Juan Ibáñez: With all the vowels in their place

"Music always interested me, since I was little. But the day I discovered Elvis, when I was 12, it started to interest me in a completely different way." Singer, songwriter and musical activist, Juan Ibáñez sips a drink of his black vermouth, recalling the moment when, for him, everything changed because music was going to take over his existence. "Despite never having been able to make a living from it, I am satisfied to have done so many things around the music I love, something so important and transcendent for me. And to have surrounded myself with a lot of people like me."

Vito and the Salutations play on the radio and Juan, naturally phlegmatic and timidly cheerful, sketches a smile of approval. "Shortly after discovering Elvis, TVE broadcast a cycle of his films. Luckily the first ones were the good ones! But around that time I had another great epiphany that marked me almost equally: I discovered the program Flor de Pasión on Radio 3, hosted by Juan de Pablos, who showed me that there was a lot of very varied music from the 50s and early 60s. And that doo wop, early soul, r&r, rhythm and blues... were all connected to each other."

All this gave way to the teenage Juan, thirsty for more and more music and to do something with it: "whether it was compiling records, collaborating on radio programs, spinning records, writing notes for records and articles for magazines and fanzines and, finally, what for me is the culmination of all this love, which is making music with the vocal rhythm and blues band, The Velvet Candles."

With two albums and an EP in circulation ---and a new single is expected before the end of the year---, the Barcelona vocal quintet is possibly the current national doo wop formation with the greatest international projection. "I joined the band 14 or 15 years ago and we haven't stopped." With them, the parishioner has performed with artists from the current 50s scene such as Nikki Hill, Gizelle, Darrell Higham, Mike Sánchez, Jackson Sloan and a long etcetera, as well as with doo wop and R&B idols from the golden age such as Gaynel Hodge, from mythical bands like the Hollywood Flames or the Platters, Larry Chance of the Earls, Norman Fox of the Rob Roys, Stan Zizka, of the Del Satins and, especially, Tommy Hunt, original member of The Flamingos and legendary soulman.

"A key moment in my life has been meeting Tommy. It's not just a matter of having played concerts together and everything it meant for the Velvet Candles to perform with him, but he's a great friend. He's someone who has changed me as a person."

25 open folders

Juan's first foray onto the stage was with The Ascetics, another doo wop combo that even opened for Carl Perkins, during his visit to Barcelona in the 90s. But at that time, the local was more focused on musical activism than on getting on stage.

"Between 1998 and 2003 I had the record label Sweet Beat, with which I recorded and released current doo wop bands". That adventure resulted in albums by artists such as The Crystalairs, The Roomates, The Del Jays or the re-release of The Aquatones. "I have also collaborated with El Toro Records making compilations of vocal groups and artists or rhythm & blues like The Temptations, Brook Benton, Ted Taylor or Little Willie John."

--- That compilation series is really cool! Don't you plan to resume it?

--- To tell you the truth, I have a folder on my computer with 25 projects that are still to be finished. But I am a perfectionist and I want to have all the music, each and every one of the songs, and have all the data so that a very good biography of the artist comes out in the booklet. If I'm missing a track or need to clarify some data, I don't consider the project closed.

And, after a moment of silence that the local takes advantage of to sip his drink, he announces: "However, with Sleazy Records we are going to release a single shortly with the two unreleased songs from an acetate I got from Carlo Mastrangelo, singer of The Belmonts. In fact, Carlo is the only Belmont I didn't get to meet personally, but only by phone. I've had the pleasure of dealing with all the others face to face."

--- And how do all these 50s doo wop legends react when they see that a Spanish guy who wasn't even born at the time knows so much and is so passionate about the subject?

--- They usually freak out because, in addition, by investigating, you end up knowing more about them and their career than they do themselves.

A city without recovery

The singer fondly remembers childhood walks hand in hand with his father, through the center of Barcelona, "the Apolo arcades on Paralelo, Pelayo street, Avenida de la Luz. But all that is over," he laments regarding "the barbarity" of tourist overcrowding.

"After covid, it seemed that Barcelonans were going to reclaim some of the city for ourselves, but now we are back to how it was before. Nothing has been recovered and that means that, even though I love Barcelona, that it seems like a brutal city to me, my relationship with it, right now, is one of love-hate."

--- What is a relationship of only love is our gastronomic offer, you won't tell me that after that vermouth you don't feel like having a menu, a sandwich or some pinchos…

The regular thinks about it and decides:

--- I would say menu, but if I have to choose, I almost prefer something sweet.

--- No, if calling your label Sweet Beat had to come from somewhere…

And Juan Ibáñez, shrugging his shoulders and hungry, smiles broadly again.