Charades Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 22nd 2010 1:30PM by Caitlin Dean
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They created a band to cement their newfound friendship, recorded their first full-length album with the famed Spanish producer Santi Garcia and once saw a camel "riding" a pig while on tour. Next up for Madrid-formed band Charades? Austin, for their SXSW debut. Spinner recently spoke with Isa [guitar, lead vocals] and Guille [drums] about the band's history, the struggles of breaking into the English-speaking side of the scene and what items they can't do without at SXSW.

Describe your sound.

Isa: We try to wake up emotions in people. If someone could listen to our record and remember a period of their life with nostalgia, well, that would make it for us. I think the listener should describe our sound. All I can see is Guille making the best crazy rhythms with Antonio, who has the best bass lines. Coki adds these trippy atmospheres which we all love, and Antia and I try to express whatever comes out of us naturally.

How did Charades form?

I: Like everything great in life, Charades formed in a bar, in 2001. I was good friends with Coki and Maria from the bar scene in Madrid. We thought forming a band would forge our friendship. We just needed a drummer. We asked Miguel, drummer extraordinaire from Madrid's best band, but he said he was really busy. So he recommended his little brother, Guille. Guille was 16 and playing in this fast, crust-punk band called Mambo Bastards. We started playing with Guille and we formed the band -- Guille on drums, Coki on keyboards, Maria on vocals and bass and me on guitar and lead vocals.

In 2008, Maria decided to split while touring with our second record. We didn't know if we should totally break up or keep going. The latter made more sense since we had worked so hard and were in a really creative period. Fortunately, Tono (from Guille's previous band) and Antia joined on bass and voice and percussion, respectively. Tono had been helping us find synth sounds while Maria was still around, and Antia designed the cover for our second album, so they were already Charades family, which made the change much easier.

What are your musical influences?

I: We listen to basically every style of music there is. Everyone has different tastes in the band. Guille is really into the Locust, Nick Cave and Bjork. Tono listens to a lot of electronic music like Boards of Canada but is also a Pinback fanatic. Antia loves the Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth. Coki and I love soul and '60s music, reggae. But we all like the music our bandmates listen to. We share a lot of music, and we are interested in listening to whatever our friends are currently listening. We all love Animal Collective, but who doesn't? That's a major influence in the world now. I'm pretty sure even Obama listens to them. A big influence also, is the music that we see from our friends in Madrid and Spain who have great bands: Margarita, La Celula Durmiente, Abominable Futuro.

How did you come up with Charades as your name?

I: We like the movie, the word and the game. Also, the Serj Tankian song.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Guille: No guilty pleasures. When we were punks, we hated disco music, but now we love Delorean and techno music. Having a guilty pleasure is basically giving credibility to hype. Tastes change, and you shouldn't close any doors to any form of art – ever! If we like something we will defend it, because next year, when it's all the rage, you will remember us!

You guys are from Madrid. Is that still homebase for your band?

I: Actually, only the guys are from Madrid. Coki is from Ponferrada, Antia is from Monforte de Lemos, and I am from Bilbao. Madrid is our home base. We like it here and many of our friends live here, but like any place, you grow to hate it after a while. We want to move to the beach or something.

Tell me about your US fan base. How does that compare to your European fan base?

G: We have a US fan base? We have a European fan base? If we have fans abroad, I think it's our friends moving to those places! I don't think non-Spanish speakers are very open to listen to pop in Spanish. It seems like if you don't sing in English it's because you don't want everybody in the world to hear you. Fortunately, that is changing now, especially in the States. With the Internet and the developing of sound, people listen more and are more aware of the language of music. They aren't paying as much attention to lyrics or ideological program, but to melody or implicit ideology. Our fan base, well, we love anyone that loves us ... if they don't get creepy!

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

I: A camel riding a pig, doing 120 on the highway.

Caitlin Dean is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.