on the top of a mountain in West Virginia, with my op1 little synth. I had in my mind these words lately, “do I want you or do I want to be like you?”, so I tried to sing a line on top of it with these words. The melodic line felt kind of more Spanish traditional than pop so when I started adding the beat I kept in mind that I wasn’t really writing a pop song, but an aggressive ballad.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

For me, it helps to discover songs that I like, that inspire me. It also just helps to have a nice daily routine, not expect to have to go anywhere outside of my city to make music. Just make sure I go dance or work out, see friends, have work projects, and then I leave an hour a day to make music. I’m still not sure what triggers me to feel more inspired or less inspired, I’m not that artistic.

How is playing live and writing music in the studio connected? What do you achieve and draw from each experience personally? How do you see the relationship between improvisation and composition in this regard?

I’ve always struggled with my live set to be honest. Now though, I’m trying to give myself more toys to be able to improvise and be playful on stage.

How do you see the relationship between the 'sound' aspects of music and the 'composition' aspects? How do you work with sound and timbre to meet certain production ideas and in which way can certain sounds already take on compositional qualities?

I have to say that as a producer, I don’t see the sound design process and the compositional process that differently. Obviously, you don’t want to waste 4 hours curating a snare drum before you have nice beat/melody idea. Sometimes I also try to write from a songwriter perspective (piano or guitar) before I jump into production mode. But most of the time, I do everything at the same time. For me, just one sound is all it takes to make me want to pursue a song idea.

Our sense of hearing shares intriguing connections to other senses. From your experience, what are some of the most inspiring overlaps between different senses - and what do they tell us about the way our senses work? What happens to sound at its outermost borders?

Before only focusing on music I used to work as a psychotherapist for people with Alzheimer’s. I remember how powerful songs could be to trigger memory and knowledge that otherwise was forgotten.

Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role and lead to more engagement. Can you describe your approach to art and being an artist?

Despite coming from a very politically active family, I cannot say that my music is openly political. I focus on intimate emotions or small things. I sing in Catalan in some of my songs because it’s my most private language and I want to keep it alive. I produce my own music because I need it to be my message. I try to create visuals for my songs that feel plaso that’s as political as I get.

It is remarkable, in a way, that we have arrived in the 21st century with the basic concept of music still intact. Do you have a vision of music, an idea of what music could be beyond its current form?

It is indeed, but it’s also the case with cinema and books. They still remain intact.
Maybe music could evolve to resemble a videogame, you create your own pieces in a more free, interactive way?