28 dic 2015

Presentación "Bestiariu"



¡Qué gran manera de cerrar este año musical! Esta mañana estuvimos en la presentación de “Bestiaru” tocando “Galbana”, “Sobremesa” (adaptadas al asturianu para la ocasión) y "Ñerbatu", nuestra canción para el disco ¡Gracias a tod@s los asistentes y a la organización del evento!



23 dic 2015

Música prestosa para conciliar




El álbum en asturiano, producido por La Fabriquina y editado por Araz Net, se presentará el domingo 27 en el Colegio Público Jovellanos

El disco 'Bestiariu' reúne a 10 artistas de la escena pop, rock y folk regional para niños

Diez artistas de la región de la escena independiente del pop, el rock y el folk acaban de editar el disco 'Bestiariu', un recopilatorio en asturiano dedicado al mundo animal y que va dirigido a un público infantil o, para ser más exactos, para escucharlo en familia. El álbum -producido por La Fabriquina y editado en el sello Araz Net, con el apoyo de la Consejería de Cultura- se presentará el domingo 27, al mediodía, en el salón de actos del Colegio Público Jovellanos de Gijón con entrada gratuita y el espacio diáfano para poder bailar.

Los participantes en este singular proyecto son los asturianos FMM, Felpeyu, Los Bonsáis, Pauline en la Playa, Nacho Álvarez y el Quarteto Bendición, La Villana, Dixebra, Muga y el Corín de la Reciella, y David Varela con Pop Piquiñín (Petit Pop). Completa el disco el bilbaíno afincado en Asturias Guiller Momonje (exPatrullero Mancuso). Todos ellos eligieron 'un animalín' y compusieron un tema original para el recopilatorio, pero sin renunciar a su propio estilo. La producción fue de Pedro Vigil (exPenélope Trip y Edwin Moses) y la mayoría de los temas se grabaron en los estudios Teiscode Xixón.

El disco se convierte en la primera referencia de La Fabriquina, Creaciones Culturales, el nuevo proyecto multidisciplinar de Alicia Álvarez (Pauline en la Playa) y David Guardado (Penelope Trip), quienes también aportan un tema con el nombre artístico de Muga. La génesis del proyecto fue el problema con el que se topó toda una generación de músicos de los noventa cuando fueron padres. «Te encuentras con que hay muy poca oferta musical infantil en asturiano que concilie los gustos de los hijos y de los padres», explica Alicia Álvarez, quien añade que el disco puede servir para desmontar esa etiqueta de 'música infantil'. «Esas canciones pedagógicas que se venden para los críos, al final son un invento. A ellos, como a los adultos, lo que les gusta es escuchar buena música», afirma.

 Álvarez se muestra muy satisfecha con los resultados de un álbum grabado en apenas dos meses y destaca la calidad e implicación de los artistas: «La esencia de cada banda no se pierde en ningún momento, pero al escoger los animales, lo llevamos al lado más familiar». El broche fue la portada del diseñador Marco Recuero, «otro talentazo, que le sacó una estética pop y retro, que explica muy bien lo que vas a encontrar dentro», comenta.

El disco tendrá, al menos, otras dos presentaciones aún por concretar y en un formato más acústico. Música prestosa para toda la familia.


José Cezón - El Comercio - 19-12-2015



19 dic 2015

“Bestiariu” Musiquina prestosa, n'asturianu y pa tola familia

El 23 d’ avientu sal a la venta “Bestiariu” Musiquina prestosa, n'asturianu y pa tola familia!

El 23 de diciembre sale a la venta “Bestiariu” con nuestra primera canción en asturiano!

Más info en: La Fabriquina


26 nov 2015

Isma Fest 2015


Todo empezó en el Trópico

"“Son of a Gun” fue la primera versión que hicimos y que adaptamos al castellano. Nos acompaña desde nuestro primer concierto, y le tenemos un cariño especial."

"Todo empezó en el Trópico
Arriba y abajo una y otra vez
Hijo del Señor, tú eres el mejor
Y nadie más te podrá ganar

El sol brilla en mi habitación cuando estás
Y comienza a llover cuando tú te vas"





¡Fanzine! 7" más info en:
- Elefant Records: http://elefant.com/disco/15620/fanzine

17 nov 2015

Reclaiming The Colonies, One State at a Time... "Fanzine"

It's been a fairly sombre past few days as news of the horrific terrorist attacks on Paris continues to unfurl. The fact that both a gig and a football match - the two constant passions in my life - were amongst the deliberate targets is particularly chilling. But the fact is that music is a cause for celebration and enjoyment. It transcends race, religion, ethnic division and anything else mankind wants to throw in its face... Above all, music should be about having fun...

So it seems quite apt that Los Bonsáis' new EP "¡Fanzine!"  - a collection of four unique interpretations of shamefully long-forgotten gems - should have recently fallen into my possession, and I can't think of anything more appropriate at this moment to cheer me up. Indeed the press release from their label, Elefant, sums up my thoughts far more eloquently than I ever could:

"...Every time we get our hands on a new LOS BONSÁIS release we realise how much we need their songs, like some kind of medicine that gets rid of the routine and the day-to-day, and fills you with joy, freshness, and the desire to live..."

Now I first came across Helena and Nel, from the Asturias region of Spain, thanks to their insanely addictive album "Nordeste" and now the duo have raided their  7" record collection to brighten my day. 

And while they may not be heading to Rough Trade or buying a limited edition of the Lurkers pressed on red vinyl the "Punks a tiempo parcial" still look as depressingly uniform ("...siempre van igual...") as those Part-time punks "walkin' down the Kings Road" of the Television Personalities' tongue-in-cheek original.  


This is a 160 km/h tour-de-force of lo-fi fuzzy guitars, pounding percussion that whizz through Helena's sweet vocals which end up getting gloriously multi-tracked on the song's chorus. The pair's version is faithful enough to the original as to be instantly recognisable yet adds enough of a twist for the band to claim it as their own - and as befits their own musical influences, these weekend punks are searching through the racks for some choice C86 cuts rather than The Banshees or Swell Maps... 
 
















In the hands of The Vaselines, "Son of a gun" hit you with a wall of grungy distorted guitars before it veered towards Twee (especially during Frances McKee's angelic vocals). Here as "Hijo del Señor" Helena and Nel pay homage by giving the song the full-bore fuzzed treatment - buzzing guitars, metronomic drums - and great vocal interplay and harmonies. Trust me, this pair do vocals. The Spanish lyrics are not only a faithful translation, they also resonate well in their native tongue... a resounding "Olé" from over here! 
To be honest I'd never heard of Black Tambourine - an early 90's DC-based Twee band - or their song "Throw Aggi off the bridge", but having listened to the original it most certainly ticks all the prerequisite boxes. Musically, Helena and Nel remain incredibly faithful to the original - there's the added blurring at the edges (but hey, this wouldn't be a Los Bonsaís song otherwise) - while lyrically "El puente de Aggi" may feature a small mischievous sleight of hand - I suspect this is my favourite track of the quartet, if only because even the original is new to me.

The pair bring the curtain down with "Nada que hacer" - their version of The Pastels "Nothing to be done" (from the "Sitting Pretty" album) again remains faithful to the original - if anything this version's lyrics are even more heavenly than the original. For all their mastery of low-fi, guitar wondrousness, Helena and Nel's vocals are to be underestimated at your peril.

"¡Fanzine!" is just what the Doctor ordered. 10 minutes of pure indie-guitar heaven,  sweet vocals - and as hinted by the EP's title - a home made cover and mini-fanzine insert thanks to Helena (indeed the pair have their own fanzine and blog). The EP also gave me an excuse to dig our some of my old favourites to fill my head and escape to a better place.

¡Mil Gracias Helena y Nel!

Los Bonsáis
"¡Fanzine!" ( Bandcamp), Elefant)





http://reclaimingthecolonies-onestateatatime.blogspot.com.es/2015/11/los-bonsais.html


4 nov 2015

Los Bonsáis Can Be (Their) Heroes Just For One 7″




"Our favourite Spanish Indie-Pop heroes Los Bonsáis released the superb Nordeste EP back in February and it instantly became one of our favourite records of the year. This week they’ve announced details of their next release, which flips the situation and tells us what their favourite records are.
The four-track, ¡Fanzine! single, is a collection of covers of some of the songs that have influenced the band, translated into Spanish and given the Los Bonsáis treatment. The tracks hark back to the C-86 era of Indie and show the bands love of all things jangling and melodic from TV Personalities to The Vaselines. This week they shared, Nada Que Hacer (Nothing To Be Done) a cover of legendary band, The Pastels, while our Spanish is far too limited to comment on the translation, we know it sounds every bit as exciting as the original.

¡Fanzine! is out on the 6th of November via Elefant Records."

For The Rabbits


 

3 nov 2015

Mindies: ¡Fanzine!

Los Bonsáis versionan a sus grupos favoritos en un nuevo EP

Por -

Los Bonsáis publicaron este mismo año su nuevo disco titulado Nordeste. Un conjunto de canciones noise-pop de enorme valor en el que de nuevo mostraban temas recurrentes, que nos pasan a todos a lo largo de nuestra vida y que como siempre nos arrancan una sonrisa. Canciones de gran inspiración como ‘Los Perdimos de Vista’ o ‘Como Si Nada’, haciendo gala del sonido twee pop. Si no teníamos suficiente con este nuevo trabajo, el grupo asturiano anuncia ahora un nuevo EP que se publicará en un single 7” en vinilo de color negro. Lo especial de estos nuevos temas que estarán recogidos bajo el título de ¡Fanzine! es que serán versiones de alguno de los grupos más especiales para Los Bonsáis como es el caso de The Vaselines o The Pastels. Además, estos temas han sido adaptados al castellano de una forma muy especial. Todo ello llegará acompañado con un mini fanzine en el que estarán incluidas las letras de todos estos temas. De momento os enseñamos como queda el ‘Nothing To Be Done’ de los Pastels en la voz de Nel y Helena.

¡Fanzine! (Elefant, 2015)
Punks A Tiempo Parcial [Part Time Punks] – TV Personalities
Hijo Del Señor [Son Of A Gun] – The Vaselines
El Puente De Aggi [Throw Aggi Off The Bridge] – Black Tambourine
Nada Que Hacer [Nothing To Be Done] – The Pastels

Nada que hacer

Versión de "Nothing To Be Done"  - The Pastels

19 oct 2015

Punks a Tiempo Parcial


Así comieza el que será nuestro nuevo EP de versiones en 7"! Nuestro pequeño homenaje a cuatro bandas que nos encantan: Television Personalities, The Vaselines, Black Tambourine y The Pastels. Cuatro covers adaptadas al castellano por nosotros mismos y grabadas y mezcladas en Gijón por Ismael Piñera.

Ya disponible en pre-venta en la web de Elefant: http://elefant.com/disco/15620/fanzine

Fecha de salida: 06-11-2015

13 oct 2015

The RadioNowhere Vinyl Dungeon 8.October.2015

 Divertidísima entrevista para Vinyl Dungeon de Radio Nowhere antes de nuestro concierto en Londres con la traducción de Ana y las preguntas de Christopher!

special guests: THE SCHOOL and LOS BONSÁIS

THE DOORS - LA Woman
SUBURBAN LAWNS - Unable
JOHNNY CASH AND TENNESSEE TWO - Get Rhythm
PAPA TOPO - Sangre En Los Zapatos (Mi Amor)
THE SCHOOL - Every Day
BECK - Loser
THE FIVE SATINS - In The Still Of The Night 
LOS BONSÁIS - Después De Todo ...
JAN AUGUST - El Cumbanchero
BOOK OF LOVE - You Make Me Feel So Good (Flutter Mix)
THE SCHOOL - Put Your Hand In Mine
ELVIS PRESLEY - Burning Love
TIM TEN YEN - When The Song Applies To You
LAS MOSQUITAS - Tu Seras Mi Baby
photo credit: radionowhere.org

photo credit: radionowhere.org

25 ago 2015

RadioNowhere at Elefant Party - 15.August.2015 - The Lexington, London, UK

  Fotos y crónica de RadioNowhere de nuestro paso por Londres, además tuvimos una agradable charla que pronto será publicada en forma de podcast, muchas gracias a Christopher y Ana
 
 
 Review Elefant UK Party by RadioNowhere
 
Los Bonsáis play the best clean songs
We had the pleasure of chatting to Nel and Helena early in the evening to find out what they’ve been up to and the plans for their new record which will be coming out early next year. For this, we attempted doing some simultaneous translation for the first time which resulted in a lot of giggling and bewilderment from everyone involved (hopefully to be edited before it reaches your ears - the interview will be broadcast soon on The Vinyl Dungeon - follow us on Twitter @vinyldungeon/@radionowhereuk for more details.) Later that evening, the Asturian band took to the stage to delight us with a set which included some great 'clean' songs, classics, material from their latest album Nordeste and a genius cover in Spanish of Part Time Punks by Television Personalities. We were also very excited to get copies of Temporal, the fanzine produced by Los Bonsáis which is dedicated to independent and alternative pop culture.

photo credit: radionowhere.org

photo credit: radionowhere.org
photo credit: radionowhere.org

photo credit: radionowhere.org
 

21 ago 2015

Retorno de Londres y Manchester

 The Lexinton (Londres) 15-08-15


Salford, Manchester y Manchester Popfest.


Many thanks to: Elefant Uk, Liz,Tim, The School, Papa Topo, Ana, Christopher, Radio Nowhere, Manchester Popfest, Andrew, James and all the people in the world!

9 ago 2015

Podcast Indietracks 2015: "TRUST THE WIZARDS"

"TRUST THE WIZARDS" Podcast Indietracks 2015! Sobre el 12:30 hablan de nuestro concierto!


Festival Review: Indietracks 2015 | Music on The Indiependent

"I went to see the Spanish noise-pop duo Los Bonsais. Signed to Elefant Records, the band were refreshing as they sung in their native language, and backed that up with shoegaze influenced chorus on the guitars. They blasted through their set with some infectiously short songs,  the sunny backdrop providing a relaxed atmosphere"


http://the-indie-pendent.com/festival-review-indietracks-2015/2/

31 jul 2015

Indietracks Review – Saturday - For The Rabitts


LB

The see-sawing between the indoor and outdoor stages begins here, and it’s straight over to see Los Bonsais take to the de-facto main stage. The Asturian duo have expanded to a trio since we last saw them, with the drum machines replaced rather predictably with a drummer. In word perfect English they explain early in their set that they don’t speak English, they then proceed to run through a riotous set of the best moments of their two mini EP’s Nordeste and Martin Pescador as well as a few new tracks, and a cover of Television Personalities classic, Part Time Punks translated back into Spanish. At least, that’s what we think it was! The language barrier seems to prevent the crowd full embracing their fuzzy scuzzy guitars meets laid back Velvet Underground vocals styling, but what a joy it is that they’ve found a festival willing to give the audience the chance to try it in the first place.

https://fortherabbits.wordpress.com/2015/07/29/indietracks-review-saturday-ft-the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart-colleen-green-the-wave-pictures/

30 jul 2015

Indietracks 2015: DiS Review

"Spanish duo Los Bonsais make a right old racket too, conjuring up memories of early My Bloody Valentine, The Shop Assistants and Delta 5 respectively while earning several indie brownie points for their cover of the Television Personalities' 'Part Time Punks'"



 link to full review: http://goo.gl/S9vibQ

Reseña de "Nordeste" desde California


Reclaiming The Colonies, One State at a Time...

Music I like. Mainly by girls, mostly in French...


If the Marine Girls had started gigging in Aviles instead of Hatfield, Talulah Gosh  had hailed from Oviedo rather than Oxford or if the Shop Assistants had traded Edinburgh for Gijón, I suspect that they might have sounded in places just a little bit like this next band...

Los Bonsáis are Helena and Nel, from Gijón and Llanes respectively, in the Asturias region of Spain. Once again I have to thank Indie Wonderland for pointing me in the direction of the delightful mezcla of lo-fi, shoegazey, punky indie-pop wondrousness and F-U-N that is the pair's album "Nordeste".

"Nordeste" is an album that literally whizzes by - primarily because at just shy of 18 minutes, the 10 tracks don't hang around - perfect for the ADHD generation you might think, but the trick Los Bonsáis pull-off is that every song here is truly memorable and lingers long in the memory. And the proof in the pudding comes with the opening track "Los perdimos de vista" - a song which hits home with a swirling sixties Hammond organ, bouncy sing-along verses (with those language skills picked up during a couple of years in La Perla Tapatía once again put to use) and which once again finds me humming a song at the most inopportune moments!


There's a real throw-back to the melodic post-punk of the early eighties; "Vacaciones permanentes" is so reminiscent of bands such as Girls at Our Best! or The Chefs - Indeed, the boy-girl vocal pairing is reminiscent of Brighton's finest (or indeed the incredibly retro yet contemporary Cosines) - while there's a pedal-to-the-metal attitude with a vengeance to "Hidroavión" and its wave upon wave of fuzzed guitars that builds to a crescendo. However, it's the 59 seconds of "Plan B" that probably sums up this ethos. "...Do not forget anything: microphones, Pedals, my out of tune guitar..." It's all here - fuzzy guitars, 100 km/h percussion, irresistible hooks another totally hummable tune - a sub-minute lashing of manic fun.

That being said, there's much more to this album than bedroom or garageband guitar riffs. Keyboards make a welcome return on "Como si nada" and help create the most bubbly of melodies, adding  subtle softening of tone alongside faultless vocal harmonies. There are also some delightful 'you-and-me' Twee-pop inspired tunes (or arguably pre-Twee. You could make a strong case for the Marine Girls being a proto-Twee band); "Galbana", "Sobremesa" and "La espina" being cases in point. 

But arguably my two favourite tracks are "Después de todo..." and the album's closer and title track "Nordeste." Yes, both feature pounding percussion and heavily distorted, shoegazed guitars - but if you listen through these you pick-out Helena's divinely multi-tracked vocals, and on "Nordeste" the darker tones - there's the realisation that this pair can really craft an incredibly textural arrangement. For all the instantness on display here, the more I listen to this album, it is these last two that get the repeat treatment...

Released on renowned Spanish label Elefant (and thus the duo - by a stroke of coincidence - find themselves label-mates with The Catenary Wires or Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey from Talulah Gosh), "Nordeste" is a love-at-first sight (or sound) kind of an album. 



http://reclaimingthecolonies-onestateatatime.blogspot.com.es/2015/07/los-bonsais.html


21 jul 2015

Indietracks Special – Six Bands You Shouldn’t Miss



LOS BONSÁIS (Saturday – Outdoor Stage – 13.40)
losb2 

The early bands on Saturday afternoon this year are causing ‘when exactly do I eat breakfast?’ headaches already. Don’t panic though, keep calm and remember it’s bands like Los Bonsais that make Indietracks so unique in the first place. You won’t see many Asturian two-pieces garage bands who sing in Spanish on the main stage at Reading or Leeds this year!
Signed to the legendary Elefant Records and fresh from the release of their album/mini-album Nordeste, expect to hear short, sharp slices of squalling revert heavy guitars, rapid fire drum beats topped off with one of the finest voices around, all adding up to the Spanish heirs to The Velvet Undergrounds throne. Get brushing up on those Spanish lessons and you can tell us what they’re singing about!


Panamerika Vol 359 - Limoná Pa’ La Galbana

Nuestro nuevo single "Galbana" inspira el título del nuevo programa de radio de  Panamérika

20 jul 2015

Gira británica 2015

Este verano nos vamos a Reino Unido!

 UK Dates:

 - 25th july - Indietracks DERBYSHIRE
 http://www.indietracks.co.uk/tickets

 - 15th August - Elefant UK Party! LONDON
 http://www.wegottickets.com/event/315046

 - 16th August - Manchester Popfest MANCHESTER
 http://goo.gl/zTrVph


14 jul 2015

Galbana en Panámerika


Los ukeleles son para el verano, y Los Bonsáis lo saben en "Galbana"




“Galbana: dícese de la pereza, especialmente la producida por el calor”, y dícese también del título del nuevo video de Los Bonsáis. Un clip en el que sin duda, hay mucha de esta galbana que está acompañando al verano ibérico, y que define bien el ambiente lánguido de esta nueva (y mínima) producción de unos de los consentidos de Elefant Records, perteneciente a su último mini LP, Nordeste.

Con una estética “antigüita”, de nuevo las olas del mar y todos los referentes marítimos a los que el dúo nos tiene acostumbrados, vuelven a ser protagonistas en este trabajo rodado en su Asturies natal. Hay geranios y flores campestres (que bien pueden estar en los escenarios o en los vestidos), y una duración de minuto y medio breve como siesta de equinoccio: los ukeleles, sin duda, son para el verano.
_________________________________________

 http://www.rbmaradio.com/panamerika/los-ukeleles-son-para-el-verano-y-los-bonsais-lo-saben-en-galbana



13 jul 2015

Drowned in Sound: Indietracks-2015--a-preview

100479


domgourlay
by Dom Gourlay
July 10th, 2015

In the meantime, here's 10 artists we're literally busting a gut to see over the course of the weekend.

.....

Los Bonsáis
(1340-1420, Outdoor Stage, Saturday)
Hailing from Asturias in the north of Spain, Los Bonsáis have released one of this year's finest EPs in the shape of ten-song mini-album Nordeste. Channeling the spirit of Lazy-era My Bloody Valentine and Swedish noise pop acts The Radio Dept. and The Legends, it's a sprightly collection that bodes well for their early afternoon show here, their first at Indietracks. Currently signed to Elefant Records, the duo - Helena and Nel - also promise to play a specially arranged cover of a well-known song by a British cult band during their set. We can't wait to hear what they have in store!

http://www.drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4149175-indietracks-2015--a-preview

3 jul 2015

Galbana en el Musicom de El Comercio


Los Bonsáis editan un nuevo videoclip y darán tres conciertos en Inglaterra

julio 1, 2015 
Los Bonsáis1 Los Bonsáis editan un nuevo videoclip y darán tres conciertos en Inglaterra

El dúo asturiano Los Bonsáis acaba de presentar un nuevo videoclip del tema ‘Galbana’, incluido en su último mini-lp ‘Nordeste’ (Elefant Records 2015). Además, ofrecerá tres conciertos en Inglaterra.
Según explica el grupo, el tema “nos lleva a pensar en Nosoträsh o Marine Girls por esa especie de canciones que parecen no terminadas, pequeños esbozos que en su delicada y extraña estructura dan todo lo que tienen”.
Tras una pequeña gira acústica que les llevó a Bilbao, Pola de Siero y Gijón, este verano se irán a Inglaterra, donde tocarán en el Festival Indietracks, en el condado de Derbyshire (25 de julio); en la fiesta Elefant UK, de Londres (15 de agosto) y en el Manchester Popfest (16 de agosto).

VÍDEO DE GALBANA
DISCO ‘NORDESTE’

http://musica.elcomercio.es/los-bonsais-editan-un-nuevo-videoclip-y-daran-tres-conciertos-en-inglaterra

Nos mola el Pop en Tokyo 02-07-15

1 jul 2015

Recopilatorio Indietracks 2015

Ya disponible el recopilatorio del Indietracks 2015 con 49 canciones! Los ingresos de las descargas irán destinados a "Midland Railway" ---> https://goo.gl/B0sNrm


23 jun 2015

Horarios del sábado en Indietracks 2015

Saturday 25 July

Saturday schedule 1

Ya están los horarios del Indietracks​! tocamos el sábado 25 de julio a las 13:40 en el Outdoor Stage!

Horario completo: http://www.indietracks.co.uk/schedule/