José Carlos Rodríguez I
Santiago de Compostela (EFE).- María Jorge, Anaïs Barber and Pedro Fariñas are the three legs of Caldo, the Galician band that drinks from folklore and that, between partying and partying, shows its “humble commitment” to the “intangible heritage” that Galicia treasures, as shown in his first studio album, “Lugar A Ponte”.
“There is enormous neglect on the part of the institutions,” says María (violin) in an interview with Efe. Her partner Anaïs (voice and tambourines) replies and points out that in Galicia there has been a general “certain rejection” and even “ignorance” regarding traditional music, because there was no real promotional effort.
“Sometimes playing in Vigo we feel exotic. Many people are surprised. And what we do is something that has always been there”, says Pedro (guitar and bagpipes).
No one doubts that traditional Galician music is experiencing a good moment, but that this translates into support from the industry or from programmers is something that this musical trio, originally from the Val Miñor region, casts doubt on.
The three agree that although the phenomenon of Tanxugueiras and the work of other artists who have looked towards folklore have been able to influence “how they look at us” from the outside or have been able to arouse a certain “interest” on the part of the public towards traditional music, that has not translated into a change of model in the music industry.
However, that does not discourage Caldo. María, Anaïs and Pedro have known each other for years and have been making popular music together almost ever since, something they are not going to stop doing now.
“Traditional music is born from the community and is for the community. The reason we make music is that we like to get together, meet up on a Saturday afternoon and do it in the everyday life. We don’t want this to be lost by releasing a record in 2023”, explains María.
RETURN TO THE ORIGINS
With their first studio album, made up of ten tracks and produced by Cernadas (crnds), the band gives a good account of that. And it is that despite not being a conceptual album, “Lugar A Ponte” talks about the different sensations that develop in the home and closes a stage of Caldo returning to its origins, to the house -the name of the album alludes to that direction – in which Pedro and Anaïs lived and in which most of the trio’s themes were forged.
Varied in sounds and styles, the album also has the collaboration of other artists such as the hurdy-gurdy player Germán Díez, the Portuguese string player Luis Peixoto or the saxophonist Diego Alonso, as well as the tambourine players Claudia Abril, Marta Collado and Flor Díez.
“The revelation at this moment is being the voice of the tambourine players. In the 90s it was the bagpipers. The bagpipes have always been placed at the center of popular music as a symbol of Galicia and the tambourines have been somewhat forgotten. Now they are coming to light”, says Pedro.
In addition to including novel sounds -the bagpipe is incorporated-, Caldo intervenes in most of the lyrics of the musical compositions, adapting them to the 21st century and to new sensibilities.
“It doesn’t make much sense right now to keep lyrics that talk about a bullock cart. Although there are quite current themes in the old letters, they are quite hidden. It’s cool to bring them a bit to how people speak now or to more current concepts”, says Anaïs.
However, they do not forget those behind them, those “informants” and all those people who have been recording, over the years, in songbooks, documentaries and other resources, a little piece of the History of Galicia.
“It’s about giving things the importance they have. We are talking about the work of many people. I am aware that all the material I work with, absolutely everything, is a gift that people committed to Galicia and its intangible heritage offer me”, points out María.
Caldo will present his new album in Santiago, on June 9 at the Teatro Principal. EFE