The musician and composer will take ‘Reality Show’ to the Ambigú de la Axerquía this Friday, a latest album that shows the most ironic Antonio Luque on topics such as precariousness, boredom or the absurdity of romantic relationships with Tinder
After more than twenty years and 18 discs of pop or pop rock, the name of Mr. Chinarro is no longer a hidden treasure that the staunch spanish indie presume as discovery. His characteristic lyrics, as charged with painful irony as they are with beauty, and his unmistakable voice place the Sevillian musician among the essentials of the genre in Spainalthough Antonio Luque – in his case it is not easy to guess the dividing line between person and artist — He assures that he does not listen to “a lot of music” in Spanish, nor is he one of those who see themselves in the wave of anything “it has never been too big”, he comments.
Maybe it’s in that defeatist air yours so WoodyAllenesque is the key to his ingenuity to dissect, with scalpel precision and almost anthropological distance, the absurdities of contemporary life. This is how he makes it clear in his latest work, Reality Show, an album born out of “anger”, or rather out of weariness, of realities such as precariousness, lack of communication, the trivialization of interpersonal relationships or the lack of certainties. About all of this he will sing this Friday at the Ambigú de la Axerquía.
Love was a more recurring theme on your previous albums. Has disenchantment made you less romantic?
Disenchantment is very romantic. There is no love without heartbreak. There are different ways of approaching it, yes. It’s hard for me to make songs of the rhyming type ‘me without you, you without me and I’ll stay like this…’ it seems that my style is a little weirder, but the issues that worry me and affect me are the same as everyone else.
Sentimental pop was in fashion before, but now emotional distance prevails due to the influence of the networks
Clear. Phones have changed the game quite a bit. Especially for flirting applications, there is a song on the album that is about that, or several. They have put us in a much wilder market, for the benefit of the big telephone corporations. But only the medium changes. Basically it is still the same, a kind of great genetic market.
“Disenchantment is very romantic. There is no love without heartbreak. (…) It is difficult for me to make songs of the type of rhymes ‘me without you, you without me and I stay like this…'”
Did this album start as a need to vent?
Right, yes. It coincided with the time of the pandemic in which all the musicians were letting out rage for being locked up at home. So a louder sound came out than what Sr. Chinarro usually is, with songs with good speed. A pop rock album, although the label is somewhat maligned. But they are still songs with simple chords, in my case a bit improvised, to my commercial misfortune. It could have been done differently, but it reflects a lot the moment of the band. After a long time without recording, we wanted to and we hit the pots harder. But neither does it come to nothing to mount a great theory about sound. It just came about that way, although it’s true that groups like Los Nikis are in fashion now, a bit punkish, with distortion and a hard-hitting sound. You also have to understand it, the kids are pissed off. It’s normal for them to get punks.
Inevitably, the rise of that music must have influenced him.
Yes of course. It is a disc in which there is anger. But it is not the same as that of young people. In any case, when I was young I was already more introverted. But because it is my way of being; darker, maybe. With these tools I have my place in the world of music. It’s never been too big, but I can still do concerts. It all depends a lot on the promotion, the record label. Of money. Nothing escapes the influences of money.
In ‘false self-employed’ he mentions that tendency to want to ‘hit the ball’ with music made from home
On the other hand, it’s good that people can make songs at home. But the other day I read the number of songs that were published per year and it was an exorbitant number compared to what people can consume or enjoy. It’s good that it doesn’t take a huge investment to make recordings anymore, but people don’t have time to discover so much music. Most of the songs stay buried. I equate it with floods, where there is water everywhere but no water to drink. It is a bit the feeling that I get with streaming platforms. Still, from time to time, one discovers projects by chance. I have recently discovered Home, the project of a girl who is with Primavera Labels, from Primavera Sound. She makes that ‘me without you, you without me’ pop, but she does it with art. Come on, I met her because I sold her a guitar through Wallapop, not her label. She depends on chances to discover interesting things. But that has always happened in music.
“It’s good that it doesn’t take a big investment to make recordings anymore, but people don’t have time to discover so much music”
Is pop in Spanish in good health?
I don’t listen to much music in Spanish because I don’t want it to influence me. Also, Spain is super small compared to the people that make music in the world. It’s like tennis players. There are many tennis players in the world and for Rafa Nadal to win so many years in a row is rare. Now, for example, Rosalía would be the Rafa Nadal of music. Neither Rafa Nadal is my favorite tennis player nor Rosalía does my favorite songs. But they are there and I am very happy for them.
What irritates you about the music industry?
Record labels work differently. In the end, anything you want to sell is sold as long as you insist a lot. When Rosalía’s first album came out, at first, you couldn’t hear ‘trá, trá’ or ‘badly’ before with the windows down and the volume very high. But they insisted on the promotion and it began to be heard a lot on the street, although it is still a bit strange music. With money everything works.
“Neither Rafa Nadal is my favorite tennis player nor Rosalía does my favorite songs. But they are there and I am very happy for them”
Are you of the opinion that music should awaken consciences?
Last night I was seeing Kiko Veneno in Malaga and after the second song he addressed the people to ask for women’s care and the people reacted coldly. Nobody likes to have their primer read to them. He was referring to the trajectory of the PP with feminism in Malaga but, looking at it from the outside, is it really good for him? Is it raising awareness or simply warming up the staff?; Can he change the direction of the vote in Malaga? I do not think so. But in the lyrics you can reflect a vision of the world and maybe, over time, someone can achieve something. But, what can we achieve in the face of the power of Ana Rosa or Carlos Herrera? Possibly nothing.
In your lyrics, that characteristic costumbrismo is still present. Is it a lot to observe?
I’m just doing that now. I don’t do anything else. I like to be alone. I’m not always alone, but I like to be. It is part of the work of those who are dedicated to something related to art, they have to observe others; draw your conclusions and try to give the result an aesthetically acceptable appearance so that it reaches others. The rest is out of my control.
He says he has left the poetic behind, but there is a lot of literary stuff in creating stories for songs
With the anger I have renounced nice words, but I don’t think I have renounced poetry with this album. The lyrics I’m writing now for the next record are more abstract. You always have to have a poetic cartridge because if not what are you going to write, a letter from the Treasury? That’s not cool.
“You always have to have a poetic cartridge because if not what are you going to write, a letter from the Treasury?”
Do you feel more like Antonio or Mr. Chinarro?
I would like to be working all the time, contrary to what usually happens to the staff because I like my job more than my life. When I’m not working I start cooking or I’m at the beach, but when I’m at the beach I start writing lyrics. I don’t know what my life is anymore apart from making songs. I have heard that there is a lot of demand for agricultural technical engineers and I have that title. I mean, let’s see if I can find a job. The other day I went to fix a synthesizer and the owner told me he needed people. I like electronics. But I think it’s a little late now.
What role does he play in that ‘Reality show’?
Unfortunately I contribute to keep it going. I upload stories, I show my knees on the beach. Sometimes I go on dating apps, sometimes I stop being single. At least I don’t pay for Wi-Fi and I get by with phone data, that’s my rebellion.
You consider yourself nostalgic. Do you miss something from your beginnings in music?
I miss having a band. I have a band in Barcelona and I see the members when there are concerts, but not the rest of the time because they are of a different age, other jobs. But that feeling of camaraderie, as the Carolina Durantes explain in the Mahou ad. I miss that feeling.