El Guincho
Sound Contradictions
Apr 02, 2008
El Guincho
Part musician, part ethnomusicologist, Pablo Díaz-Reixa isn’t your average sample-obsessed laptop artist. Growing up in the Canary Islands, an African archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean where the language is Spanish and the music is joyful, he noticed an apparent contradiction. Why were songs that were often recounting tales of devastation and oppression so happy? He looked at other island music, from the Caribbean to Hawaii, and he found the same thing. By the end of his investigation, he had Alegranza, his full-length debut, as his musical dissertation.
Taking his name from a near-extinct bird that lives on an island named Alegranza (“happiness” in Spanish), El Guincho spent the spring of 2007 piecing together samples drawn from his study of island music and African pop around his love of J. Dilla’s Donuts album. Growing up listening to his hippie dad’s Latin music and Krautrock and learning music theory from his opera singer grandmother, he would study classical percussion at music school and teach himself guitar in his free time. By age 14, he was writing his own songs and singing them into his computer. But as he learned the fundamentals of songwriting, the incongruence of the traditional music of the Canary Islands became more obvious.
“There are sad stories about how the Spaniards killed [the indigenous people], but all the music is so joyful,” Díaz-Reixa explains. “And it’s hard to understand why, when they suffered so much pain. Everything is built on major scales. We relate major scales to happiness and joy and all that, and it makes me think that maybe it’s not a natural thing that major scales are related to happiness. Maybe it’s something from our culture. For example, you take Japanese music, where if they’re talking about sad things, they don’t use a minor scale. You find it in American music, too, in jazz music. You take Ma Rainey, the blues singer, or ragtime—it’s upbeat music. But ragtime music was written by people who were suffering in the South in America.”
As he was studying in Barcelona, where he took up residence in popular local band Coconut, Díaz-Reixa was finding love and friendship in his transplanted home just as his band was disintegrating over creative differences. Like the music he was sampling, his songs would use celebratory sounds to mask a deep sadness. By the winter of 2008, the rest of the world started to notice, but most couldn’t keep themselves from comparing Alegranza to Animal Collective and Panda Bear’s comparably meditative Person Pitch.
“I think they’re great, but I’m interested in other things,” he admits. “So it’s kind of sad for me, because you make a record thinking that you’re doing your own thing, and then you’ve got all these people telling you you’ve made a record that sounds like Panda Bear. I’ve read all the comparisons, and I see there’s a similar method and approach, but I play Panda Bear’s record and mine, and I can’t see the similarity. I can see the method but not the sound,” he says carefully. “But I’d rather be compared to them than Rammstein.”
Current Issue
Issue #70
Nov 18, 2022 Issue #70 - My Favorite Movie (Sharon Van Etten and Ezra Furman)
Most Recent
- Bully Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song “Days Move Slow” (News) — Bully
- Bernice Share New Song “No Effort to Exist” (News) — Bernice
- Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations Share New Song “Amnesia” via a Short Film (News) — Dave Okumu, The Invisible
- Black Country, New Road Announce New Live Album to Accompany Concert Film (News) — Black Country, New Road
- Suede, Desperate Journalist @ Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, UK, 18th March, 2023 (Review) — Suede, Desperate Journalist
Comments
Submit your comment
February 17th 2010
2:05pm
Give please. When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them. Help me! Need information about: Lg split system air conditioners. I found only this - camper air conditioners. Air conditioners, take permeable rights to continue flare from an product and specialized house for point without turning all of the applications for food. You can catch it wherever you provide, air conditioners. THX :eek:, Brianne from Jamaica.
November 20th 2018
4:25am
Superbly written article, if only all bloggers offered the same content as you, the internet would be a far better place..
new technologies
November 28th 2018
8:08am
Excellent information on your blog, thank you for taking the time to share with us. Amazing insight you have on this, it’s nice to find a website that details so much information about different artists.
read here
December 2nd 2018
8:28am
This is very educational content and written well for a change. It’s nice to see that some people still understand how to write a quality post!
mayfair modern condo
December 6th 2018
3:13am
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information…
kinetechseo.com
December 15th 2018
12:30am
Please continue this great work and I look forward to more of your awesome blog posts.
direccionynegocios.com
December 18th 2018
1:54pm
hello!! Very interesting discussion glad that I came across such informative post. Keep up the good work friend. Glad to be part of your net community.
paint protection for cars
January 1st 2019
7:10am
it was a wonderful chance to visit this kind of site and I am happy to know. thank you so much for giving us a chance to have this opportunity..
Anabole steroide kaufen
January 1st 2019
7:11am
Your work is very good and I appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts. Thank you for sharing great information to us.
Anabole steroide kaufen
January 1st 2019
7:11am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog, I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Anabole steroide kaufen
January 1st 2019
7:12am
You completed a few fine points there. I did a search on the subject and found nearly all persons will go along with with your blog.
Anabole steroide kaufen
January 8th 2019
12:29am
Nice knowledge gaining article. This post is really the best on this valuable topic.
vipbox
January 9th 2019
3:00pm
I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative..
Convention photographers Washington DC
January 10th 2019
3:10pm
All the contents you mentioned in post is too good and can be very useful. I will keep it in mind, thanks for sharing the information keep updating, looking forward for more posts.Thanks
Easel stands
January 10th 2019
3:10pm
This was a really great contest and hopefully I can attend the next one. It was alot of fun and I really enjoyed myself..
Easel stands
January 10th 2019
3:12pm
Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find so many useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.
Easel stands
March 13th 2019
3:47am
I’m happy to find this blog. It is interesting that I learned different things about El Guincho from this and also the interview is presented in a very beautiful way without any faults. I liked it very much. Stuart Kaplan M D lip injectionsIt is glad to know that this blog covers almost everything about the entertaining field. I’m looking for more interviews.
April 20th 2019
7:15pm
Make the most of mainly premium substances - you will find him or her for:
April 22nd 2019
5:13am
Below you will understand what is important, the idea provides one of the links with an exciting site:
April 25th 2019
5:26am
You should mainly superior together with well-performing material, which means that see it:
April 29th 2019
3:09am
It is especially decent, though look into the tips during this home address.
April 29th 2019
11:20pm
You bear through a awesome vacancy. I sanity definitely quarry it moreover personally suggest to my buddys. I am self-possessed they determination be benefited from this scene.
April 30th 2019
1:24am
For many people this is important, so check out my profile:
May 3rd 2019
7:56am
I love article and blogs like this. I will share this with everyone I know. People like the
local plumber or the guy who serves drinks at your local bar.
May 3rd 2019
11:38am
Such sites are important because they provide a large dose of useful information ...
May 6th 2019
2:11am
Interestingly you write, I will address you’ll find exciting and interesting things on similar topics.
May 6th 2019
9:23am
It is quite beneficial, although think about the facts when it reaches this target. Junk Removal Services
May 6th 2019
7:22pm
Acknowledges for paper such a beneficial composition, I stumbled beside your blog besides decipher a limited announce. I want your technique of inscription…
May 7th 2019
8:21am
Acknowledges for paper such a beneficial composition, I stumbled beside your blog besides decipher a limited announce. I want your technique of inscription…
May 8th 2019
4:58am
I have bookmarked your website because this site contains valuable information in it. I am really happy with articles quality and presentation. Thanks a lot for keeping great stuff. I am very much thankful for this site.
May 8th 2019
4:58am
I have bookmarked your website because this site contains valuable information in it.
May 9th 2019
11:14pm
Acknowledges for penmanship such a worthy column, I stumbled beside your blog besides predict a handful advise. I want your tone of manuscript…
May 12th 2019
4:34am
Interestingly you write, I will address you’ll find exciting and interesting things on similar topics.
May 15th 2019
12:13am
I exploit solely premium quality products—you will observe these individuals on:
June 12th 2019
9:06am
Interesting and interesting information can be found on this topic here profile worth to see it.
June 15th 2019
6:04am
I personally use them exclusively high-quality elements : you will notice these folks during:
June 17th 2019
3:28pm
As he was studying in Barcelona, where he took up residence in popular local band Coconut, Díaz-Reixa was finding love and friendship in his transplanted home just as his band was disintegrating over creative differences. Like the music he was sampling, his songs would use celebratory sounds to mask a deep sadness. By the winter of 2008, the rest of the world started to notice, but most couldn’t keep themselves from comparing Alegranza to Animal Collective and Panda Bear’s comparably meditative Person Pitch.
July 4th 2019
6:12am
I have a similar interest this is my page read everything carefully and let me know what you think.
July 25th 2019
6:51am
I would like to read about it anymore. Prompt, what literature to study? Jimmy John’s menu and prices
July 28th 2019
12:07pm
wow this saintly however ,I love your enter plus nice pics might be part personss negative love being defrent mind total poeple ,
September 7th 2019
4:36am
For this web site, you will see our account, remember to go through this info. reduxan kapseln
September 23rd 2019
6:13am
With our platform, you can earn ROBUX completely legitimately, and receive it instantly. https://freerobuxapp.net/
December 23rd 2019
10:54pm
A debt of gratitude is in order for the instructive and accommodating post, clearly in your blog everything is great.. HF VHF UHF Decoder
December 23rd 2019
11:03pm
A debt of gratitude is in order for the instructive and accommodating post, clearly in your blog everything is great..
December 26th 2019
10:50am
The content is utmost interesting! I have completely enjoyed reading your points and have come to the conclusion that you are right about many of them. You are great, and your efforts are outstanding! Silly Squishy Shop
January 26th 2020
10:17am
I am all that much satisfied with the substance you have specified. I needed to thank you for this extraordinary article.
March 20th 2020
6:04pm
I just found this blog and have high hopes for it to continue. Keep up the great work, its hard to find good ones. I have added to my favorites. Thank You. home painters