Xavi de la Iglesia: "For artists, things would go a little better for us if we had minimal notions of law"

The guitarist and singer Xavi de la Iglesia (Barcelona, 1979) has defined the sound of contemporary Catalan song for fourteen years with Blaumut. The group is saying goodbye for an indefinite period with a tour that will end on October 17th at the Sala Apolo in Barcelona. De la Iglesia understands the world of music as a boundless field, where dialogue with other disciplines – among which wine is included – can be nourishing.

He has used the expression “fast food” to explain how music is consumed today.

— Since we started until now the music scene has changed a lot. With the amount of material that comes out daily worldwide, when you release a single, after 10 minutes it's already old. And it's a job that has taken you weeks, months, years. The way of consuming has nothing to do with what a creative process is like. I think that, as a society, we are treating things in a very superficial way, and this causes everything to lose value.

Why?

— Art, supposedly, is something that makes us free, and having to tread lightly because there is so much material that you cannot absorb it… We should reconsider how we consume. Sometimes you listen to 20 seconds of a song on Spotify and skip it. Wow, what happened to the work of going to find a record, listening to it in its entirety, and discovering, on the fifth listen, a track that blows your mind? We are not allowing space for these things to happen.

He also spoke about how albums evolve with the evolution of their creators.

— I like to see Blaumut as a reflection of what we have been, what we are, and what we will be. Each album marks a specific moment in our lives. I always explain that for us, when we release an album, it's the end of a stage. In everyone's eyes, it's a beginning: the tour will start, new songs... But for us, it's an end, because you've poured it all out there and, once it's done, it's done.

An end and a beginning. Pregnancy ends and life begins.

— As is. Obviously, then there is the job of going to explain it, which are the concerts.

Blaumut has played some concerts in wineries. How was the experience?

— I find that it has always been a very cool experience. We paired songs with wines. I find that the world of wine and music, because they are artisanal, artistic things, can go hand in hand. There is a very fluid communication, not at all forced. When you mix wine and music, wine and poetry, wine and dance, wine and drawing, something super organic comes out. It takes your mind to other places.

His facet as an illustrator is less known.

— For me, it has always gone hand in hand. I make music and draw in equal parts. I like to say that I write in a very graphic way and that I draw in a very poetic way. For me, they are two worlds that feed each other. And I like not to be too much in reality and to draw. To live outside of the day-to-day. Making music and drawing, for me, is that: to escape reality a bit. I enjoy reality a lot, too, you know. But I'm very comfortable in this environment.

He has done some of Blaumut's covers. 

— It's a process that entertains me a lot. In a way, it's like closing the creative process: you make the songs, you know perfectly why you put that word there and, at the same time, the drawing complements everything, it looks for the graphic part of those songs. I don't have to do anything different when I start drawing or when I start making music: it's about putting myself in front of it and coming up with ideas. It's true that often when I draw I put on music and that often when I compose I like... 

...drawings?

— When we do the album mixes, I'm drawing things with the iPad. It helps me a lot to concentrate on the music. One thing lives with the other, and they feed each other.

Have you ever thought about making illustrations for wines?

— It is something I would love to do.

Does any specific idea occur to you?

— It would depend a lot on talking to whoever made that wine and them explaining to me what's behind it, what philosophy. A wine is also a creative process. It has a lot of poetry behind it, a lot of history, a lot of work, a lot of craftsmanship. In the end, it's not far from making music or drawing. If you have in front of you the person who made that wine and they explain to you that this comes from here, that the grape is this, that they were looking for a certain taste with certain nuances... It's a framework of information that is gold for drawing and getting ideas from. After all, I like to understand it as pulling a thread to see where it takes you. Curiosity is a large part of the creative process.

And as a consumer, do you like these kinds of explanations?

— I do like them. Sometimes there's a point where I want to be surprised, but I do like afterwards to be told how we got here, how that happened. I'm very curious and I've always liked to dig and search. Because, at the same time, it's a source of information that can be useful to you for other things. 

In the interview with Júlia Riera she said that eating was one of her hobbies.

— Absolutely.

Restaurants? Cooking?

— I like both things very much. I like to go to restaurants where you eat well, because there are also many restaurants where you don't eat well... I'm very sorry to pay money for not eating well and I don't mind paying a higher sum of money if I have to eat well. 

And cook?

— I love it, and more and more. It's something that relaxes me a lot. It's also a creative process; in the end, you see that there is love, affection, ideas... And I'm one of those who likes to go to the market, look at it, what do you have today, give me this, give me that, and, from there, do what we feel like at home and cook it with all possible love.

Why the market?

— I like proximity and fresh produce, and, above all, I like that markets are not lost. It is a treasure we have that we can never let go of. Faced with packaged products, faced with the chains that open non-stop, going to a market where you have Mrs. Pepita or Mr. Albert telling you “Take this, it’s honey today” is priceless. 

Is it a concern you've always had?

— I think it has come to me more with the years. I have always liked to eat well, which leads you to be interested in learning to cook things. At the same time, I come from a family concerned with eating well and cooking at home, and with recipes that are passed down from parents to children.

Do you remember any in particular?

— There is a roast chicken that I love. Cannelloni… Sometimes it's not the recipe itself, but what are the personal tricks that gave it the touch that makes you say: “Wow, this is home”.

And are they tricks locked with bolt and bar for the family or does he/she share them?

— I don't mind sharing them with friends at all; on the contrary, I love doing it. It's life, sharing, and what better than a good meal?

Any restaurant you would particularly recommend?

— At home we are quite regulars at Can Rin, which is a very, very recommendable restaurant. We love it and every so often we drop by because they keep bringing out new things.

And do you like to order wine when you go there?

— We don't usually do it much, to be honest. I don't drink, basically. If they put a glass of wine in front of me, I'll drink it, I'll enjoy it. I have no idea about wines, but I can tell if I like it or not. It's like anything, like music. You don't have to know about it to enjoy it. If you do know, there's a whole extra layer of information that makes you understand many things.

Is the fact of not drinking for some articulated reason?

— No. I have never been a big drinker, on the contrary. And each time I have been drinking less and found that it didn't bring me anything either. Time has led me down this path and I haven't really thought too much about why. I drink water and an occasional beer very now and then. It is true that, on a social level, it is strange.

Do people say things?

— Those who know me obviously not, because they already know what's up. And if someone asks me: “Aren't you getting one…?”, I say: “No”. And that's it. 

So, this whole "We will have bread with oil and salt for breakfast and wash it down with some glasses of wine" is not based on any real story?

— No. It's more a matter of taking something simple and giving it a more romantic touch. Something as basic as bread with oil and salt, let's toast to it, let's celebrate it.

It is truly an image that would serve for a drawing, for an advertisement or for a song. How does the music come out?

— I have never had a way of doing things exactly the same. If I had to summarize it a lot, if I have to find a connecting thread, it is that I have always looked for sensations, that what I write or draw brings me to feel something, transports me somewhere, to a certain light, to a certain feeling of well-being. Music has the power to transport you, as do smells. I suppose I am more emotional than mental.

And he studied law!

— When I went to school, in EGB, I was a very bad student. I was very bored, I got terrible grades – at a time when all my classmates were getting good grades – and I didn't understand why I had to do all that. Over the years I learned to cope with it. The more rational part took over and I did better in secondary school. What I enjoyed most was university, especially the final years.

Why?

— I understood that law has a very logical part. And there are subjects like theory of law, which has a philosophical point that I find very interesting. At the same time, I saw a practical option in it: it was very much geared towards the topic of intellectual property, because I was interested in music.

Has sabido de estas cosas te ha ayudado?

— When negotiating a contract, when understanding why a right is generated and why not... Sometimes signing absurdities causes roles to be created that should never be allowed. Not everyone needs to study law, but I believe that artists, as a community, would fare a little better if we had minimal notions of law. To know what you are signing. The advice I would give to someone who is starting out would be this.

What?

— Give it a turn on everything; think about it well and, between quotes, distrust a little. Facts, and not words.