Fades: "Our music is inherently political because we are queer and Catalan."

BarcelonaFerran Pi (Palma, 2001), Vicenç Calafell (Esporles, 2001) and Àngel Exojo (Santa Eulalia de Ronçana, 2001) They met while studying Catalan philology in Mallorca and their friendship gave rise to Fades, a pop music group. queer and Catalan. Irreverent and outspoken, Fades champions Catalan culture and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community through festive, uninhibited music that earned them the 2024 Enderrock Award for Breakthrough Artist. After the album Friends and Autotune (2023) and Metallix (2024), now the group continues the party with Metallix: Afterparty, (Satélite K, 2025) a more electronic and mischievous revision of the previous album that features collaborations with Samantha Hudson, SVSTO and Papa Topo. The Fades tour will pass through Primavera Sound on June 6th, Acampada Jove (Sant Sadurní d'Anoia) on July 11th, Mobofest (Mallorca) on July 25th and Cangrejo Festival (Menorca) on September 26th and 27th.

Where did the idea of making a new version of the previous album come from? Metallix?

— Ferran Pi: For us Metallix It was a solid work in itself, but due to the media spotlight and recognition that followed, we wanted to give it a second life by collaborating with other artists. We decided to revisit some songs and include others that had been left out of the previous album.

And why have you chosen? Metallix: Afterparty as a title?

— Vicenç Calafell: The songs from the previous album were already part of the party world, so Metallix represents the party, and Metallix: Afterparty the moment of the end of the party when you're already worn out.

— Angel Exojo: When we collaborate with artists, we feel like we're going out to party with them, and we wanted to present a narrative that conveyed good vibes and the desire to involve other people in our project. For us, the album is a after party with Samantha Hudson, SVSTO, Papa Topo and everyone!

The record reminds me of the album remix Brat and it's completely different but also still Brat by Charli XCX.

— FP: Hadas was born from the influence of hyperpop, although we've since gone through every possible genre, and Charli XCX has been an influence on the group, without a doubt. But we had already made remixes before she made it popular, because revisiting songs has always seemed very interesting to us. The duo Hidrogenesse, for example, does this a lot and it's a good way to move the music around and not have it stay static.

As artists, they claim culture queer and Catalan. Is your music a political tool?

— AD: Absolutely. We've always said that without politics, no one could understand Fades. It's our main motivation, focus, and philosophy.

— VC: Our music is inherently political because we are people. queer and Catalans, therefore, suffer from minority views.

— AD: One of Fades' motivations is to help us overcome our self-consciousness about Catalan culture. We Catalans are sometimes afraid to say who we are and to reclaim our culture and language. Being Catalan can mean many things, but for us it means speaking and creating culture in Catalan without any hesitation.

In the album he uses classic Catalan symbols, such as Tirant lo Blanc and the April rose. Virolai, to talk about sex. Catalan can also be obscene and shameless.

— AD: A lot. The problem is the complex we were talking about. We try to get rid of our obsessions and play with our language.

— FP: We're going to make it possible for people to sing about sex in Catalan, and to sing it well.

— VC: And if it's based on folklore figures, even better. Let's make culture and tradition a little more fresh.

Open with the song Too blonde, which is a hymn in the figure bimboWhat does a girl represent? bimbo?

— VC: A girl bimbo responds to the stereotype of a blonde girl and canonical beauty similar to a Barbie. In Massa rubia We've given it a twist and there are some verses that say "Too blonde and smart, too blonde and smart for you."

— AD: It's the same thing that happened with the insult "faggot." It was a word meant to be ridiculed, and gays reappropriated it to the point of reclaiming it.

In Artificial Remix has collaborated with Samantha Hudson, queen of the bimbos in our house and also from Mallorca.

— VC: Samantha Hudson was our dream collaboration from day one. Working with her was very easy and made us feel very validated as artists. It's also been a source of pride to see Samantha singing in Catalan, and it could be a gateway for her into the Catalan music industry.

Of the softest and most innocent pop of Metallix You've moved towards a more clubby and hooligan sound.

— FP: We wanted to experiment with genres and push them to see how far we could go. Metallix I produced almost everything myself with the help of the Mallorcan producer Antoni Llull, and songs like Too blonde and Tit, which we saw could have a dirtier sound that reminded us of the early 2000s. This album is much more produced by Toni and we wanted it to be more festive to also offer a more festive live show.

Her aesthetics also experiment with the limits of stereotypes associated with gender.

— VC: When we talk about breaking gender, we're obviously also talking about breaking the gender binary, gender identity, and aesthetic genres. Hadas comes to break it all, or at least try to.

Do you think the Catalan LGBTQ+ pop scene is going through a good moment?

— AD: Yes, but it could be much better. I feel like we have to settle for a bit of scraps because we can play festivals, but often on small stages and at bad times.

— VC: And we'll never be with Svetlana and Ouineta. Because, how should two groups go? queer together at the same festival? Now, I like that we are visible and that a scene is talked about queer Catalan. I think Catalan culture can be proud to say that it has a scene queer musical, because there are few in Europe.