Words-Art Jefferson
Photography-Meli Ramirez
There is an organic beauty to the music of Boreals that lie somewhere between maturely sophisticated and youthfully innocent. Sometimes joyously celebratory, sometimes touchingly emotional, it is that ability to pierce points of feeling that the Barcelona based band do so skillfully.
Consisting of Canadian born brothers Victor and Xavier Paradis, along with Mallorca raised Miquel Serra, the three, who had been playing music together since 2009, formally created the band in 2011, weaving between post-rock, ambient, shoegaze and electronica. The result was their first self-produced EP “Rome”, which was recorded in their home and released June 2011. In 2012, Boreals unveiled an impressive follow up with their stunning “Grecia EP”, picking up on the atmospheric sound that dominated their previous recording. Each packaged with amazing artwork by artist Joan Bennàssar, Boreals created an engaging visual and audible experience.
On their latest album “Antípodas”, released on the Spanish imprint Irregular, Boreals have broadened their sound, finding a harmonious balance between dreamy electronica and expressive post-rock. The group features fellow Barcelona outfit Lasers on the closing song “Kodama”. With each track brilliantly complimenting the mood of the prior, “Antípodas” is a picture perfect work of art that is elegantly inspiring and imaginative.
With a rapid buzz building around the group, Boreals’ sound is testament that music is truly nourishment for the heart and soul.
AJ-What brought you to Barcelona from Montreal?
Victor Paradis-Our family is Spanish from our mother’s side, so we have some family in Barcelona and other parts of Spain. Since we moved a lot when we were kids, for instance we also lived in Toronto, we decided to come to Barcelona for college when we finished school, and we’ve been living here ever since.
AJ-Tell me a bit about the history of the group. How did you all meet and when did you formally decide to play together as a full-fledged band?
Victor Paradis-We met Miquel at a student residence during our first year in Barcelona, and since the beginning we shared an interest in music. We ended up jamming more and more often until one day we decided we would be a band and recorded our first EP.
AJ-While the band is relatively new on the scene, your sound is really sophisticated. Did each of you grow up playing instruments, and at what point did you decide to take it serious as a career?
Victor Paradis-The three of us studied music while growing up, even if back in the day we didn’t really think we would have a real career in music. We always took music seriously because it’s what we like to do. But I guess we got really serious after we released our first EP and realized people were actually listening to it.
AJ-Your music has been described as atmospheric and encompasses a variety of sounds ranging from post-rock, electronica, shoegaze and more. Tell me about some of your influences when creating music.
Victor Paradis-Our main influences are artists who somehow have innovative music, from Bach to Coltrane and passing by Tortoise, Four Tet or even Radiohead. The most important influencers, not only for us but for music in general, are those that really started doing something that wasn’t done before in terms of harmony, production, rhythm…
AJ-I know that your first release “Rome” was self-produced, but it helped to set the groundwork for your new album “Antípodas”. The music from “Rome” was really beautiful and organic, and after listening to the new record, your sound has grown even more. What were some of the things that you learned about yourselves musically from that initial recording of “Rome” to now?
Victor Paradis-Our improvement basically comes from having learnt to improve our sound and our broader experience producing; maybe we’ve even improved rhythmically. However the harmonies have stayed more or less the same, and it’s probably a good time to look into this aspect of our music.
AJ-Antípodas or antipodes mean direct opposites. Explain the title and its meaning in relation to your album.
Victor Paradis-Antípodas is named after the first two songs, which actually came out from one same composition, “Antípoda I” and “Antípoda II”. In a way they are opposites of each other – although they share the same tonality, they totally differ in sound, rhythm, and structure. The antipodes, which are diametrically opposite, reflect this contrast which can also be found in other songs of the album. We also liked the name for an album that is very heterogeneous as it was composed throughout a wide period of time, not always with the same ideas in mind.
AJ-There is something about the passion that is embedded in the country of Spain that transfers into the music. What are some inspiring things about living in Barcelona as a musician?
Victor Paradis-First of all, the weather is great here, winters are very mild and enjoyable. Having said this, Barcelona has a lot of activity in different disciplines and we’re lucky to have met other bands and musicians that are very active and make great music. I guess being in a city that holds two major music festivals each year, such as Sonar or Primavera Sound, is also a big incentive for emerging bands.
http://boreals.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boreals/140784915986553
https://twitter.com/borealsbcn
http://vimeo.com/channels/236154
https://myspace.com/borealsbcn
http://www.last.fm/music/Boreals
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