Aurora Roja

Was there any obsession, fixed idea, or image that guided the creative process of the album, even if it is not evident to the listener?
The creative process was guided by two things. On the one hand, and quite consciously, the intention was to approach the twee pop of Sarah Records and the pop being made in Australia: Dick Diver, Boomgates, the goon sax, possible humans—these are bands we love, and there aren't many Spanish-language projects that understand pop in that way. On the other hand, and quite unconsciously, the process of Paula and I (Jose) becoming parents has also played a decisive role because it inevitably immerses you in the dimension of childhood and also in the grief of losing yourself. I think that's reflected in most of the lyrics. 

What was the process of deciding which songs would and wouldn't be part of the album?
In our case, we considered leaving out the songs that sounded most like Futuro Terror, since Óscar and I (Jose) came from that well-known project and wanted to distance ourselves from it. We considered leaving out "Aurora Roja" and "Rat Penat" for that reason, but ultimately included all the tracks on an album that's also very short, so without them it would have been far too short. But the main reason for including them was realizing that everyone who listened to it liked different songs, including these, and that we don't take ourselves too seriously.  

What changed in the way of writing, recording, or producing on this album compared to previous recordings?
Above all, we were looking for a very clean guitar sound and an original texture. We didn't want to sound like all the other bands in what's now called bedroom pop. We wanted to sound different, we wanted to sound Australian, even though we obviously aren't, and something else came out that we really liked.

Were there any songs that were particularly difficult to finish or let go of? Why?
The song “Aurora Roja” was incredibly difficult to create. We came up with a thousand different melodies and several sets of lyrics, and even now I'd still change it because it still doesn't quite convince me. The reason is that, on the one hand, we created some guitar riffs in the style of The Evens, which we love, but then we couldn't figure out how to fit a melody that would work well with the Spanish lyrics over those guitars. And on the other hand, it's the only song where the lyrics still bear a resemblance to those I wrote for Futuro Terror, a project I wanted to distance myself from, so it was a real headache and it was hard to know when to stop. 

What role did intuition and error play during the process?
Intuition and mistakes are fundamental; none of us are conservatory-trained musicians, and we really do everything by intuition. On the other hand, knowing how to use mistakes to open up different creative paths is perhaps the most satisfying creative tool there is. When you hit the wrong chord and suddenly a song transforms into something even cooler than the one you had, it's magical and wonderful.

Was the order of the songs intended as a narrative? How was the order decided?
No, it wasn't planned that way at all. Once the songs were finished, we simply experimented with the order, trying to make them flow smoothly into one another without any dips in quality. That's all.