"I have unwanted child syndrome, and that marks my relationship with music and life in a very special way," reasons Vicente Maciá, over a steaming mid-morning coffee with milk. In the background, Song for insane times by his beloved Kevin Ayers accompanies the calm of the Bar. He sips a drink, smiles with a mix of roguishness, sadness, and shyness. The smile of someone very introverted. "Music is the friend who has never failed me. And, unlike other disciplines I may have approached at one time or another, it's the only thing I haven't abandoned and that has always been there."
The parishioner's extensive musical career is, in this sense, a constant struggle to overcome fears and insecurities, which translates into an exquisitely artisanal way of working, with absolute attention to detail. "Each song creates an atmosphere and is, in itself, like a theater play: with its characters, its sets, its plot. I always write the melody first and then let it lead me to write the lyrics, but everything must fit, flow, be poetic, and not lose its musicality."
He started in 1997 leading The Carrots, a psychedelic pop and folk band that lasted seven years, during which they released three albums, remembered with special affection by fans of sounds straddling the 60s and 70s, crafted between Canterbury and the West Coast. A love that is rewarded with the celebration of some reunion concerts. After their stop in Zaragoza this weekend, on March 29 the group will perform in one of their natural habitats, La Capsa del Prat de Llobregat, and on April 5 at the Upload venue, in the context of the Barcelona Psych Fest. In both cases, a full house is expected.
"And yet," interjects the guitarist, singer, and composer, "I am the only one from that generation of musicians who doesn't make a living from this." He sips a drink of coffee. "But that has saved me from having to enter an industry that makes me dizzy and that would demand concessions I am not willing to make," clarifies the one who honestly works on each song, as a personal, non-transferable challenge that flows from his soul: from his way of seeing and living life. "We are alone, but we are surrounded by many beautiful things, many artistic stimuli, and I am happy to be able to live in this bubble full of records, art, books…," he observes.
Pigmy, alone against danger
After the separation of The Carrots, Vicente started his solo career in 2006 under the name Pigmy. "For me it wasn't really a change of coordinates. The trajectory as Pigmy is a continuation of what I was already doing with Carrots, but totally focused on folk and what I like." Influences like Pink Floyd's A saucerful of secrets, "which is an album I still go back to so many years later, with that dreamlike vibe, a long digestion on the beach after eating a good paella," he laughs.
But, despite references that can sometimes seem even obvious, Vicente Maciá feels comfortable in an indefiniteness in which he is not labeled, in which he does not have to be categorically placed in a style or under an epigraph. "It is the music that has to speak for the artist, that has to lead you to know him in his depth and complexity."
This process takes time, and in these two decades, to date, he has released three albums. "Creatively, for me the milestone was finishing the second, Hamsterdam, which coincided with a very difficult time for me personally. And, despite all those difficulties, everything turned out perfect, round. For me, it's a magical album."
--- And now you've just released Soy, the first preview track from your next album.
The local affirms. "Yes, the provisional title is Menta, grosella y anís and it will see the light at the end of the year. This will be followed by an EP of songs I've recorded in Greek, which is a language I love and connect with a lot." He takes a couple of seconds before finishing: "In fact, living in Greece is one of my life goals!"
City of Mediterranean light
Despite its loss of identity, that global phenomenon that homogenizes cities by killing their substratum of neighborhoods and businesses, the musician's love for Barcelona is unconditional. "I will not stop loving it, no matter how much its character is lost," he affirms.
In love with that moment of his childhood when he first got on the Golondrinas of the port, "that's when I became truly aware that we have the sea next to us." That day, sailing, he let himself be caressed by the Mediterranean light of Barcelona, one of the aspects that underpin that unconditional affection for his city.
--- Another aspect that will make you love it even more is our gastronomic offer, in case you want to eat something after your coffee with milk. We have a set menu, à la carte, sandwiches…
Lunchtime has arrived. Town feeling by Kevin Ayers plays. Vicente Maciá smiles, feels comfortable, and takes the floor to warn: "I'm a set menu person, but beware, a set menu with dessert. I'm very demanding with desserts."
--- Homemade pastries, all of them, no doubt.
And the musician nods, thinking of that first and second course as a prelude to a sweet he doesn't intend to forgive.