The Catalan music revolution being led by women

Rigoberta Bandini, Alizzz, Rosalía, The Zephyr Bones, Bad Gyal… What do they all have in common? As it turns out, their artistic matrix lies in Catalonia. From avant-garde electronic music to independent punk-rock, infectious R&B-infused pop or jazzy folk informed by world music, there’s room for everyone in one of the most interesting, unique and artistically-prolific places in Europe.

There are a few elements that make the north-eastern region of Spain stand apart from the rest of the country: climate, culture, language and, in particular, a breeding ground in the arts for talent to grow and ultimately stand out. Its capital city Barcelona has a record in overtaking other cities as a cultural experimentation lab; from iconic clubs such as Razzmatazz to internationally-renowned festivals Primavera Sound and Sónar, as well as the lesser-known Vida and Cruïlla. It’s a city where an avant-garde flair has historically impregnated both its citizens and creators, with a special status for artists and a microclimate shaped by a historically-strong track record for live music.

Crucially, the city is a meeting point in a very unique and particular way, crossing the paths of both foreigners and locals. “The emerging scene in Barcelona is like a sourdough constantly transforming; there ’s always bands coming in and others coming out," electronic artist EJ Marais tells me. “Although pretty much every artist struggles when they are at the beginning of their career, there are venues (such as Pumarejo and Freedonia) and entities always willing to help out, providing a platform for musicians to be discovered.”

Among those entities mentioned by Marais is the Catalan Institute for the Cultural Enterprises (ICEC), one of the regional institutions that have played a crucial role in preserving and enlarging this artistic hub for many years. In particular, the ICEC has acted as a propeller offering help to both creators and promoters, with a special focus on young talents. The Institute’s main role is to implement the export of regional, cultural and creative companies in areas such as music and performing arts through books, visual arts and digital culture.

With representation around Europe (and offices in London, Brussels, Berlin and Paris), its internalisation brand, Catalan Arts, has been working together with the EU in the European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP) to present three of their artists at European showcase Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) as part of the festival’s thirty-six edition, taking place digitally this year. “There has never been such a rich and varied music scene in Catalonia as the present one”, says Mar Pérez Unanue, Market Development Interim Director of ICEC. “Numerous artistic projects are appearing, either from music schools or the underground, that are feeding into a new and vibrant Catalan music scene. The legacy of centuries of tradition of cultural exchange, and the fact that Barcelona, and by extension Catalonia, has become a hub for avant-garde art, means we are seeing the emergence of a wide array of musical projects with an experimental spirit that are sensitive to all kinds of styles and sounds and their fusion and transformation”.

As much as global music highlights remain linked to the Catalan capital’s heart and lifestyle, talent is also inherent elsewhere in the region. The painteresque and traditionally student-spotted town Vic is one example, as it hosts its music market yearly and is home to many renowned artists across the jazz, flamenco and folk world. “From the purest and most ancestral styles, to the most futuristic digital trends, modern popular music made in Catalonia currently has a number of high-quality ambassadors in the form of professional musicians with the will to export their talent”, explains Pérez. Particularly when it comes to the emergent scene, she points out the blooming of a “wide array of musical projects with an experimental spirit that are sensitive to all kind of styles and sounds and they’re fusion and transformation”, remaking the fact that “now it’s a fertile and exciting time for music creation and production in Catalonia”.

“It’s definitely a rich scene in terms of variety and quantity”, agree the band Pinpilinpussies (pictured below), who took part in a past edition of Eurosonic thanks to the support Catalan Arts. “There’s bands from every style -and some of them real good-, but mainly they are all very diverse. However, we could use more unison as a scene, because sometimes it can feel a bit more individualistic rather than a community.”

There’s been a definite paradigm shift in the line-ups of recent years in line with the new generations and feminism, a representative from ICEC’s London branch tells me. “For example, since we joined the ESNS Exchange programme and took part at ESNS festival in 2012, 41 groups from Catalonia have been selected. Among those, in the first 8 years 65% were men-only bands, while just the 20% of them were bands made up of women. But in the last two years the trend has been reversed and grown up to 75% of projects selected led by women, and up to 100% this edition. A trend that makes us very proud of our music scene and confirms the power of new projects led by women”.

EJ Marais puts this difference down to a historical lack of financial and technical support: “Lately there are many more projects led by women too because previously there wasn’t many references out there and, traditionally, the few ones breaking through had to look for opportunities abroad”, he reflects. “However, it’s great that there are a large number of initiatives today that put ever effort in neutralising inequality in music.”

A fully-female line-up will take part in the upcoming ESNS edition, following in the footsteps of artists such as Tarta Relena and Las Karamba as well as Pinpilinpussies. “Being selected for the ESNS edition last year was such a highlight, and since we already knew the festival, suddenly being part of the line-up felt unreal," Pinpilinpussies tells me. “We missed the feeling of the live venue and atmosphere surrounding it (the beers, the people from the industry you meet there) as the performance was online but we managed to put together a great show. It was a great chance overall for us to step up and become more knowledgeable in the European world, especially taken that very few bands get to be confirmed to play there, so that’s already a prize.”

Spain’s emerging talent will be presented among more than 200 artists, 4.000 delegates and a conference program spread over three days this week. “We’re sad that we won’t be able to have a ESNS edition as before Covid, but it wouldn’t be fair to not support ESNS and bands and managers in these very complicated times for live music”, explains Pérez. “We are all on the same boat and grateful to be able to take part in the 2022 online edition together with these three amazing projects led by women.Our aim is to overcome the pandemic fatigue and, via the digital options, the attending professionals discover new talent that hopefully will be able to bring to their Festivals and Venues in the near future”.

Ultimately, this year’s three participants - Carola Ortiz, Marta Knight and Santa Salut- have been on our radar for a while now. As Catalan Arts points out, “they are in an ideal stage of expansion and internationalisation beyond our borders, but most importantly, they're ready to win over new fans.”

We catch up with Ortiz, Knight and Salut to find out how they’re coping with the pandemic and what they expect from the 2022 edition of ESNS.