CLOVIS, “Under the Influence” (CD, Sinnamon Records, 2008)
With that touching quality of simple, warm, and welcoming things. Open to everything around them: the bands they listen to—Yo La Tengo, Stereolab, Ama, Travolta, Broadcast, The Velvet Underground, The Feelies, Guided By Voices…—the friends they spend time with, the city they live in. Reflecting also what happens to them day to day, the big and small disappointments and joys. With all that makes them who they are, Clovis have shaped “Bajo La Influencia” (Sinnamon Records, 08), an honest and delicate second album.
Cristina Plaza, one half of Clovis, recounts that recording the demo of the songs for "Bajo La Influencia" took her and Fino Oyonarte—the other half of the band, former bassist of Los Enemigos and one of the country's most important producers—nearly a year. First, they recorded ideas at home with a tape recorder. Then, they developed them, playing, experimenting with options on the computer, and inventing arrangements (often accompanied by one of their regular collaborators, Nacho Olivares, from the band Lou Anne). This lengthy process contrasts sharply with the mere four days they spent recording the bulk of the album, with all the musicians playing together in the same room, giving the songs the intensity of a live performance. Later, they added the arrangements—pianos, synthesizers, vocals, and some guitars—in long studio sessions between December 2007 and January 2008. It was an intense process to reproduce all the nuances they had introduced in that first demo.
They also pay meticulous attention to the lyrics. In “Bajo La Influencia,” Fino and Cristina have managed to capture relatable feelings tinged with a certain disenchantment—'There's happy news that makes me sad,' they sing in “Los pies fríos”—in songs that are melancholic yet strangely comforting. Tracks that speak of always being out of sync ('Tarde A Todo'), of following one's own will ('La Base'), of the fear of making mistakes ('La Sombra'), of gratitude to those who come to our aid ('Rescate,' with an explicit nod to Guided By Voices), or of hiding what's happening to us so as not to hurt others ('Los Pies Fríos').
The album features collaborations with good friends—César Verdú (Schwarz) on drums, Nacho Olivares on guitar, Pedro Camacho (Nagasaqui) on bass on two tracks, and sound engineer Michel Martín, who handled production in close collaboration with Fino—and the novelty of hearing Cristina playing bass on several songs. In such good company, and now free from the nerves of a debut album, Clovis have made “Bajo La Influencia” a more subdued and measured record than “Respira” (05), but also one with greater depth. This spirit is already reflected in the album cover, an image taken by New York artist Mark Ferguson.
With that touching quality of simple, warm, and welcoming things. Open to everything around them: the bands they listen to—Yo La Tengo, Stereolab, Ama, Travolta, Broadcast, The Velvet Underground, The Feelies, Guided By Voices…—the friends they spend time with, the city they live in. Reflecting also what happens to them day to day, the big and small disappointments and joys. With all that makes them who they are, Clovis have shaped “Bajo La Influencia” (Sinnamon Records, 08), an honest and delicate second album.
Cristina Plaza, one half of Clovis, recounts that recording the demo of the songs for "Bajo La Influencia" took her and Fino Oyonarte—the other half of the band, former bassist of Los Enemigos and one of the country's most important producers—nearly a year. First, they recorded ideas at home with a tape recorder. Then, they developed them, playing, experimenting with options on the computer, and inventing arrangements (often accompanied by one of their regular collaborators, Nacho Olivares, from the band Lou Anne). This lengthy process contrasts sharply with the mere four days they spent recording the bulk of the album, with all the musicians playing together in the same room, giving the songs the intensity of a live performance. Later, they added the arrangements—pianos, synthesizers, vocals, and some guitars—in long studio sessions between December 2007 and January 2008. It was an intense process to reproduce all the nuances they had introduced in that first demo.
They also pay meticulous attention to the lyrics. In “Bajo La Influencia,” Fino and Cristina have managed to capture relatable feelings tinged with a certain disenchantment—'There's happy news that makes me sad,' they sing in “Los pies fríos”—in songs that are melancholic yet strangely comforting. Tracks that speak of always being out of sync ('Tarde A Todo'), of following one's own will ('La Base'), of the fear of making mistakes ('La Sombra'), of gratitude to those who come to our aid ('Rescate,' with an explicit nod to Guided By Voices), or of hiding what's happening to us so as not to hurt others ('Los Pies Fríos').
The album features collaborations with good friends—César Verdú (Schwarz) on drums, Nacho Olivares on guitar, Pedro Camacho (Nagasaqui) on bass on two tracks, and sound engineer Michel Martín, who handled production in close collaboration with Fino—and the novelty of hearing Cristina playing bass on several songs. In such good company, and now free from the nerves of a debut album, Clovis have made “Bajo La Influencia” a more subdued and measured record than “Respira” (05), but also one with greater depth. This spirit is already reflected in the album cover, an image taken by New York artist Mark Ferguson.