Copy until the end, says the devil. Be careful not to be accused of plagiarism, recommends the lawyer. In any case, make a virtue of influence, don't hide it, we will all benefit, because it's about knowledge transfer. After all, music is a combination of familiarity and uniqueness. The avant-garde tightens the string of uniqueness, pursuing the chimera of originality. The mainstream demands familiarity, recognizable things. Between one and the other there is a long way to go, including copying and legitimate inspiration, issues that intellectual property legislation sanctions or protects. Nothing legitimate, however, is extractive plagiarism, such as dispossessing authorship or passing off what belongs to another as one's own.

"I'm getting excited!" said Jaume Pla, Mazoni, on Wednesday night in Vic. He had just played Fe dins la tristesa, one of the songs of album Banderes per daltònics (2025) which begins to roll live. Although there was no trumpet that illuminates it on the album, the song sounded full, driven by the energy of the electric quartet format. "It's great that you receive a new song like this," he had said a little while before after Quant temps fa que no plores, satisfied with the applause of the audience who did not want to miss this presentation in the tent of the Mercat de Música Viva in Vic.

Jaume Pla (La Bisbal d'Empordà, 1977) stopped the Mazoni project in early 2024. He needed to rethink the future. He didn't rule out continuing to make music, but he was opening the door to artistic expression through literature. A year and a half later, Mazoni's pop melodies are spread across the eleven songs on the album he is releasing with the BankRobber label this Friday: Banderas por daltónicos. He will premiere it at the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic on September 17th, with Aleix Bou on drums, Natán Arbó on bass, and Emili Bosch on guitar. "A very classic lineup," admits Pla, happy to be back on stage.

"What is your best music-related memory, and what memory would you like to forget?" This double question has been repeated in most of the interviews with musicians (and people linked to music) published in the ARA, especially in the last year and a half. A few days ago we published a selection of the answers to the first questionNow it's time for the worst memories. There are some about Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Mazoni, María Jaime, Cesk Freixas, Roger Mas...