Música Dispersa "Música Dispersa" 1970****

Barcelona, rooftop view

I recently visited Barcelona for the first time. I flew there directly from Rome and did not expect it to make a big impression on me because, let's face it: Cappella Sistina, fontana di Trevi, Colosseum...What can compare with that, except maybe Paris? 2 days later, I was ready to pack it up and move to Barcelona permanently. It must be one of the best places to live in the world: great weather, nice bars and cafes, good food, lovely seaside, beautiful architecture (even discounting the buildings by Gaudi which are out of this world), reasonable prices and relaxed atmosphere. I know that official statistics say that the most livable cities are in Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany, Canada etc... Pffff! Have they even asked the poor (OK, they're rich but I feel sorry for them nonetheless) inhabitants of, say, boring old Zurich? I wouldn't move there for a €10.000 monthly salary and a brand-new Mercedes, which is what they have to give their citizens to persuade them to stay. Not that Barcelona is poor by Mediterranean standards. The financial crisis and austerity policies imposed by the IMF and EU have reduced the quality of living all over Southern Europe considerably. Greece has suffered the worst, and Spain isn't far behind but the region of Catalonia does relatively well, which is one of the reasons that the idea of Catalan independence seems to be gaining ground. Now, if that was the only reason, I'd be all against it, just like I'm against the Italian Lega Nord and Belgian Vlaams Belang. Those disgusting petty fascists fancy themselves superior to the rest of their compatriots and just figured they'd split their country so that the richer provinces can keep all the money to themselves. God forbid their taxes should fund roads and hospitals in Sicily. But, while nationalism of this kind is hideous, I do not succumb to the sirens of globalisation either. Anti-EU protesters in Greece were labelled as nationalists, but the nationalism of the oppressed has also been a form of defence: Greeks and Serbs fought the Ottoman empire for independence, so did the Irish against the British empire. Hell, if it comes to that you could brand Gandhi as a nationalist because he also fought to rid India of its foreign rulers. When it comes to the question of Catalan (or Scottish, for that matter) independence, one must bear in mind each country's history and politics. 

Camp Nou, home to FC Barcelona

Gaudi's Casa Batlló

Catalonia does have a distinct historical course and its own language (all signs are written in two languages, Catalan and Spanish. Felt like I was back in Brussels in that respect). Its independence, or at least relative autonomy, has been violently squashed repeatedly by Madrid, most notably during the rule of fascist dictator Franco.  It seems logical to let the people decide democratically for once and everyone should respect their will. What they'll choose is up to them, but to quote Greek philosopher Antisthenes "power lies in unity"- so long as diversity and autonomy are respected, of course. Oh, how simple it would have been if only the European Union was a democratic community of equality and solidarity as was advertised - instead of a mechanism to ensure the profits of the powerful against the interests of the majority. We'd all still be Greek, Spanish or Catalan but first and foremost European citizens.‎ As it is, nationalism will keep growing, either with the relatively benign face of the Catalan drive for independence or the ugly xenophobic face of Le Pen and Wilders.
For those of you that skipped the long politico-touristic intro (and who can blame you, really?), I mentioned my recent visit to Barcelona. As I always do on such occasions, I made a rather comprehensive tour of the city's record shops, which I'll present in a relevant post. In every shop I kept asking the clerks for tips on Spanish rock albums. Everybody agreed that the best Spanish prog record of all time was undoubtedly the sole album by Música Dispersa, which also just happened to be from Catalonia. Strange, then, that the rest of the world hasn't caught on. No place for them among the 10,000 groups reviewed on the progarchives website and no mention in most lists of Spanish Rock must-have records. So was it only Catalan national pride that made them sell me this of the all records in the shop? At first I was convinced that yes. After the 3rd or 4th listen, though, it started to grow on me. First of all, it's certainly not prog. Weird acid folk is one way to describe it, though it defies categorisation. Comparisons that come to my mind are Comus, John Fahey, Velvet Underground and Incredible String Band, but this music is more formless, like a series of short jams. It's almost completely acoustic and, despite the presence of various instruments, quite stark. The vocalists use their voices as instruments rather than sing actual words. After an intro of human noises ("Diálogo") we get a rather charming melody ("Anillo-Cromo"), chanted by male and female voices and then picked up by a flute. The acoustic bass is high in the mix playing free-form jazz and the whole piece has a quaint Medieval quality. "Swani" marries ragtime with tropicalia while some kind of whistle plays noises of the kind you'd hear in an pre-war Mickey Mouse film. "Gilda" features a dramatic piano and acoustic percussion. The singing reminds me of Native American recordings while a melancholic harmonica enhances the mood. In contrast, "Rabel" sounds like toothless old shepherds herding sheep or like those Mongolian throat singers that briefly fascinated on the world music circuit. "Eco" is a short instrumental jam with a prominent resounding bass. "Cefalea" continues on the same path, but with vocals and a richer instrumentation. "Arcano" curiously reminded me of latter-day Tom Waits, with its clanging percussion, whistling and wordless moans. That bucolic flute, though, would never find its way into a Tom Waits song. "Fluido" starts off with sensual female voice and a percussive sound like footsteps and it keeps getting louder and louder, resembling the Velvets at their most experimental. "Cítara" is a short instrumental that basically goes nowhere. In the time it took me to write this, the album has gained a (*) in my rating, but I still consider it difficult listening. The audience at the time must have thought the same, because (as I'm informed) the record only sold 400 copies in its time. Not that it's selling by the truckloads now, mind you, but it at least has acquired a certain fame with collectors. Guitarist/vocalist Jaume Sisa has subsequently recorded a number of acoustic folk albums of a more predictable nature and is apparently considered one of the cornerstones of Catalan music. I'd better get used to him, then, if I'm ever going to move to Barcelona...

***** for Gilda

****for Anillo-Cromo, Swani, Cefalea, Arcano 

*** for Eco, Fluido

** for Rabel, Citara

* for Dialogo