"I couldn't make the music I make if I wasn't from Barcelona"

I met Queralt Lahoz on the Nit de Santa Llúcia in 2020, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, where she performed spectacular versions of Al Alba, by Aute, and Asumiras la voz de un pueblo, by the Valencian poet Vicent Andrés i Estellés.

It's impossible to talk about Lahoz and not talk about mixture, but mixture can be selective and the result can be a more select album: in this case, Pureza, which she releases this year and which is presented at the Cruïlla Festival. In Santako, where she was born, flamenco settled in her veins: but, afterwards, through our veins we make flow what we want, assures the singer.

--- So now you are a purist.

--- Never (laughs). In fact, the title of the album comes to say that in mixture there is purity. It hasn't been intentionally, planned, but it has come out naturally. The human species is a mixture, a gazpacho, we haven't been born from the hand of God as made of clay but we are nomads, and mestizos, and all the human race is like that. Like all music.

--- But what about the roots, Queralt? You're performing at Cruïlla!

--- Evidently there is a main root, which in my case is flamenco, and in fact all root music is the ingredient I carry within. However, what I like is to discover new things and learn. To be alive.

--- You have made a short album, but very intense.

--- I say that Pureza is a more organic album than 1917, more slow-cooked, as if it were simmering. Much more me, since the first one was a presentation with nods to covers, to Las Grecas, to Silvio Rodríguez, to Morente… Although back then I already mixed with trap, r&b-latin, afrobeat or house, now it's more noticeable that my message is: 'I'm young, I have all these backgrounds and I know how to do this'. It's deeper, and you can tell that if I suddenly want to venture into hip-hop, I just do it. Because I feel like it, just because.

"My root is flamenco, but I like to discover new things and learn"

--- I remember the older kids in the neighborhood, who welcomed us very well; there in Santa Coloma, we are very much about building community. And I felt comfortable enough with them to play with the buttons on their devices, which activated the sampled sounds, and from there we would get a beat and in the middle of the street we would start to freak out. In fact, I wrote my first hip hop lyrics at 15.

--- And so much mixing, how does it fit with a festival that wants to champion music with a strong identity?

--- Performing at Cruïlla on the same day that Juan Luis Guerra, or Ruben Blades, or Tanxugueiras perform, besides being an honor, already tells us that roots also mean mixing. It's a festival that seeks identity, yes, but it's not identitarian in any exclusionary sense: any root has its origin in a mix, and that doesn't make it less of a root, quite the opposite. It strengthens it. And I must say that, unfortunately, in music, roots are not always sought. Right now, Spanish-speaking music is booming, but it's very diverse and it's unfair to classify it under the same label just because of the language. We grew up listening to a lot of music in English, but now, for example, there's a big trend of Argentine music like Duki, Nicki Nicole… And that has its own identity, you can't call it 'Latin music' and be done with it. And it's also happening that Christina Aguilera has decided to return to Spanish, with Nathy Peluso, and she's saying let's go back to the roots. We are Latinos again, but in our own way. Each one their own.

--- And is an album with few songs a purer album?

--- Now we all make short albums, because the point is for it to be natural and honest: I wanted to say this and that's it, and that's already a lot, or in any case, it is what it is. In this case, I wanted to reach the textures I really wanted to touch, to perfectly match the lyrics with the sound, for the message to be one and authentic. With El Tiroteo, for example, I talk about something very deep and serious and that's why I use aggressive drums. As if the world were exploding.

--- Words in the air, falling like bullets in no man's land.

--- The atmosphere is one of war, conflict, nightmare. I wanted everything to be very natural and personal.

--- And Barcelona? What is Barcelona's personality?

--- If I weren't from Barcelona (we include Santa Coloma within the concept, of course), I wouldn't make this music. I'm absolutely clear about that. I couldn't make it if I were from Madrid, or Albacete. Barcelona is a very clear multicultural kitchen; I grew up surrounded by people from all over and sharing many cultures. I've also always wanted to go to cultural centers or creative activity centers, wherever there's diversity, where jam sessions are held, wherever there's life. And where I can learn.

--- And would Catalan identity be that too?

--- Catalonia and Barcelona have a very interesting central theme, which is respect. We must promote it, because times are changing very quickly and that strong capitalism, where everything can be paid with money, forces us to be much more alive to know how to express ourselves with respect. However, having respect also implies making oneself respected. They have behaved very badly towards us, the Catalans, but what defines us is 'endurance'. Working hard. Enduring, no matter what happens.

"The Catalans have behaved badly towards us, but we have 'endurance'"

--- Very interesting things are happening to me. The media is opening up a lot to me, and I try to make sure my message doesn't have to go through aesthetics so much. I think we have forgotten a bit about the artist's craft; we still have to assert ourselves too much through aesthetics. I take great care of aesthetics; I am very detail-oriented in costumes or in the arrangement of musicians and performers. I come from a family of seamstresses, and the stage is for me a sacred place where one must defend the imaginary. However, the message is the most important thing. We should think more about the message than about aesthetics.

--- Stage more than studio, then.

--- Oh, my strength is on stage. I am a stage soul; I think records don't do me justice. Perfectionism for the studio, yes, but emotion and life for live performance. For some reason, they call it live.