Late one August night, in a house-studio with several artists, producer Roots (Pau Ruz) bluffed: “We are preparing an album of Christmas carols.” It was a half-truth that, at that moment, was only in his head. In fact, it had been an idea that had been lurking in his mind for years in conversations with the group Boom Boom Fighters. “But we always thought about it on November 20 or so, with too little time to be able to do it,” explains the producer who works hand in hand with Mushkaa, a phenomenon of the successful new Catalan urban scene, and who, among others, also He is part of The Tyets team.
The day that ended with the cards on the table, it began with the Maresme duo author of ‘Coti x coti’ making in that same house a base for a song that “seemed like Christmas.” All were signs for Roots, the young man who, like his grandmother on December 25, set the table and the tablecloth so that the now very popular – and young – urban scene could come together to sing – he defines – “Christmas-themed songs.”. They are not classic carols, of course, but each of the 33 groups that participate in the album, ‘Nadal mix 2023’, preserves its essence.
The album, which will be released on December 12, has 17 songs and there are names like all those mentioned above, but also 31 FAM, Triquell (in ‘Cringemass’ he sings “that we received the capital; we received a gift”), Flashy Ice Cream, Maria Hein, Figa Flawas, Galgo Lento or Ferran Palau, figure of Catalan pop and ‘father’ of all of them at 40 years old (he performs with Mr. Chen the very remarkable, ‘Si nogués Nadal’ ). “It is an album with many colors in terms of sound, we have not messed with the production or the mixing of each artist,” reveals the producer, director of this orchestra that includes musicians aged mainly from 19 to 26 years old.
“We are the new wave, and we wanted to bring together youth and also give visibility to artists who are starting out. It’s cool that they get together with artists who are really doing it,” Roots notes. In fact, Christmas has always served as an excuse for albums of this type, whether by a solo artist or choirs. And the Maresme producer points out one that he had in mind: ‘Altres cançons de Nadal’, an album that had several editions with a multitude of Catalan groups.
Rafael Nadal
In one of the most playful songs on the album, with echoes of Mariah Carey, ‘Rafa Nadal’, where Mushkaa, her sister Greta and members of 31 Fam and Flashy Ice Cream participate, a rhyme is heard that says:“It is holy nit and we kill the gall; on December 25 we will fare the junkie with mai”. Other: “This night you sing a recital; I came to the llit and worked with a regal.” There are also ‘family friendly’ lyrics, the producer advances. But ‘Rafa Nafal’ is the song from which the project starts and the one that got people hooked. “In two weeks we started managing things, thinking about ideas and moving cables,” says Roots.
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They were also intense days of Instagram DM’s (direct messages), he confesses. “It was easy, everyone liked the idea,” he adds about this project in which, he emphasizes, peace and unity have reigned. “We have all done it for free, no one has any interest in making money from this. What each artist generates is for them. There has been a Christmas spirit, like the one that characterizes the album.”
And, if Christmas is a time of traditions, will ‘Nadal mix’ become just another one? “The idea is to come out with something new and different every year,” Roots discovers without wanting to specify more.