Special Feature: La [2] d'Apolo: The Màia Experience

Words by: Anna Julia

What I’m gonna write now (and also maybe for the next month) may be a complete madness for most of you that aren’t living in my area (that’s to say anybody who’s not from Barcelona or Catalonia, sadly), but if you keep on reading, what I have to say may be interesting for a few. Or so I hope! The thing is, this review is the first part of a three-article-saga I’d like to write, recollecting my experiences around this local band. And it begins with their concert.

My mother introduced me to Màia, a pop Barcelonian band, back in December 2014, when she contributed to a crowdfunding for them to record their second studio album, which, by the way, is called “Estels a les Butxaques”, the catalan words for “Stars in my Pockets”. One of the rewards in this crowdfunding was the possibility of visiting one of their rehearsals, being able to know them and even sing or play with them, and as my mom knows my passion about music, she chose this reward and gave it to me as a gift voucher on Christmas. I didn’t know the band, and the name barely resonated to me, but I gave them an opportunity to surprise me. And so it went. It wasn’t until April 10th when the first results of this gift started appearing. My mom and I went to their concert -I still hadn’t even searched them on the internet-, and after it, they gave us the supporters our rewards, at least the physical ones. Of course, therein was their new CD, and also the first one they had released and a t-shirt. The rehearsal, as they told us in a mail, would have to wait, as they were really busy with the release of the record and they wanted to have time for us. So it’s coming soon. For now, I’d like to review their live performance, which took place in a well-known venue in Barcelona, the Apolo. This is a building which comprehends two concert halls; the main Apolo hall and a smaller one, La [2] d’Apolo (the Apolo 2nd, more or less), where this concert took place. It was a cool, dark room, with an added space on the left for a club-style cocktail bar and some seats (barely black benches). The stage was homely and not much bigger than a small bedroom, and there was a projector which illuminated the wall behind the musicians. Onstage there were around six persons, what later I found to be the support band. Although I wasn’t expecting anything, the first band was not very good. Their lyrics were not interesting, their music not remarkable, the singer’s voice plain and dull. I don’t even remember their name, but I remember myself thinking they could have been an interesting band if they hadn’t caused themselves to be classified so quickly as boring, wannabe indie music. But let’s get it on with the main interest of the night; Màia. I hurried, and seeing I could get tired of standing on my feet the whole performance -I don’t feel as young as I should, sadly!-, as well as at the prospect of running out of seat, I promptly had a space in the black bench at the end of the room, near the bar. 

And then they were, the band I had waited for, the pop-folk band Màia. When they appeared onstage, I was instantly captivated by Marina, the lead singer of the band. She’s got like, that absolutely AMAZING attitude to make the stage hers and have you, the crowd, predisposed to follow her to the end of the world. The other musicians were as great as her, even though it was harder for me to discern it as quickly as I had done with the singer, because of the natural leadership of their frontwoman. Their songs were fresh, carefully assembled and written, and performed with a great style and ability. Their sound was really clear, which is a thing I appreciate more than I’d like -for me,  it’s essential to have a clear sound and be able to pick out every single sound in the song, and to understand the lyrics. This does not apply to some music genres as grunge or punk -also, Riot Grrrl! which deserves a special mention in itself-, in which precisely the objective is to create a more or less raw beat, but in the vast majority of music, I like to be able to hear it all and enjoy it all, so maybe now you understand my obsession about the sound of a song. And another thing which is characteristic of Màia is their multeity of instruments and types of sound they can play, all over a basic pop style. I was totally caught by the many different ways of playing a pop song they showcased; that night, I heard violin solos, drums and “batucadas” (I don’t know if this is the proper word, since I don’t know if there are such things in the region where you could be reading this; a simple description is a drum group playing powerful, festival-like beats), trumpets and megaphones, and drum solos played with fluorescent drumsticks. It was simply incredible. Their versatility is wonderful, and as I could check later when I listened to their album, their live shows are interesting as no recorded song could. In case I haven’t mentioned it before, their music is modern pop at its finest. 

The technical part of the concert was also very good, with an environment that combined color lights, fog and projected images at the background of the stage to match every song with its meaning and atmosphere. It all contributed to create a beautiful ambience and make us the public feel good and excited. 

They played for around two hours, with a pair of encores, and finished the show with confetti, streamers and candy Cornettos. Could there be something better or more fun?

I cannot reproduce their setlist here, probably because I didn’t know any of the songs by then, but there were a few that remained in my mind; “La Boira que va Durar Mil Anys” (The Mist that Lasted for a Thousand Years), “Démodé” (their only song in French, if I’m not mistaken), “Aftersun” or “Com Você Dentro” (another uniqueness in their repertoire; sung half in Portuguese, half in Spanish).

All in all, Màia’s performance was brilliant and their technique seemed the one of a band who had years of onstage experience, even though they started their career few years ago playing in the streets until they released their first album. And I enjoyed very much their concert even though I went there completely blind and not knowing what to expect. It was a great evening in which I could enjoy music at its best.

To end the feature, I’d like to thank Màia, the band, for their kindness to all the crowdfunders and such a great concert. And you readers, expect a review of their brand new album coming soon!