Memoirs of a Damned (33)
The composer years (26)
Another decade of composition: Historias de Nela (Nela's Stories) 2023
The last album before the publication of these memoirs was inspired by
Galdós's novel Marianela. With it, he celebrated twenty years of composition, which, as we have already pointed out, was not premeditated.
Rereading this work, considered by some critics to be the Canarian writer's lesser work, deeply moved me. It is a complete piece that speaks of empty promises, the value of friendship, the hardships of mining life, false bourgeois morality and solidarity, and pure love. Nela loves Pablo despite his blindness, but Pablo ends up not loving her as she is.
As has happened on other occasions, literature becomes a recurring channel for a musical exposition that narrates Nela's vicissitudes.
It's a work that condenses everything I've learned and combines noise like
un monstruo devorando las entrañas dde La Tierra, with the minimalism of
La realidad la mató and the orchestral style of Adelante, Siempre Adelante.
There's also a place for Schaffer's soundscape.
That desire for recognition, for concert halls, and even for self-censorship was a distant memory. This fostered the creative process without external conditions.
Several specialized blogs and websites spoke positively of this album's originality. This wasn't reflected in sales or invitation emails. You can find these reviews on the official website.
Personally, it's a stage in my life of searching, of needing change, of finally finding stability in a place increasingly removed from a sick, toxic society that gropes in the dark to obtain the gift of its piñata.
Fortress in Bragança - Portugal.
Life in Ávila suffocated and repulsed me, and so that damned house,
which had caused me so much dissatisfaction and trouble, was up for sale. This year I spent Christmas in Bragança, Portugal, in a small house inside a fortress belonging to
my beloved Luis. It was the best I'd felt in a long time, despite my beloved loneliness,
an inseparable companion since birth. New Year's Eve was less fortunate in the
village of Souto Maior, Vila Real, also in Portugal, but I met José and Aline, its French owners, who invited me to an unforgettable evening in their home. José was a music lover, his sister a painter, and Aline a writer. A magical, unforgettable evening.