#come together el diluvi

[guillemelgat]

I translated the first song of this album back in April, which you can find here. Since then, I’ve decided to translated the whole thing because I can’t decide what I like best, so here we go!

[ TORNADA: Encara tens tot el que trobava aquella nit You still have everything that I found that night perdut en el teu llit lost in your bed i encara tremole. and I still tremble. Encara tens els ulls de fera, You still have those wild eyes, eres la València que mossega. you’re the Valencia that bites. Encara tremole I still tremble Encara tremole I still tremble ]

Tremole amb l’escalforeta de sentir-te a prop I still tremble with the heat of feeling you close, i forta com el primer cop. as strong as the first time. Tremole I tremble Com quan ballàvem la dansa, Like when we were dancing, abraçàvem el canvi a la plaça. we were embracing change in the square Tremole amb l’oloreta del cafè, I tremble with the smell of coffee, dels teus ulls, llavis de mel, of your eyes, your lips of honey Com gota de gel que regalima al ventre Like a drop of ice that drips into my stomach i es va desfent. and slowly melts.

[ TORNADA ]

Quan et veig prendre el carrer dels Amants When I see you take on the Carrer dels Amants (lovers’ street) omplint-nos de goig de Quart a Serrans. filling ourselves with joy from Quart to Serrans. Tremole quant et recorde a aquell banc I tremble when I remember you on that bench bevent descosits, descamisats. the two of us drinking, unraveled, shirtless Tremole rodolant pels teus cabells, I tremble, rolling through your hair, bucles negres, bruna pell; black curls, dark skin; deixar-nos fer i perdre el seny letting ourselves go and losing our sensibility i tremolem. and we tremble.

[ TORNADA ]

Encara vivim sense pensar We still live without thinking Encara pensem que ens eixirà We still think we’ll make it out Encara eixim lluny per descobrir-nos We still make it out far to discover ourselves Encara eres vent que em fa navegar You’re still wind that lets me take sail Encara naveguem per aquell ball We still take sail through that dance Encara ballem quan em fas volar we still dance when you make me fly Encara volem per un dia de març We still fly through a day in March Encara no he deixat de tremolar… I still haven’t stopped trembling

[ TORNADA ]

[hagatha-christie]

1. Driving west at sunset in the summer: blinded by the sun, you cannot see the cars ahead; the ugly warehouses and body shops are blazing orange. When the sun sets, everything becomes deeper: the brick facades acquire a bluish hue; there are charcoal smudges of darkness on the horizon. The sky and the city look endless. West is everywhere you look. 2. The way people in the winter huddle together under the warming lights of the Granville El stop, much like young chickens under a lightbulb. It is an image of human solidarity enforced by the cruelty of nature, the story of Chicago and of civilization. 3. The American vastness of the Wilson Street beach, gulls and kites coasting above it, dogs sprinting along the jagged waves, barking into the void, city kids doing homemade drugs, blind to the distant ships on their mysterious ways from Liverpool, England, to Gary, Indiana. 4. Early September anyplace in the city, when the sunlight angles have abruptly changed and everything and everyone appears better, all the edges softened; the torments of the hot summer are now over, the cold torments of the winter have not begun, and people bask in the perishable possibility of a kind and gentle city. 5. The basketball court at Foster Street beach, where I once watched an impressively sculpted guy play a whole game—dribbling, shooting, arguing, dunking—with a toothpick in his mouth, taking it out only to spit. For many years he was to me the hero of Chicago cool. 6. The tall ice ranges along the shore when the winter is exceptionally cold and the lake frozen for a while, so ice pushes ice against the land. One freezing day I stood there in awe, realizing that the process exactly replicates the way mountain ranges were formed hundreds of millions of years ago, tectonic plates pushing against each other. The primeval shapes are visible to every cranky driver plowing through the Lake Shore Drive mess, but most of them look ahead and couldn’t care less. 7. Looking directly west at night from any Edgewater or Rogers Park high-rise; airplanes hover and glimmer above O’Hare. Once, my visiting mother and I spent an entire evening sitting in the dark, listening to Frank Sinatra, watching the planes, which resembled stunned fireflies, transfixed with the continuous wonder that this world is. 8. The blessed scarcity of celebrities in Chicago, most of whom are overpaid athlete losers. Oprah, one of the Friends, and many other people whose names I never knew or now cannot recall have all left for New York or Hollywood or rehab, where they can wear the false badge of their humble Chicago roots, while we can claim them without actually being responsible for the vacuity of their front-page lives. 9. The Hyde Park parakeets, miraculously surviving brutal winters, a colorful example of life that adamantly refuses to perish, of the kind of instinct that has made Chicago harsh and great. I actually have never seen one: the possibility that they are made up makes the whole thing even better. 10. The downtown skyline at night as seen from the Adler Planetarium: lit windows within the dark building frames against the darker sky. It seems that stars have been squared and pasted on the thick wall of a Chicago night; the cold, inhuman beauty containing the enormity of life, each window a possible story, inside which an immigrant is putting in a late shift cleaning corporate trash. 11. The green-gray color of the barely foaming lake when the winds are northwesterly and the sky is chilly. 12. The summer days, long and humid, when the streets seem waxed with sweat; when the air is as thick and warm as honey-sweetened tea; when the beaches are full of families: fathers barbecuing, mothers sunbathing, children approaching hypothermia in the lake’s shallows. Then a wave of frigid air sweeps the parks, a diluvial shower soaks every living creature, and someone, somewhere loses power. (Never trust a summer day in Chicago.) 13. The highly muggable suburbanites patrolling Michigan Avenue, identifiable by their Hard Rock Café shirts, oblivious to the city beyond the shopping and entertainment areas; the tourists on an architectural speedboat tour looking up at the steep buildings like pirates ready to plunder; the bridges’ halves symmetrically erected like jousting pricks; the street performer in front of the Wrigley Building performing “Killing Me Softly” on the tuba. 14. The fact that every year in March, the Cubs fans start saying: “This year might be it!”—a delusion betrayed as such by the time summer arrives, when the Cubs traditionally lose even a mathematical possibility of making it to the play-offs. The hopeless hope is one of the early harbingers of spring, bespeaking an innocent belief that the world might right its wrongs and reverse its curses simply because the trees are coming into leaf. 15. A warm February day when everyone present at my butcher shop discussed the distinct possibility of a perfect snowstorm and, in turn, remembered the great snowstorm of 1967: cars abandoned and buried in the snow on Lake Shore Drive; people trudging home from work through the blizzard like refugees; the snow on your street up to the milk truck’s mirrors. There are a lot of disasters in the city’s memory, which result in a strangely euphoric nostalgia, somehow akin to a Chicagoan’s respect for and pride in “those four-mansion crooks who risk their lives in crimes of high visibility” (Bellow). 16. Pakistani and Indian families strolling solemnly up and down Devon on summer evenings; Russian Jewish senior couples clustering on Uptown benches, warbling gossip in soft consonants against the blare of obsolete transistor radios; Mexican families in Pilsen crowding Nuevo Leon for Sunday breakfast; African American families gloriously dressed for church, waiting for a table in the Hyde Park Dixie Kitchen; Somali refugees playing soccer in sandals on the Senn High School pitch; young Bucktown mothers carrying yoga mats on their back like bazookas; the enormous amount of daily life in this city, much of it worth a story or two. 17. A river of red and a river of white flowing in opposite directions on Lake Shore Drive, as seen from Montrose Harbor at night. 18. The wind: the sailboats in Grant Park Harbor bobbing on the water, the mast wires hysterically clucking; the Buckingham Fountain’s upward stream turned into a water plume; the windows of downtown buildings shaking and thumping; people walking down Michigan Avenue with their heads retracted between their shoulders; my street completely deserted except for a bundled-up mailman and a plastic bag fluttering in the barren tree-crown like a torn flag. 19. The stately Beverly mansions; the bleak Pullman row houses; the frigid buildings of the LaSalle Street canyon; the garish beauty of old downtown hotels; the stern arrogance of the Sears Tower and the Hancock Center; the quaint Edgewater houses; the sadness of the West Side; the decrepit grandeur of the Uptown theaters and hotels; the Northwest side warehouses and body shops; thousands of empty lots and vanished buildings no one pays any attention to and no one will ever remember. Every building tells part of the story of the city. Only the city knows the whole story. 20. If Chicago was good enough for Studs Terkel to spend a lifetime in, it is good enough for me.

“Reasons Why I Do Not Wish to Leave Chicago: An Incomplete, Random List“ from The Book of My Lives, Aleksander Hemon

[guillemelgat]

Song #6 in my translation of the album Junteu-vos!

Si em permeteu l'expressió: If you’ll allow me the expression, Visca la revolució! Long live the revolution! Després d'aquestes paraules Following these words molta gent s'esverarà. many people will become alarmed. D'altra potser no s'esvere, Others might not be alarmed, d'altra no em coneixerà. others won’t be aware of me. Si em permeteu l'expressió: If you’ll allow me the expression, Visca la revolució! Long live the revolution!

I qui no hi estigui d'acord And whoever doesn’t agree with it no li done la raó, don’t listen to them perquè és tan necessària because it’s just as necessary com per la terra la saó. as fertility is for the earth. Si em permeteu l'expressió: If you’ll allow me the expression, Visca la revolució! Long live the revolution!

[ TORNADA: Visca la revolució, la revolució! Long live the revolution, the revolution! ]

Fixeu-vos que no la cante Take note that I’m not singing ni a crit sec ni amb passió, with dry cries nor with passion, la pronuncie amb respecte, I’m pronouncing it with respect, amb tendresa i devoció. with tenderness and devotion. Si em permeteu l'expressió: If you’ll allow me the expression, Visca la revolució! Long live the revolution!

[ TORNADA ]

No us penseu que vol dir guerres, Don’t think it means wars, ni destrosses, ni rancors. destruction, or bad blood. Vol dir coses estimades: It means beloved things: llibertat, justícia i raó. freedom, justice, and reason. Si em permeteu l'expressió: If you’ll allow me the expression, Visca la revolució! Long live the revolution!

No és pas aquest crit de pobres It’s certainly not that cry of the poor que amb ella volen ser rics. who want to become rich off of it. Volem un món al dia i just, We want a modern and just world, almenys per als nostres fills. at least for our children. Encara que jo i d'altres Even though I and others la cridem amb impaciència, cry for it impatiently, ella vindrà el dia just, it will come at the right moment, quan madure la consciència. when conscience has matured.

[ TORNADA ]

Tots volem que vinga a bones, We all want it to come in good faith, sense sang, amb comprensió, without blood, with understanding, i si els burgesos no ho volen, and if the bourgeoisie don’t want that, llavors serà per collons. it’ll all be for nothing.

Oh, sí Oh yes, Si em permeteu com si no, Whether you allow me or not, Visca la revolució! Long live the revolution!

[guillemelgat]

The last song in my Junteu-vos translation and also an absolute masterpiece, it is quite literally the word “bittersweet” in musical form and makes me feel All The Emotions every single time I hear it. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful and perfect, please do yourself the favor of giving it a listen.

Fou tema tabú a la carretera It was a taboo topic on the highway creuant de sud a nord tot el nostre horitzó. crossing from south to north all of our horizon. Direcció a l’absurd, viatge amb la certesa Headed for the absurd, I travel with the certainty que jo sempre tornaré tot sol. that I’ll always go back all alone.

Tu sols eres tu i jo no sé qui sóc. You’re just you and I don’t know who I am. Vam parlar per què però mai el com. We talked about why but never how. Pel camí es va perdre tota la tendresa Along the road all tenderness was lost i al final me’n vaig tornar tot sol and in the end I went back all alone

[ TORNADA: Ei, vine amb mi, vine amb mi, Hey, come with me, come with me, si tu no vens, tornaré sol. if you don’t come I’ll go back alone. La vida és això: misèria i amor, Life is that: misery and love promet t’ho diré a la següent cançó. I promise I’ll tell it to you in the next song. ]

Hem deixat anar tota la tristesa, We’ve let go of all the sadness, hem pactat que mai tornarà l’amor. we’ve made a pact that love will never return. Jo no sóc Romeu ni tu eres Julieta, I’m not Romeo nor are you Juliet, tota aquesta història no tracta d’açò. this whole story isn’t about that.

[ TORNADA ]

Promet que t’ho diré. I promise I’ll tell it to you Jo no sóc capaç de dir-te “t’estime” I’m not capable of saying to you, “I love you”

[guillemelgat]

Here’s the penultimate song in my translation of the album Junteu-vos by el Diluvi!

Ser com l’aigua d’un riu, To be like the water of a river, caure al dematí falling every morning de primavera a estiu. from spring to summer. El meu destí està lluny My destiny is far away puc rodar entre rambles I can pass between streams de març a juny. from March to June.

Trobar-nos i saber qui som, Finding ourselves and knowing who we are, ballar com quan fem l’amor dancing like when we make love i parlar amb la lluna; and talking with the moon; despertar amb tu, waking up with you, tan sols amb tu, only with you, gaudint amb tu enjoying with you d’aquesta fortuna. this fortune.

[ TORNADA: Mostra’m com estimar la mar, Show me how to love the sea, Que les ones ens transporten; Let the waves transport us; Explicar-li al vent Explaining to the wind Que ens porte aire per avançar. To give us air to move ahead. ]

Fer un salt etern, Making an eternal leap, acompanyar la nit accompanying the night de tardor a hivern; from autumn to winter; cremarem tot gener we’ll burn all January per no sentir el fred so as not to feel the cold de desembre a febrer. from December to February.

Ajuntar-nos i mantindre el foc, Coming together and maintaining the fire, ballar com quan fem l’amor dancing like when we make love i parlar amb la lluna; and talking with the moon; despertar amb tu, waking up with you, tan sols amb tu, only with you, gaudint amb tu enjoying with you d’aquesta fortuna. this fortune.

[ TORNADA ]

[guillemelgat]

Song eight from my translation of Junteu-vos by el Diluvi, featuring Huntza which means I got to translate some Basque too (into both Catalan and English)!

On estan tots aquells que “Al Vent” li cantaren? Where are all the people who sang “Al Vent” [“To the Wind”]? On estan les cabòries que sempre rondaven? Where are the worries that were always going around? On estan cada veu, cada crit, cada plor? Where is every voice, every cry, every tear? On estan les cançons, les de cor, les d’amor? Where are the songs, the ones from the heart, the ones about love? On estan els camins que a la lluita ens portaren Where are all the roads that brought us to the fight per lluitar sense por? to fight without fear?

[ TORNADA: T’escoltaré, quan t’aboques a l’abisme I’ll listen to you, when you’re staring down the abyss T’escoltaré I’ll listen to you I lluitarem de la mà contra els dimonis, And we’ll fight hand-to-hand against the demons, i lluitarem and we’ll fight ]

Non daude kantatzen zuten txoriak? On estan els ocells que cantàven? Where are the birds that used to sing? Non inoiz kontatu gabeko elezaharrak? On, les llegendes mai contades? Where are the legends never told? Non dago jendea mugitzen zuen haizea? On està el vent que mou la gent? Where is the wind that moves people? Non pasatako momentu guztiak? On, tots els moments passats? Where are all the moments that have passed? Borrokara eraman gintuzten bideak? Els camins que se’ns van emportar a la lluita? The roads that carried us into the fight? Beldurrik gabe aurrera! Endavant, sense por! Onwards, without fear!

[ ERREPIKA: Entzungo zaitut, amildegian heltzean T’escoltaré, quan arribes a l’abisme I’ll listen to you, when you’ve come to the abyss Entzungo zaitut  T’escoltaré I’ll listen to you Eta borrokatu itzalen aurka batera i lluitar contra les ombres a la vegada and fight against the shadows at the same time Borrokatu lluitar fight ]

Embriagant-nos de goig jugarem amb el foc; Getting drunk on joy when we play with fire; entre espurnes de llum la tristesa s’allunya. between sparks of light sadness goes far away. si l’ahir es el hui i el demà ja vindrà, If yesterday is today and tomorrow is yet to come mirarem a la nit, brindarem amb la lluna. we’ll look into the night, we’ll toast with the moon. Abrigats amb records farem fora els enyors. Wrapped cozily in memories we’ll drive out longing La nostàlgia esta nit ens serà inoportuna. Nostalgia will be unfitting for us tonight. Lluitarem sense por! We’ll fight without fear!

[ TORNADA ]

[guillemelgat]

El Diluvi came out with a new song, so of course I had to post a translation. It’s amazing (as always), and poem at the beginning, which I’ve put in italics, is read by the former member of the Catalan parliament Anna Gabriel, who was the leader of the Candidatura d’Unitat Popular and is now in exile in Switzerland after the referendum in October of 2017 and the ensuing repression of pro-independence politicians. The song is a beautiful description of what it’s like to create your own vision of the world when nothing reflects your experiences, and I think it’s relatable for a lot of people, regardless of who you are. Anyway, enjoy!

Han passat molts juliols  Many Julys have passed des de la nostra despedida,  Since our goodbye han passat molts estius  Many summers have passed des que la nostra història Since our story s’ha convertit en poesia Became poetry

I busquem i no trobem cap relat  And we search and we don’t find any tale que ens explique què ha passat.  That explains to us what’s happened Hem d’escriure un nou horitzó,  We have to write a new horizon dibuixar alegria en cada racó. Draw joy in every corner

No som hereves de Neruda,  We’re not the [women] heirs of Neruda som les filles de Marçal,  We’re the daughters of Marçal volem ser l’heura forta  We want to be the strong ivy que creix en la immensitat. That grows in boundless space

[ TORNADA: Som heroïnes de la fosca nit,  We’re the women who are heroes of the dark night som lluitadores de la utopia,  We’re the women who fight for utopia som milicianes de la paraula viva.  We’re the women militants of the living word Ens estimem, la nostra boca crida rebel·lia.  We love each other, our mouth cries rebellion ]

No busquem ni vint poemes d’amor  We aren’t looking for twenty love poems ni desesperança d’una cançó;  Nor the desperation of a song; Som un himne d’alliberació,  We’re an anthem of liberation aquell que cantaven les bruixes de dol.  The one that the witches sang in mourning

Revestim velles paraules We redress old words amb els darrers significats,  With the latests meanings la força de les noves frases  The strength of new sentences esborrarà temps passats.  Will erase previous times

[ TORNADA ]

Som un trosset de vida passada,  We’re a piece of the previous life bocins de petons, retalls d’una abraçada,  Bits of kisses, scraps of a hug Fragments derivats d’una mirada,  Fragments derived from a gaze i un petit vers curt. And a short little verse Un vers curt per crear narrativa  A short verse to create a narrative ni esperem ni plorem.  We don’t wait nor do we cry No volem ser com Anna Karènina.  We don’t want to be like Anna Karenina Ni esperem ni plorem. We don’t wait nor do we cry

[guillemelgat]

The fifth song in my translation of Junteu-vos!

El vent acaricia els meus cabells, The wind caresses my hair, m’abraça i s’endinsa en la meua pell; hugs me, and buries itself in my skin; Mire el cel i respire a fons: I look at the sky and breathe deeply: Suau sensació A soft sensation

[ TORNADA: Oh… Com suau sensació… Oh… Like a soft sensation ]

Dolços records, dolça il·lusió; Sweet memories, sweet excitement; somric atrevida amb fils d’emoció. I smile daringly with threads of emotion. Imatge latent a la ment: A latent image in my mind: Suau sensació A soft sensation

[ TORNADA ]

De nou la brisa a la meua pell, Once again the breeze on my skin, em porta un eco i el teu so it brings me an echo and your sound     avança al ritme del meu cor: marches on to the rhythm of my heart: Suau sensació A soft sensation

[ TORNADA ]

[guillemelgat]

This is the third-to-last song in my translation of Junteu-vos and also just the softest, sweetest thing ever.

He obert una porta al cel del teu món I’ve opened a door to the sky of your world i he pintat finestres, amb pinzells de cartró. and I’ve painted windows with cardboard paintbrushes. He deixat pels racons el fruit del meu amor I’ve left in the corners the fruit of my love i he furtat una rosa per deixar-te-la al caixó. and I’ve stolen a rose to leave it for you in your box.

[ TORNADA: Perquè vull, ja saps, passar amb tu les estacions. Because I want, you know, to pass the seasons with you. Vull que despertes junt amb mi amb la llum de les cançons I want you to wake up together with me with the light of songs         vull amar-te i discutir-te sense tebiesa ni remei I want to love you and argue with you without lukewarmness or resolution que ens visite la lluna a cada rialla que ens regalem. and that the moon visits us with every laugh we give each other. ]

He comprat una bústia per escriure’t cada cop, I bought a mailbox to write to you all the time, he plantat violetes als planters del balcó. I’ve planted violets in the planters on the balcony He omplit els armaris amb les mels de l’amor I’ve filled the closets with the honeys of love i he penjat mil estelades per guarnir cada racó. and I’ve hung up a thousand estelades to decorate every corner.

[ TORNADA ]

I si et mirara cada dia com si no existís demà And if I looked at you every day as if there were no tomorrow i si et besara cada cop com el primer que et vaig besar and if I kissed you every time like the first that I kissed you i si abaixara els estels per dibuixar-te’ls a la pell and if I brought down the stars to draw them on your skin i si amagara els meus defectes sota l’ombra dels anhels and if I hid my flaws under the shadow of desires

He obert una porta al cel del teu món I’ve opened a door to the sky of your world

[guillemelgat]

The fourth song in my translation of the album Junteu-vos by El Diluvi!

Sageta de foc Arrow of fire Hi ha un home a la presó dels qui avançaven There’s a man in prison, one of those who were moving ahead Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2) Treieu-li l’embaràs que li oprimeix les mans Take from him the burden that oppresses his hands Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2)

[ TORNADA: Perquè faci camí (x3) To forge a path (x3) Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2) ]

Un jaç arran de la carretera A place to lie around the highway per als vells i els que cauen for the old people and those who might fall No hi vulgueu saber res You don’t want to know anything que ells mateixos s’aixequen about how they lifted themselves up

[ TORNADA ]

Això ja és un camí (x3) This is already a path (x3) Més... si cal governar agafeu una tralla And what’s more, if governance is needed, grab a whip Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2) Us estimaran més i àdhuc obeirà They love you more and even will obey Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2) No vulgueu governar (x3) You don’t want to govern (x3) Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2) Això ja és un camí (x3) This is already a path (x3) Junteu-vos! (bis) Join together! (x2)

[guillemelgat]

The next song in my full-album translation of Junteu-vos by El Diluvi!

Jo només crec en els somriures, I just believe in smiles, somriures que mouen la mar i el vent, smiles that move the sea and the wind, somriures que engeguen els engranatges, smiles that get the gears turning, somriures que seran record etern. smiles that will be an eternal memory. Que mouen la mar i el vent, That move the sea and the wind, que seran record etern. that will be an eternal memory.

[ TORNADA: I ets tu el somriure de la revolta, And you’re the smile of the revolution, el somriure que mai descansa, the smile that never rests, el somriure que guia els passos; the smile that guides our steps; I ets tu el somriure de la revolta, And you’re the smile of the revolution, el somriure que sempre avança, the smile that always moves forward, el somriure que mai no mor! the smile that never dies! I ets tu. And it’s you. ]

Elles volen veure’t amb un somriure, They want to see you with a smile, un somriure que siga permanent, a smile that will be permanent, somriure que permeta sobreviure, smile that allows us to survive, un somriure que il·lumine novament. a smile that lights up once again. Que siga permanent That will be permanent Que il·lumine novament That lights up again

[ TORNADA ]

Nosaltres, amb tu, primavera de somriures. Us, with you, a spring of smiles. Nosaltres, amb tu, l’exèrcit mai vençut. Us, with you, the army never defeated. Amunt, amunt, companya, ben cap amunt. Upwards, upwards, comrade, far upwards. La vida s’enfila en nom de la revolta. Life unfolds in the name of the revolution.

[ TORNADA ]

[guillemelgat]

The seventh song of my Junteu-vos translation, a cover of a song by the legendary Catalan rumba band Dusminguet.

Aquí estem, ja hem arribat, Here we are, we’ve already arrived, portem la medicina que et farà canviar we’re bringing the medicine that will make you change i ja està, és un atac suprem, and there we go, it’s a powerful attack, quelcom demana el cos i reclama la ment something your body demands and your mind clamors for

De la terra catalana fins a l'Índia americana, From Catalan lands to the West Indies, de la terra confuciana fins la mar morta i salada. from the land of Confucius to the dead and salty sea. Des del Tròpic del Koala fins al d'Èric el Viking, From the Tropic of the Koala to the one of Eric the Viking, Des de Bering, Tigris, Nil o Guayaquil From Bering, the Tigris, the Nile, or Guayaquil

[ TORNADA: Balla, Balla, Balla, balla inclús la iaia Dance, dance, dance, even the grandmother is dancing i com canta balla riu i no es baralla. and because she’s singing she dances, laughs, and doesn’t fight Balla la canalla, el Diluvi balla The children dance, El Diluvi dances ]

Ja fa temps que l’hem portat It’s been a while since we’ve brought it si plantes bé l’orella no podràs parar, if you put your ear to it you won’t be able to stop obri-la, que tothom ja la sent, open up, everyone else hears it already hem contagiat el món i ara balla la gent. we’ve contaminated the world and now people are dancing

De la rumba catalana fins la cúmbia colombiana, From the Catalan rumba to the Colombian cumbia, des de la Mediterrània fins als barris de Tijuana, from the Mediterranean to the neighborhoods of Tijuana, des del Golf de Sargantana fins al Kingdom Without Kings from the Gulf of Lizards to the Kingdom without Kings des de Tully, Montañita o Medellín. From Tully, Montañita, or Medellin.

[ TORNADA ]

[guillemelgat]

Catalan Folk Music

As per request​, your favorite old person is here to give you some Catalan folk recommendations! (Actually I am neither old nor do I listen to large amounts of Catalan folk, but whatever, I’ll take any opportunity I get to talk about Catalan music.)

To begin with, the idea of “folk music” is kind of hard to define, since “folk” basically just means people and people are behind music most of the time. I’m not sure what Catalan folk Spotify thinks I’m listening to, but I’ll break down what I consider to be folk music from Catalunya and y’all can decide which one you think most accurately describes the style you like. 

(this is officially Too Long so will continue under the cut)

Real Folk (aka Weird Songs Your Avis Would Sing About Jesus and Other Such Topics)

Beldà + Sanjosex - This is probably why Spotify thinks I enjoy Catalan folk, but this album is really cool for me because as the child of an ethnomusicologist one of my favorite things in the world are the original songs that people used to sing in different places aka Real Folk Music™, and this album is the epitome of that. Neither Carles Beldà nor Sanjosex are explicitly folk artists, so don’t listen to any of their other albums expecting them to be the same, but this one is basically them reviving traditional Catalan folk songs (including samples from original recordings) and I think it’s super cool. If you speak Catalan, there’s a website (called Càntut like the album) dedicated to preserving these sorts of songs, with a wealth of songs, lyrics, and recordings.

“El divino vull cantar” - Token Jesus song with one of the people who taught them the song featured at the beginning and end (and at the end he sings a verse that Sanjosex comments is one he had never heard before). 

“El pomeró” - A cute song about a little apple tree of the sort that you would sing as a child except in a pretty polished version.

“Serrallonga” - A song about everyone’s favorite Catalan folk hero, this one has a bit more of an edge to it because Serrallonga was an edgy man.

Pep Gimeno “Botifarra” - I don’t know if Pep Botifarra should be here because he kind of transcends categories, but this was the best I could do. Basically, he’s a traditional singer in the Valencian cantaor style, and he makes a lot of traditional but also fun and modern music! In other words, the style he sings in is always traditional, and generally he’s accompanied by a traditional ensemble, but he also appears in collaboration with a range of groups from the País Valencià and the Països Catalans in general, especially groups like Obrint Pas. Also, a lot of his songs have more modern lyrics, and he’s generally just amazing.

“Malaguenya de Barxeta” - A rousing hymn to “el meu País Valencià” and honestly just The Best. Obrint Pas also have a version of this, which is also great, but less traditional.

“Jota de Xàtiva” - Feliu Ventura wrote at least some of the lyrics to this, but the music is old, which makes for a fun mix between modern and traditional.  

“Cant de batre” - Just because it’s absolutely gorgeous, not because it’s famous or important.

Nova Cançó (aka The Kind of Folk That Came From the 60s and Was Mostly For Hippies but in Catalunya It Was a Bit More Rooted In Actual Tradition)

Lluís Llach - I actually don’t listen to much Llach, but how can I not include him on this list? I don’t know if I would consider him 100% folk, but he’s definitely a leader of the Nova Cançó movement and a Catalan musician who you just can’t not know.

“L’estaca” - THE song by Lluís Llach, also probably a good example of him singing in a more folk-y style.

Maria del Mar Bonet - I've only listened to a bit of Maria del Mar Bonet, but she was another leader of Nova Cançó and her songs are really pretty and a lot more folksy. She’s also from Mallorca, which is always fun.

“Merhaba” - A song about the unity of Mediterranean cultures and their shared history as seafarers. This version sounds like it came from a movie soundtrack but it’s great.

“Què volen aquesta gent?” - A song about political repression and persecution during the dictatorship. It’s pretty famous and very moving.

“Carta a l’exili” - A song about writing to people from exile, making a definite reference to all the Catalans exiled after the Spanish Civil War and during the dictatorship.

Al Tall - Al Tall are THE folk band from the País Valencià, even though they kind of don’t count as Nova Cançó. They sing a lot of really traditional Valencian songs, but as with a lot of these groups, some of them have a definitively anti-Spain and anti-Bourbon flavor (I’m looking at you, “Cant dels Maulets”). Also they use a lot of dolçaina, so if that annoys you then you’re probably not going to like them. Still, if you want folk from a certain era from Valencia, they are your go-to people.

“El cant dels Maulets” - I can’t not mention this song, sorry if you like the Bourbons but this is a legend and it deserves to be here.

“Cançó de la llum” - A good song about a town where the mayor is supposed to switch to electricity but siphons the funds away for other purpose and proceeds to get absolutely destroyed.

“Tio Canya” - I’m sorry but it’s kind of impossible to find a non-political song by Al Tall, this one is about the loss of the Valencian language and is probably one of their most famous.

Ovidi Montllor- Ovidi is also Nova Cançó and arguably does not count as folk but I don’t care because he’s amazing and y’all should listen to him. He’s very left-leaning and pro-Valencian/Països Catalans, so he’s basically eternally relevant to young Catalans and honestly to young people everywhere, which is why groups like Aspencat, La Gossa, El Diluvi, and even Txarango (see the opening line of “Agafant l’horitzó”) make constant references to him. 

“Perquè vull” - A classic. The ultimate petty song but honestly such a mood. This version featuring Ovidi speaking in French at the beginning.

“Homenatge a Teresa” - Not personally my favorite Ovidi song, but it’s legendary so I can’t not put it. It’s a lot more quiet and gentle than his other songs.

“Tot explota pel cap o per la pota” - This is not the most Communist song by Ovidi, but it’s probably up there. Basically just about how the proletariat is done with the bourgeoisie, is empowered, and is going to rise up. What more could you ask for?

Raimon - Another super important artist from the País Valencià who is a bit more rooted in folk than Ovidi but still a part of Nova Cançó. I haven’t listened to a lot of Raimon but songs like “Al Vent” are classics that you can’t not like.

“Al vent” - A song about fighting despite the darkness of the world we were born into. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

“Jo vinc d’un silenci” - A haunting song about remembering where you come from and not losing sight of your roots.

“D’un temps, d’un país” - A solemnly beautiful song about pushing on and slowly winning the world that we have fought so much to see. Interpret what that world is as you will.

Esquirols - If you have an image of folk from the 1960s, Esquirols are probably what you’re imagining. Basically just a bunch of hippies singing songs about joining together (and also fighting for Catalunya but I mean what else would you expect at this point). In my opinion the best group from the Principat during this era, but that’s entirely personal and I am usually a bad judge of these things.

“Torna, torna, Serrallonga” - It’s ya boy he’s back and also this is literally The Most Legendary Song Ever it’s so epic (and as a heads up it’s also exceedingly political).

“Fent camí” - This is basically the Catalan version of all the songs I grew up with from Rise Up Singing (aka just a book with all the pro-union/grassroots protest songs ever sung in the United States), which is not a thing anyone is going to know but I don’t know how else to describe it.

“Arrels” - I just posted this a week or so ago (albeit a different version) but it’s so pretty and just a really nice positive song about life in general except not in a cheesy way, it’s just gorgeous and you have to listen to it for yourself.

“Folk Calentó” (aka Catalans Are Great and Have Modern Cool Hip Bands Who Play Folk in a Fun Way That Is Enjoyable to Listen to)

Roba Estesa - This band is literally the most undervalued Catalan group in modern music. They are six women who basically sing either feminist adaptations of traditional songs or else original songs with lots of influences from cúmbia or rumba catalana, but still with a definitive folk feel. They are amazing and deserve much more love than they get.

“Una altra ronda” - A lively song about getting really drunk with your friends because screw the rules women don’t care about being well-behaved.

“A la muntanya” - An older song about how girls just wanna have fun screw their husbands.

“Les noies d’Olot” - More girls just being generally badass and too good for the men who are interested in them.

El Diluvi - Of a similar left-leaning, feminist vein to Roba Estesa, this group is also very Catalanist and big fans of Ovidi (see above). They have a lively folk sound, with influences from all around the world, but are definitely rooted in acoustic, with a violin and a bandúrria making up part of their ensemble. They are quite possibly one of my favorite Catalan groups of all time.

“I tu, sols tu” - A feminist hymn but also just a great song, based on a poem by Maria Mercè Marçal.

“Vell record” - More of a folk song, with a somewhat Celtic sound and vivid lyrics.

“Alegria” - A simple, happy song about being happy. (What would expect, given the title?)

Germà Negre - A group which claims they were formed when La Moreneta (patron saint of Catalunya) visited them in a dream and told them to revive traditional Catalan music, which regardless whether it’s true or not, is a good origin story. They mostly sing covers of other artists (including songs by several of the artists listed above), but they have lots of interesting instruments and I really like them.

“L’Hereu Riera” - I am personally a fan of this version of this song, even though I’m pretty sure no one else knows it exists. The video shows the traditional dance that goes along with it as well as the cobla, the traditional Catalan musical ensemble.

“Les noies maques” - A great cover of a Catalan kids’ song that is about 200 times better than the original (even though the video does not match with the music being played, which is annoying).

“Guarda la lluna” -  A more traditional song, but it’s really lively and energetic.

La Troba Kung-fú - Probably a stretch, but rumba catalana is definitely folk music, and La Troba are masters of it. They definitely have a lot of modern influences from reggae and other things, but they do some really fun versions of traditional songs, which is what I’ll put here.

"La cançó del lladre” - The definitive version of this traditional song, very rumbero and very good, albeit perhaps not the most folk-like song.

“El preso de Lleida” (with Sílvia Pérez-Cruz) - A beautiful rumba version of this traditional Catalan song, with Sílvia Pérez-Cruz, who is another amazing folk-ish singer. It’s kind of quiet in the beginning, so turn up the volume.

“Flor de primavera” - Not a traditional song, but a gentle, beautiful rumba that is so dreamy and light you will immediately fall in love with it.

Indie Folk (aka The Acoustic Airy Sound That You Probably Associate With Folk More Than Anything Else on This List)

Mazoni - I haven’t listened to everything by him, but a lot of his music is what I would consider folk in the current sense of the word, especially his latest album. He is very much defined by that acoustic guitar sound, but can also be wildly different, so it’s hard to say with him.

“La collita” - A fun song about the apocalypse that takes a dig at Goldman Sachs, which is always appreciated.

“Pedres” - I personally really enjoy this song, it’s a bit grittier and more intense than the simple melody would seem.

Cesk Freixas - While I would consider Cesk Freixas more singer-songwriter than explicitly folk, he definitely has that specific sound. I haven’t really listened to much by him, but here are a few songs that aren’t “La petita rambla del poble sec” even though I love that song, plus him doing a cover of some of the songs earlier on this list.

“Et dono casa meva” - A mix of singer-songwriter and folk, a love song to Catalunya and the Països Catalans. 

“Que no et falli mai la sort” - A good example of his unique brand of utopianism and hope for the future, which sounds silly but it’s honestly not.

“Al vent / L’estaca / Què volen aquesta gent?” - Cesk’s version of these three classics which you might recognize now :))))

Well, this ended up being more of a list of traditional Catalan music than Catalan folk music, but that’s more of what I listened to. This also turned out way too long, but am I even capable of writing short posts? Anyhow, enjoy!