For someone who has not heard you, how would you describe the sound and musical style of Travis Birds?
Well, I always have a hard time answering this question, it’s very difficult for me because it’s very eclectic. I draw inspiration from a lot of different things and I think the style is very varied in that sense. It’s always difficult for me to answer, because I find all kinds of styles and very different music inspiring, so I wouldn’t really know how to tell you. I almost prefer to leave that to others if they want to identify it.
Talking about influences, what have been your main influences in music to start as an artist?
I have many, but maybe if I had to highlight some names that are very close to my heart: Chet Baker, Camarón, Amy Winehouse and Extremoduro.
In October you will release your new album “Perro Deseo”. Since the previous album you have released five singles, will they all be included in the album?
Yes, because of the way music is consumed nowadays, we thought it was the best way to give the album as much life as possible. So we released these five songs quite spaced out in time, and we are finally looking forward to the full album in October.
And what can we expect from this album?
It’s quite different from the two previous ones, although I think that at the same time it unites both worlds and adds new ones. It’s a bit more luminous than the previous one. I’ve relied mostly on rhythms for inspiration. I’ve worked with different rhythms from what I’ve been doing. I wanted to make an album that would be fun to play live.
“La Costa de los Mosquitos” was a very dense and dark album. After this tour, which has been quite long, I wanted to put a bit more fun in the live shows, not so torn, so dramatic. I’ve gone towards a more luminous place.
Will they be able to hear all this new material in your performance at the Bosque Sonoro?
Not all of it. We’re bringing a bit of a summary of what we’ve been putting out and of the first two albums. We are bringing a lot of the new stuff because we really want to do it. For this kind of places we think they fit very well.
What can you expect from a Travis Birds concert, especially at the Bosque Sonoro festival?
We are bringing a bit of a mix of the three worlds. As we are still in no man’s land in terms of the album, that maybe if it had already come out we would be more defining everything, we bring the best songs that have been working the most, so it will be a “greatest hits”.
Does it attract you that the Bosque Sonoro festival is celebrated in the middle of a natural environment?
Yes, I love it. I am a person who lives very intensely the nature and the fact that there are projects like this I love to be part of them.
Do you think this atmosphere fits your music?
One hundred percent, yes, one hundred percent. I think there is no better place.
You have already performed several times in Aragón. We have been able to see you in concert at the Veruela Monastery or at the Pilar festivities. How are we as an audience?
We are great. I love to go because there is always a very nice energy. People are very respectful, but at the same time very affectionate and very close and I always say: “Aragón is always good”. Maybe it’s one of the places we go to the most.
Do you remember any concert with special affection?
Pyrenees South, of course. It was not only the best concert we have given in the area, but I think it was probably the best of my life. So, yes, the Pyrenees last year.
What was so special about that concert in Pirineos Sur?
The environment itself is incredible and it is a very important festival. So, for me to be part of that line-up and to be scheduled on the same day as Rozalen has been very remarkable in my career. I don’t think I will ever forget it.
Your latest single “Cuando Satán vino a verme”, tells us a story in which he appeared to you among one of your fans at a concert. How did the inspiration for this song come to you?
It’s a bit of a metaphor for a day at a concert. It’s a metaphor that I thought was very nice to tell in this way. I like to stop there to explain, because I really like that everyone can give it their own interpretation and take it to their own metaphor.
This last track is produced by Tato Latorre. I imagine it’s a pleasure for you to collaborate with producers of this level.
Yes, Tato is the best. Tato is superpro and I’ve gotten along with him very well. We have become very good friends. Working with him, not only because I live the whole process with him, and so I have learned a lot working on all the songs on the album that he has done, but also because he makes it very easy. He is a person who is a sweetheart and I love working with him. It’s all very easy and very organic.
Then, your penultimate track “Urgente” is with DePedro. How do the collaborations arise in your case?
Just with DePedro, I really wanted to do something with him. I was waiting to have a good bullet to offer him so he couldn’t say no, and the truth is that it was easy. He made it very easy for me, and he also wrote the verse that he sings.
I love having that, because I think it enriches the song and the collaboration, which many times is simply that the other artist sings part of your song. In this case, the fact that we have composed together seems to me something brutal and very enriching.
What do you prefer: to create a song from scratch together or to give it a lyric that you think fits it well?
Well, it depends on the artist. In this case, I had the verse and the chorus and I had the structure of the song clear. It was up to him to write the part he was going to sing and, as Jairo writes incredibly well, in this case it was very easy. But it depends a little bit on the project and a little bit on the other artist.
I have also done it in a different way. With Kevin Johansen, he was encouraged to sing one of the verses of the finished song. It’s also very cool, because in the end it’s giving him the touch of the other artist. Although, in this case with Jairo, I’m really glad he wanted to write a part.
Your music encompasses a wide range of influences. How do you combine all of them so as not to be repetitive or to not always pull the same thing?
Trying to listen to a lot of different music. Trying to take the things that I find inspiring from art in general; not just music, but everything; and translating it into my own language. Fortunately, since the music I listen to goes from many places to many other places, for the moment I don’t think I’ve fallen into repetition, even though we all point to ourselves in the end. But I try to listen to a lot and get a lot of art in general, listen to a lot of things, watch a lot of movies and take from everywhere.
I guess the key a little bit is that you can tell it’s a Travis Birds song, but it doesn’t sound the same as the previous ones.
Of course, you have to find the balance. I’m telling you that for that the best thing is to be inspired and to have what I call sponge periods, which is to receive, to see a lot of things, to see what is being done, to get into music that maybe you don’t know more about… All of that will give you a lot of resources.
What was the most memorable moment in your career, the one you remember the most so far?
Well, I can’t tell you this yet, but I recently got into the studio with a very important artist. Maybe right now, because of how recent I have it and how important it has been for me, I would say this one. It’s the current one I’m living: more and more people are coming to the concerts and I’m being able to make very important collaborations. I think I’m in a very cool moment.
Is this what you dreamed of when you started with this music or did it come to you more as a surprise?
I’ve always had big dreams, but they’ve been evolving as well. So, I’ve tried to do things the way I wanted and I’ve been letting the important things come to me. I consider myself very lucky because I have had opportunities to do very nice things that have been marking very strong steps in my career and I am very grateful for that. There are many things that I could not even imagine when I started.
Which of the artists you have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with most do you remember?
A lot. With Mateo from Conociendo Rusia, I loved singing with him. We met that same day and I loved being able to talk to him. With Rozalen, with him, with El Kanka… You catch me blank, but the truth is that I’ve always been very well surrounded and I’m quite happy about it.
How do you see the indie scene? There are more and more festivals dedicated to it, is it growing exponentially?
There are more and more projects. We are in a moment where it is, from my point of view, increasing the versatility of the projects. Where I see that there is a greater mix and we are in a moment in that sense that seems to me to be quite rich. We are moving away from labels, because what is understood as indie rock I don’t think it was the same as it was understood five years ago.
Is there any artist or band you would love to collaborate with in the future?
Well, with many, to be honest, but it’s impossible with Robe.
