Rigoberta Bandini: "The feeling of doing what you want to do is a luxury."

BarcelonaThe life of Paula Ribó (Barcelona, 1990) changed when she invented the character Rigoberta BandiniSuddenly she was an unexpected diva touched by pop and italodisco, hedonistic and decadent at the same time. Three years after compiling her achievements in the album The Empress (2022), returns with a double album, Jesus Christ Superstar, and the need to explore contradictions, such as "hyperfeminization and the search for Superwoman". Ribó-Bandini attends the ARA a month before starting a tour that will arrive at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona on June 28.

How did you make this countercultural decision to release a double album with 22 songs?

— At first it was difficult to manage, because I fell in love with the idea and felt that the album had to be long. For many reasons, but above all because I felt that Jesus Christ Superstar It's an album that doesn't ask for permission, it takes up space. It's also true that I've had a lot of time to write, and I had a lot of songs: I've even gone wild. I was excited to deliver a lot of new songs to my audience, something I'd never done before. I understand it's crazy, I already knew that, but these are ideas that get stuck in my head and I can't get out.

It's one of the advantages of having control over the project; that is, you don't have a record label acting as an intermediary and being able to dictate your terms.

— Yeah, if I had gone with some label, I don't think they would have let me do it.

Once you were placing the songs, did you realize if there was a common thread, even a dramatic one?

— At first, I was very obsessed with the order of the songs, because I was obsessed with the 22 major arcana of the tarot. But I had to let it go, forget about the tarot, and start choosing the order based on musical energy, letting intuition dictate the sequence of the songs. It's a very interesting puzzle that I did with my partner, Esteban, in November while we were in Mexico. There's a sonic path more than a story in a dramatic sense.

Yes there is a break from the song The flea on the sofa, which has a dirtier or darker techno tone.

— Yes, dividing it into two eleven-song albums helped me, because they are very different, and opening the second one with The flea on the sofa It is a declaration of intentions, because the second part has a darker, more aggressive side.

"I'm useless, I'm a genius," you say to CXT (Club Xavalas Tristes). "Say if I am someone or just one fake", you sing in KaimánDo you question yourself a lot?

— In this context, I'm trying to talk about how nothing is true. We create a self-image, and I think it's just as unhealthy to feel like the best person in the world because fans tell you you're the best as it is to feel like the worst when you receive it. hate. That is to say, it's cool not to identify so much with the ego in such a toxic way, because neither version is true. CXT I talk about how my menstrual cycle makes me believe I'm useless one day and a genius the next. Ultimately, we're all fluctuating beings, and I like to laugh at myself in that sense because I find it very therapeutic. If I see it as a game, I connect less with my own drama. I'm neither the best nor the worst.

There are usually many verses about dualities and contrasts.

— Yes, the album speaks a lot about that duality, right from the title itself: Jesus Christ SuperstarDuality, internal contradiction, has been a very important driving force in my composition. I find it fun to laugh at myself.

Musically, what horizons were you planning for? There are many details on the album, like the acoustic guitar of In love, which looks like it's from the early days of David Bowie.

— In the studio, I was very obsessed with acoustic guitars, with that thing you mentioned about David Bowie, but also with Cecilia and Mari Trini. I was very obsessed with this universe and thought it would be a completely acoustic album. Then I realized I needed electronic touches to reach certain emotions. It was nice to discover that my mental idea wasn't what my body was asking for, that there were songs that were closer to this acoustic universe, but that I also needed the counterpoint of more aggressive songs, with bass drums and electronic drums. Later, I immersed myself in the world of Mecano from the 1980s and Michael Jackson. As for the musical production, it's a very melancholic album because it has quite a look back. And it was intentional: all the references I had in the studio were up to 1985. From 1985 onward, they practically don't exist. Well, maybe Daft Punk at some point, because they always give you a sound that makes you say: forks!

The oldest reference must be the sound of the baroque harpsichord of Miracles never happen after leaving the after-party..

— When María Vertiz, the producer of this song, played it for the first time, I was amazed that she managed to create the dragon from the song with music, which was what I wanted, but I don't have the musical knowledge to create this drawing.

You've always worked with nostalgia and irony, often adding verses that take the edge off the drama you're telling. It's almost a trademark.

— Yes, absolutely. My writing style has a somewhat provocative rawness, but not too much; I seek that limit. The other day We spoke with Milena Busquets at the presentation of her bookThis seems very interesting to me as a writer, more than just a musician, because I've always understood writing from that perspective. Ever since I was doing theater, the texts had that rawness, which is something that identifies me.

It is the sarcastic humor of The flea on the sofa when you say you always wanted to change the world without leaving the couch.

— It's that saving thing of superwoman. It's the same contradiction as before, but without leaving the couch. Aesthetically, there's also the contradiction of superhero women who are also very feminine. Joan Ros, who helped me create all the costumes, always gave me references to women from the 1950s and 1960s who had this contradiction between hyperfeminization and the search for... Superwoman.

Has that position caused you any problems?

— No. People feel connected and engaged. There will always be people who don't like my speech, but that's what connects me with people.

What do you think are the strengths of the Rigoberta Bandini project, and what are its weaknesses or things that make you most uneasy?

— One of our strengths is freedom, both in the studio and when I'm composing and creating live shows. The feeling of doing what we want to do at any given moment is a luxury, and I feel very fortunate. As for worries... Over the years, I've learned to recycle everything. Even the things that worried me before, like doing so much promotion and feeling empty, that feeling of having explained the project so many times, I'm now enjoying from a different perspective. Perhaps not having a record label structure can sometimes make the project more chaotic, but in any case, for me this chaos is wonderful, because it's also how I feel about my life and my project.

Do you think one of Rigoberta Bandini's successes was that she connected not only with very young people but also with people your age?

— I'm really excited to connect with people my age, because it's very strange to connect only with older people or younger people. I love connecting with younger people, but when I connect with people my age, I'm really excited. It's true that it's something you can't choose, and I've been lucky enough to have people connect with me, but it's also true that my lyrics are so explicit and so colloquial that I completely understand why people can connect with them.

Speaking of lyrics, you have metaphorical discoveries like "my fangs are made of steel", in Kaimán, or that "nobody cries like Santana's guitars", in Abraxas.

— I really like this artisanal aspect of finding the perfect image to convey the emotion I want to convey.

At concerts I have had the impression that Your audience shares the typical hedonism of a birthday party of adult friends who give their all, yes, but who, when they leave, help pick up and take out the trash. A civilized hedonism.

— I think it's wonderful to have that audience. I don't know how much of it is my own merit or how much of it is just the people who connect with my music. In any case, this element of hedonism, birthdays, love, and collective catharsis is a hallmark of my live performance, and it's also one of my strengths, connecting with people in such a strong way live.

In the song In love You say that loves come and go, but they always leave their mark. What things have left their mark on you artistically?

— Many. For example, Franco Battiato, whom I talk about explicitly in this album [in the song I'm looking for a permanent center of gravity]. Also Demian, by Hermann Hesse, which is one of the first books that left a big mark on me, and I think it's still part of my identity because of its duality. In fact, the album features the song Abraxas [the name of the demiurge who appears in Hesse's novel and who represents both good and evil]. Then, theatrically, Rodrigo García I was very impressed, captivated when I saw him at the Temporada Alta festival. I think he moved me, like saying, "I want to do theater, and I want to have this bad temper." Then I toned it down, because I'm not at all as punk as Rodrigo García.