"Of course! Leave the radio on, but please don't put on Rock FM, because if I hear Sultans of swing again, my ears will probably bleed."
--- Sultans of swing? No way! I was thinking of putting on something by The Frightnrs instead!
Iván Azagra smiles, complicit, contagious, and rubs his hands before leaning on the bar and ordering: "An IPA, I must say the one Damm distributes isn't bad at all." He arrived late in the afternoon, with the first shadows of darkness permeating the street. As a good night athlete, as he considers himself, his thing is to live when the sun has set.
"I am a lover of everything that flows with an aura of authenticity in the form of music, cinema, comics or video games. My passion for all of it, especially black music, has pushed me to sing, spin records, organize events, do radio or simply enjoy, like a musical voyeur," explains this musician, showman, agitator, DJ, announcer and, as he defines himself, "person and character, two in one, hated and loved... I guess like everyone."
Also known as Iván Thorpedo, this deeply in love with black and Jamaican sounds has led bands like the legendary The Thorpedians and, today, he is at the helm of The Moskito Bite, so named in honor of the mythical Pyramids song. With them, he has just digitally recorded some notable live tracks at La Deskomunal in Sants.
Apart from the newly formed band, Iván assures he continues to do DJ sessions "seasoned with the use of the mic wherever they let me, in these times of recovery after the infamous pandemic." He also continues to work on the ambitious ---and awaited--- Plan 10 project, "a documentary about the history of ska made in Catalonia."
The influence of Hepcat
Enthusiastic by nature, the regular acknowledges the difficulty of listing the turning points "for those of us who consider ourselves militant music lovers of something, since many things have kept us straight in the fold of what we love."
He silently sips several gulps of his beer, while stroking his chin and reviewing the stiff collar of his impeccable Brutus gingham shirt, before speaking again: "Perhaps I especially cherish the first time I saw Hepcat, in the late 90s, at the now-defunct Sala Garatge in Poble Nou," he recalls about a visit to Barcelona by the famous Californian band. "While dancing with a dazed look on my face at how those guys did their show, I knew I wanted to try to be on a stage. Like them," he adds.
Something similar, he admits, happened to him every time he saw the Catalan band La Thorpe Brass on stage. They also contributed to leading him down a musical path of which he acknowledges "that, of all the projects I've been involved in, the one I'm most fond of is Thorpedians. The little I've managed to refine as a musician has been thanks to them, people whom over the years I've been able to consider friends."
--- The truth is you sounded very good.
--- Musically, that helped me to have a breadth of vision that I lacked. We did many things together, few were liked, but they remain and I am sure we will repeat.
A Barcelona murdered by mercantilism
"It disgusts me that I can no longer consider Barcelona my city," laments the patron, who has lived outside for years and sees, in extreme mercantilism, the element that "has killed much of the essence of a place that has become a brand. It is true that cities are made up of the people who live in them, but even these people are pushed further and further away and it is easier to find the old essence of Barcelona in towns in Vallès or Maresme."
Saddened by the fact that the places he likes are definitively closing their doors and that "the little we have left is our people," the musician does not hide that his current relationship with Barcelona is one of hatred, "perhaps it's because I'm getting older, but, as I told you, I increasingly consider it less my place."
Of the aspects that still make him fall in love with the city, one building stands out: "What makes me fall in love with it, apart from its sublime beauty, is its location. It is none other than the Palau de la Música, located on a secondary street in the city, close to its heart, but at the same time set apart. It is an allegory of how this city treats music." And with these words, he finishes his beer and, encouraged by the conversation, immediately orders another.
--- What we treat very well here is the palate of the attendees. Wouldn't you like to accompany that IPA with something for dinner? There's a menu, combo plate, portions, sandwiches…
Iván Azagra again strokes his chin and smiles, before responding to the offer:
--- Menu! We working stiffs are like that, and the menu, in addition to the dishes, is always accompanied by that touch of complaint and lament alongside other colleagues.