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| Lisasinson by Victoria Herranz |
Spanish garage rock is almost entirely synonymous with Hinds, the rambunctious, all-female
band who took Madrid’s sounds to international ears in 2016 with their jangly
debut Leave Me Alone. Formed in 2011
by Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote, the frontwomen joined forces with bassist
Ade Martín and drummer Amber Grimbergen to become Spain’s most internationally
successful indie export, sparking an interest in the Spanish capital’s thriving
underground scene. For a country raised on the tontipop of Las Ketchup, Eurodisco acts like Baccara and hallmarks of tradition like Julio Iglesias, a new generation of bands were emerging who had
always had to look abroad for the ramshackle rock ‘n’ roll sounds that their
own country wasn’t making.
As the now well-documented Madrid scene came to light, it
became clear that not since the countercultural Movida Madrileña movement in
the 70s and 80s following Franco’s dictatorship had the city’s scene been so
vibrant. Fellow garage rockers The
Parrots and Los Nastys led the
scene alongside Hinds, filling the capital’s hipster venues with their DIY
brand of guitar music. Across the country, the ironically-named Mujeres (meaning ‘women’) served up fuzzy
surf rock with a vintage flavour; Baywaves
drenched audiences in their summery riffs and Futuro Terror’s urgent, unrelenting punk gained them a loyal
fanbase. More recently, Carolina Durante’s
cerebral garage sounds and high-profile collaborations boosted the mainstream
appeal of the genre more than ever.
That’s not to say that successful Spanish indie groups were
unheard of before this; Los Planetas
are shoegaze favourites and female-fronted acts such as Los Punsetes are adored by Spanish-speaking audiences on both sides
of the Atlantic. All-female bands are even less common, the most notable being
elusive 90s indie pop quintet Nosoträsh
(a self-deprecating pun on the Spanish feminine word for ‘us’). Put simply,
Spanish women wanting to start a band didn’t have many role models to look to.
Apart from Cosials and co., Spain’s new indie movement
seemed like a boys-only club. The genre had never before been making such noise
at home, never mind across the world – and especially not with an all-female
band spearheading it. Whilst Hinds dwarf their male counterparts in terms of
global recognition and are the only Google result for ‘Spanish women garage
rock’, they are far from the exception and have paved the way for many female
bands to join them at the forefront of the country’s music scene today.
Too Pink to be Admired?
In Valencia, over 350 kilometres from the Spanish capital,
pop punk band Lisasinson make
catchy, upbeat and socially conscious tunes with colourful, thought-provoking
visuals. Signed to cult Madrid label Elefant Records, also home to Spain’s most
prominent acts like La Casa Azul and
La Bien Querida, this promising
group are determined to eliminate imposter syndrome for women in the industry:
“We are asked a lot why we got together. Few male bands are asked that so
repeatedly. In all the arts, women have to constantly demonstrate that they are
worthwhile because you doubt yourself all the time.”
On the topic of sexism, they have a lot to say. “Sometimes
guys can’t help behaving the way guys behave in the world,” the girls tell me
over email, “And it has also happened to us with women. They speak to us with a
bitter, patronising attitude, as if we don’t know how to hold the guitar neck.”
Taking their name from the Spanish phonetic pronunciation of
Lisa Simpson, Míriam, Mar, María and Roser have much in common with their
erudite namesake. “Lisasinson is exclusively made up of conscientious women. We
sing about ourselves and the things that happen to us. We also speak about
other women who identify with us, which is crucial for us. We are aware that we
are four women on stage and that says a lot in itself.”
On their track ‘Barakaldo’, the Valencians sing about
meeting people from the north of the Iberian Peninsula and going crazy for the
music scene there, which, as luck would have it, is home to dreamy garage
rockers Melenas.
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| Melenas by Dani Cantó |
Hailing from the Navarrese city of Pamplona, Oihana, Leire,
María and Laura released their appropriately-titled sophomore album Días Raros
(Strange Days) last month. Their fuzzy guitar melodies, driving basslines and
dazed vocals are the perfect recipe for deliciously hazy garage pop. The band’s
delightful videos (think recreating 80s sitcoms, frolicking around an amusement
park in matching denim) and their retro pastel aesthetic is as wistful as the
C86 bands that inspired them. Having released their album via Chicago label
Trouble in Mind, their touring schedule is gradually expanding beyond the
Spanish geography: “It’s very exciting for us that fans write to us from across
the world saying that we have cheered them up during quarantine, or that they
have connected with the songs. The album has also received good reviews from
national and international media and the public reception could not have been
better.”
Despite this, Melenas share Lisasinon’s feeling of being
underestimated: “We have experienced instances of male technicians thinking
they know better than us or how we want to sound, or having members of the
media taking comments out of context and putting their own slant on them, which
may not exactly be positive or feminist.” The pamplonesas speak highly of the
camaraderie on the Spanish scene, but note that women may feel they have to
prove themselves more. “It’s not so much about working more, but having to show
that you deserve to be where you are, something that normally doesn’t happen
with male bands when they are successful. There is often a certain scepticism
and a critical attitude that casts doubt on female bands who start to gain
traction, questioning why they have got there, if they play well enough or
there are other more twisted reasons that they appear at festivals and sell
records.”
Hinds have often talked about their experiences of sexism in
the music industry. In a world where the focus is often on gender rather than
musical merit, female musicians being asked about their experiences as ‘women
in music’ can get old. “It only gets tiring when the person doesn’t give a fuck
(50% of time). It’s annoying to feel like they just had to ask it, and by
asking it, they think are already doing something,” the band explains in a
Reddit Q&A. Once wary of associating the word ‘feminist’ with their band,
they are now more vocal about its importance: “But I really like talking about
it, because it’s important for younger artists and girls to realise a lot of
their problems come from the patriarchy and not them, and the patriarchy is what
we have to change, not them!”
In true Hinds style, they feel that there is no better way
to deal with critics than in a song and with a sense of humour. They address it
explicitly on recent single ‘Just Like Kids (Miau)’, on which they sing about
being told they’re too young, that they owe their success to their nice legs
and that they’re “too pink to be admired
/ and too punk to be desired”.
“We don’t want to be an exception”
As the ethos of garage rock – and especially women making it
– is unfamiliar territory for many Spaniards, it’s unsurprising that such bands
sometimes receive comments online criticising their ability to sing or play
their instruments, usually from men. Unapologetically feminist quartet Las Odio worship at the altar of the
riotgrrrl movement. Their name means ‘I hate them’ in English, with the ‘them’
being feminine, but they don’t make the pounding punk rock that you might expect;
their sound is fuelled by reverbed, surf-style basslines, varied
instrumentation and melodies which often bloom into an impassioned refrain.
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| Las Odio by Gonzalo Cases |
“At the time, there
were few rock, garage or pop bands formed by women in Spain with the visibility
that we had,” explains their vocalist Paula, “At the same time, there was great
demand from the public, but people’s interest in women who make music had been
systematically ignored by festivals and the press. Fortunately, this is changing
little by little. Due to so much exposure, we have also had to deal with many
haters, especially anonymous ones online. They’ve said horrible and very
offensive things about us, but it’s still an anecdotal reaction compared to all
the positive feedback we’ve received from fans.”
Melenas point to the lack of previous role models and
visibility of women on the music scene, as well as overcoming fear of
expressing themselves musically: “We don’t want to be an exception. We hope
that our existence as a band is some small contribution to normalising the
presence of women in the music industry. Nothing would make us happier than
inspiring other women to start making music. If after seeing or listening to
us, a girl decides to pick up a guitar or keyboard and try to write her own
songs, that would be the best.”
For the members of Lisasinson, seeing other women succeed
was inspirational. “You go to a concert and most likely the person who plays
the guitar is a guy, and probably the one who plays the drums and bass too,”
they lament, “Seeing women do what they want and taking their projects forward
was crucial for us in realising that we could do it too. Naturally, we hope
that others will see us and say ‘I want to do that!’”
Las Odio have similar aspirations, but emphasise the need
for more diversity. “While we believe that things are changing positively for
these new generations of girls, there is still a long way to go,” says the
band’s bassist, Sonsoles, “The presence of artists on stage needs to be much
more varied than it is currently so that there are role models to pay attention
to.”
A Changing Scene
Lisasinson, Melenas and Las Odio join Madrilenian trio Cariño in singing in their mother
tongue. Cariño’s campy synthpop explores everything from filling your hard
drive with love songs to finding reasons to see your ex again. Adding to their
ever-growing string of EPs, the band’s unofficial anthem ‘Bisexual’ puts a
comic spin on the challenge of how to come out over cascading keys and punchy
drum beats. The track embodies the trio’s irresistible likeability, as well as
adding an important social aspect to one of Spain’s ever more popular girl
groups.
At the other end of the musical spectrum, Ginebras also further the visibility of
LGBT+ women in the Spanish music industry, especially on tracks like ‘Todas Mis
Ex Tienen Novio’ (‘All My Ex-Girlfriends Have a Boyfriend’ in English).
Blending melodic indie rock choruses and witty lyrics, the foursome have kept
active during Spain’s lockdown working on their debut album and live streaming
gigs for fans.
Even faced with a lack of female representation in music and
its related sectors, the girls are no less confident in their place among
Spanish indie’s finest. Lisasinson have never doubted women’s deservingness of
their position at the vanguard of the scene. For them, the question is almost
inane: “How could they not be? They are because they exist, because they are in
the world just like men. It is shameful to make women invisible throughout
history, growing up with only male role models and thinking that playing bass,
or skateboarding, or whatever a man does is not for you. Women are at the
forefront because naturally we had to be.”
Melenas see women’s involvement as necessary and
revitalising: “They have certainly all provided a healthy dose of fresh air to
a scene that urgently needed it. They are bands with a lot of personality who
have been charting their own path essentially from the get-go.” For Melenas,
the most feminist thing they can do is simply doing what they love as women:
“Writing songs, forming a band, releasing albums, going on tour, playing and
aspiring to the same things as any other band.”
Alongside Hinds’ success on the Spotify and UK vinyl charts
with their latest release The Prettiest Curse, Spanish female solo acts like Rosalía are also shaking up Anglophone
charts. In Spain, the male-dominated world of flamenco guitar is seeing
increasing female participation and a new wave of feminist reggaetón – a genre
often criticised for its sexist lyrics – is taking the form of neoperreo, led
by its Chilean pioneer Tomasa del Real
and Madrid-based Argentinian Ms Nina.
"Women are at the forefront because naturally we had to be" - Lisasinson
Women Making Themselves Heard
Given the events of recent years, female voices on the
national scene in Spain are more important than ever. The country is facing a
growing domestic violence problem, especially involving femicide, which has
been heightened by the coronavirus lockdown. In 2016, the controversial verdictof a gang rape case involving a young victim in Pamplona sparked public outcry
and nationwide protests. The perpetrators were charged with the lesser offence
of sexual abuse rather than sexual aggression due to a nuance in Spanish law.
The courts ruled that the victim was not subjected to violence and should have
fought back, despite there being a video of the attack. The case set a
dangerous precedent for sexual assault cases and called Spain’s sexual offences
legislation into question. In the most recent Spanish election, increasingly
popular far right party Vox made significant gains in Andalusia in the south of
the country. The party wants to roll women’s rights back decades, scrapping
anti-gender violence laws and promoting anti-feminist rhetoric that harks back
to the Franco era.
Las Odio believe music is great way to amplify female
voices. “I think that music, dance and festivity are wonderful tools to try to
share and spread feminist ideas,” guitarist Ágata explains, “There’s an
explicit intention to incorporate the feminist perspective in the group, both
in our message, in interviews and in the lyrics of our songs.”
Bandmate Ali concurs: “Feminism is present not only in our
music, but in all parts of our lives. It’s not that we strive for it to be
present in our music, but it is just there naturally because our music is a
reflection of our experiences and our way of seeing the world.”
Whilst positive discrimination is worth celebrating, Las
Odio are wary of the term ‘girl band’ and its taking precedence over the
natural evolution of the scene: “Our concern right now is for traditionally
marginalised groups like racialized people, the LGTBQ+ community and migrants
to join the music scene naturally in order to make it more diverse and
inclusive,” Paula concludes, “We are interested in women who make music, not
‘girl bands’.”
Echoing their contemporaries’ views on why women in the
music scene are rising to the top in Spain, trailblazers Hinds are short and
sweet in their response as they chat with fans on Reddit: “[Because] they’re
great!! Go girls playing music!”
This long-read feature originally appeared on The Indiependent here.
It was also curated to appear on the main page of Medium's Music section here (see below also).
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