It has been three years since Barcelona quartet, Delorean, released an album. Their last album, Subiza, gained worldwide acclaim and a permanent seat in the synth-pop arena. Their latest release, Apar, demonstrates the band’s growth combining dance beats with classic melodies. Apar will be released September 9th (UK/ Europe) and September 10th (North America) on True Panther Sounds.
mxdwn had the chance to see them perform a surprise show for Urban Outfitters at The Fonda alongside Glass Candy. Delorean opened the show with their album opener “Spirit,” which set the tone for the entire night. Before the show, Ekhi Lopetegi (vocals/bass) and Igor Ecuedo (drums) spoke about their new album, FYF and My Bloody Valentine.
Delorean performing at The Fonda 8/23
When did you guys decide to play a surprise show? How did it come about?
Ekhi Lopetegi: Well, we know some people from Urban Outfitters.
Igor Ecuedo: And some other people from Making Time who are throwing the after party. They are from Philly. We have a really good relationship with them. We’ve set up free shows with them. Every time we visit Philly, we hang out with them. We are really good friends.
Was it a last minute show?
Lopetegi: It was pretty last minute.
Ecuedo: Like two weeks ago it was booked.
But you only announced that you were performing today?
Lopetegi: Yea, we just announced it today. It was unannounced because we are doing the FYF fest. You’re not supposed to perform during the same weekend of the festival.
Speaking of FYF, Delorean will be performing tomorrow as well. Which artists are you looking forward performing alongside?
Lopetegi: I wanted to see My Bloody Valentine but they are playing on Sunday, so we are going to miss it. We are leaving Sunday so we won’t be able to see everyone. I want to see Glasser and… what else is going on tomorrow?
Ecuedo: I don’t know who is playing tomorrow I didn’t check it.
Lopetegi: I think the good day for me was Sunday. Kurt Vile will be playing too. I am missing both My Bloody Valentine and Kurt Vile. But yea, we will go see Glasser tomorrow.
Your first single, “Destitute of Time,” features a female vocal. Who provides the vocals on this track?
Lopetegi: Cameron, from Glasser.
How did you get in contact with her?
Lopetegi: We are friends with her. We first did a remix for Glasser for one of their songs from their first EP on True Panther Sounds. So we shared the label and we shared some friends too. One of the first tours we headlined in the U.S., she was the opener for us. We also did a second remix for her also.
Did she also provide the vocals for “Unhold”?
Lopetegi: No, that’s Caroline Polachek from Chairlift. There are a lot of female vocals on this album. It’s very different.
The album begins with “Spirit.” Which really sets up the whole album. It combines electronic sounds along with a stronger pop influence. While recording this album, did you find yourself recording dance music? Or did you find yourself recording more pop influenced songs?
Lopetegi: I think on this record we were coming from the dance music sound. We decided to try something different and record more pop or classic rock. But I think there is still that dance beat that makes it beat oriented. But you know it’s different from Subiza. It’s not as “dancey” or anything like that.
Ecuedo: The mix is also different. I mean even if the beat is there, the kick is way lower than it used to be. Even the drums are way lower and that’s what makes it more pop or more classic. This is our sound for the album. In the future, we will see.
I felt like the first single, “Destitute of Time” sounded a bit darker. I don’t know why it gave that feel to me. Did you feel that you were recording darker material?
Lopetegi: Well, the title is definitely not bright. The song is pretty bright though melody wise. It’s not like a dark song. The lyrics maybe are a little dark, but in my opinion they lean towards something that’s not dark.
What was the writing process like for this album?
Lopetegi: This was the first time I tried to write the lyrics before the song was finished. We do a lot of studio work. Sometimes you have the melody in your head and you just write down the lyrics when the song is finished in the studio. But this time because our approach was different, I tried to write down the lyrics as we were completing the songs.
Ecuedo: This time we already knew before writing the album that the vocals were going to be high in the mix. We felt that this was going to be important so we have to focus on that.
The album is titled, “Apar”. What is the meaning behind it?
Lopetegi: “Apar” means “foam” in Basque. We were looking at the photos for the cover and we were also looking for a Basque name. We wanted to reference the place we are coming from. “Apar” came to mind for the title. “Apar” sounds good and also relates to the album lyric wise especially relating to the destitute thing. It kind of sets the context for the lyrics a little bit. We thought that it made sense. It sounded cool.
How was the recording process for the album?
Ecuedo: Well, we wrote the album in one year at our studio in Barcelona. We did like almost twenty unfinished tracks and we ended up choosing eleven tracks. Then we went to New York at Gigantic studios with Chris Zane. We spent three weeks recording and then we cam back to Barcelona to mix the album through the Internet and Skype. So he (Chris) was in New York and we were in Barcelona and we finished in fifteen days or so.
You guys posted a few photos on twitter of a photo shoot for a music video. Which track will you be releasing a video for? What’s the concept of the video?
Lopetegi: We will be releasing a video for “Destitute of Time.” It’s going to be a video of the band performing along with personal narratives. Some kind of inserts, but its pretty much of us playing live and some stuff happens. The video is directed by Rodondo Garcia and produced by Canada from Barcelona. We are very happy with the result. I think they are going to premiere it next Wednesday. You’ll be able to see the output.
“Desparrame” – Can you tell us what this is?
Ecuedo: Well, it used to be–I don’t know if it still is-– but it used to our bimonthly party with other friends. We used to bring artists we liked and that were it basically. But now we are too busy with the band so we don’t have time. Our friend with Desparrame is more focused on it. I DJ when I can or whenever I have spare time.
What’s next after your North American tour?
Lopetegi: Yes, we are touring North America for a few months. Then we are headed to Europe in a few weeks and then we will go from there. If things go well, we will come back to the states next year and do some festivals.
Hope you guys have a great show!
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