SonLosGrillos: Darkness Turns To Light In A Sacred Place

SonLosGrillos are Marta Rodríguez and Mauricio Mora and they come from Valencia,Spain.At the end of 2010 they released their debut album,a fragile and dreamy bouquet of songs,presenting a blend of much unlike influences.New folk?Not exactly.Early this year,their new album is already out,coming true  with a little help of their friends.Marta,tells their story so far.

Would you like to introduce yourselves?

 We are quiet people,we like music and we live in a rural area (we have 2 children).Mauri has been playing since he was 16, his first band had a style West Coast and then collaborated with different musicians, rock and roll bands.For my "sonlosgrillos" is my first band "professional" and I say in quotes because we do not live of music, but I sang the way i was singing since childhood.

How did you come together to form SonLosGrillos?

Through mutual friends I met Mauri.I knew he had a small studio at home and I wanted to record some songs.Of those songs and another songs of Mauri did our first album.

How would you describe your music?

Acoustic music, sweet music,sometimes a bit psychedelic ...folk?I guess our lifestyle influences our music.We make quiet music.Is difficult annoy your neighbours with our records.

Can you refer to some of your influences?

 I guess all the music we hear influences us and listen to many different styles of music.Traditional folk & blues,West Coast as Grateful Dead, Moby Grape ....
English folk like John Martyn, Pentangle, the first Donovan...American Folk as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell ...Bebop and West Coast jazz and many current groups, since some more commercial as Wilco or Fleet Foxes to those who make a more traditional folk as Meg Baird or Fern Knight...and not forget the South American music.

Tell us the story of getting your name.

On summer evenings the crickets sing very strong in this place.Sometimes we wonder What's that sound?,The answer is "Son los Grillos"(are the Crickets).In Spanish the word "Son" has to do with the sound (like "Son Cubano") ... It's a pun.
Our name is written all together "Sonlosgrillos" (Arethecrickets).

What are you doing for living?

We work mainly in summer,we live in a tourist town,we have a stand of handmade crafts on the beach.From June to September we worked hard and the rest of the year we are very calm ...time to make music and enjoy family.


What is the feedback you get from people who listen to your music?
People of different tastes and ages like our music and  the feedback is always positive.

Which was your first live as SonLosGrillos? Can you recall some moments of it?

It was in the pub of a friend.It was exciting, most of the audience were friends.We did not have any recital prepared, but there was an opportunity of playing and we did.It was a very nice and helped us strengthen our project was coming.

Do you have live performances in a regular basis for promoting your work or you have gigs only in festivals so far?

We do not do many live concerts.Not easy to find places to play,we are a disaster to promote us.We need a manager ...but right now there is not one.

Which way do you work a new song?

Differents ways sometimes separately, sometimes together.Most of the ideas come on the sofa.

Can you make a short sum of all tracks from your new album?

The album has a circular concept.The title aside from being the name of a song says a lot of the album.The first and  last songs are longer and more complex and the central songs are shorter and acoustic...more luminous .It's like an emotional journey as the cycle of a daybetween darkness and light.

There is a Mellow Candle cover in your new album and a Bob Theil participation as well.Will you tell us a few things about?

The cover of Mellow Candle was commissioned by a friend who has a radio show ("Islas de Robinson").We really liked this song and decided to include it on the album.
Bob is a good friend,excellent musician and a great person.He came to visit us and we did not lose the opportunity that collaborate on the album.

The vinyl edition of your debut album is really impressive.Tell us a few things of making this great cover.

 

The owner of the record label "Monterey" wanted to do a special edition beginning an idea of our,a common friend (clothing designer) made silkscreen and paint them with watercolor one by one.They want to do something special and...they did!

Do you listen to new artists or bands?

Of course!There are many good musicians,making excellent music.
Today with internet can be found hidden treasures anywhere in the world.

Is there a new folk scene in Spain?

I assume you mean the bands making the anglo-saxon folk style of music to mid 60,like us.There is a very important movement of folk worldwide,also in Spain
But we must not forget that Spain has a long tradition of folklore and very different by region (as in many other parts of the world).The north of Spain is more celtic music, south is closer to flamenco and arab roots music.There are groups that are doing what might be called  folk including the characteristics of their region and their own dialect and this is a very interesting way.It may not look our case, but if you listen to our song "Rejoice" find elements of what is here (in Spain) called "Jota".

Are you going to release “Darkness Turns To Light’ on vinyl as well?

The vinyl is in manufacturing,maybe when you read this the record is ready.

Do you buy vinyl records or cds? Have you a favourite record store?

We prefer the vinyl...sounds better!Do not have a favorite record store,we buy online and in second hand stores.We love looking discs in a garage sale,sometimes find wonderful old records.

What’s your point of view about the future of music business and which will be internet affection?

It Is clear that the internet has affected to record sales.On the other side today we have access to all kinds of music and discover bands that would otherwise be impossible.The negative can be that there is a saturation of music and it is often hard to hear a whole album.When we were little and our parents bought a vinyl we listened to hundreds of times.But the music business has always been the same,few groups make much money and there are thousands that are unknown. We, as independent musicians Internet gives us the opportunity that people will listen.Another issue is the sound quality.Today listening the music worse that 40 years ago.Make a record requires substantial technical work and at the end of this listening to an mp3 in a mobile phone.I have nothing against this but certainly something we're missing.

Which are your future plans?

We will do some concerts to present the new albumand start preparing new songs.
continue making music and enjoying life.

Would you like to add anything else?

Many τhanks for the opportunity to participate in this wonderful blog.Blogs like this are doing an excellent job in the diffusion of independent music.Κeep in touch!


(As told to High Fidelity Stories)
 contact :sonlosgrillos.bandcamp.com