Where do artists get their inspiration? EL PERIÓDICO discovers the secret corners where some of the best-known names on the Catalan scene find calm, harmony and refuge. After the musician’s confessions The New Raemon and the writers Laura Fernandez and Jordi Puntíit is the singer-songwriter Joana Serrat’s turn.
He was born in Vic, wanted to live in Dripping Springs and spends a lot of time in London, but Joana Serrat has officially lived for a few years in Montesquiu (Osona, Barcelona), a small town with just over a thousand inhabitants. What she has, this acclaimed singer-songwriter with American influences tells us, “her advantages and her disadvantages.” One of the first is that “during the week, many times you can walk around the Castell de Montesquiu Park… and not find anyone!”
There is documentary evidence of the castle, located on the left bank of the Ter, since the 13th century. Everything seems to indicate that at the end of the 15th century it lost its military function and became a stately residence. Between 1910 and 1917, the Juncadella family underwent a major remodeling to make it more comfortable. In 1976 it passed to the Barcelona Provincial Council, which made a new intervention and turned it into the epicenter of the Espai Natural Protegit de Montesquiu. “I am grateful to Emili Juncadella for leaving the castle in the hands of the public institution so that people like me could enjoy this cultural wealth of the country,” Serrat tells us.
First concert at 16
The author of the highly recommended ‘Hardcore from the heart’ has the park a few minutes walk from the apartment where she lives, owned by her father and her aunt. “When she was little, my brother and I would come here to spend some summer days with my grandmother and my aunt,” she explains. “For me it was all very bucolic and exotic, especially going up to the castle following the path that passes through the orchards. The forest was especially lush and deep. I always had the feeling that the sun was going out a little when we entered. along those paths.”
Later, it was in that same park where, at only sixteen years old, he gave one of his first concerts. No, she was not like Joana Serrat, but rather as a backup singer for the pioneers of Catalan rock. Duble Buble; the composer of ‘Clava’t’, Ramon Ferrer, was his music teacher. “Who would have thought that eighteen years later this park would be my home!”
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At first, moving to Montesquiu was a practical decision: “I came here with my ex-partner in search of a decent life that would allow us not to have to give up our artistic careers.” But being able to enjoy the park also contributed to the decision, and during his walks through his domain, Serrat has come up with melodies that have ended up in song.
In love (also) with London
While valuing his life in Montesquiu, Serrat tries to spend in London as long as you can. “The main reason for my visits – she confesses – is that I fell in love with a New Zealand musician living in the British capital.” On the other hand, the music sector in England holds Serrat in high esteem and that comforts our interviewee. A random example: the 9 out of 10 they gave their folk-rock supergroup’s first album ‘Uncut’. Riders Of The Canyonan album also highlighted by EL PERIÓDICO.