Based in Barcelona, Jaime Travezán champions a quirky and leftfield sonic imprint, often built over enigmatic and glitchy productions. Channelling the last decades of music evolution, Travezán blends his futuristic visions with vintage formulas, resulting in material that feels fresh, while drenched in tradition and recognizable sounds.
‘Guest Star’ is the project’s latest effort, a dancy and slightly psychedelic collaboration with vocalist JP, which Jaime had the pleasure of meeting in Peru years ago. Coming to fruition in Barcelona, the record was created with a unique outlook on vocal stylings, mainly involved in culture-breaking chirping and complex roaring.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with Travezán to find out more about his artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey Jaime, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
Well, I’m a photographer turned musician as a way to overcome sadness.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
I’ve been a photographer my entire life: portraiture, fashion, some ventures into documentary and photojournalism and nowadays mainly focused on Fine Arts. I’ve always loved music but never had any other intention besides listening to it. The sudden death of my brother, 6 years ago, hit me very hard and I felt unable to work. So, while doing nothing, I started to play with GarageBand and suddenly I got hooked on putting loops together. Very soon, I realised that I wanted to do it at a more professional level. I, therefore, upgraded my software, bought some hardware and took courses during the pandemic.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
Well, let’s fantazise a bit: I would say Tracey Thorn, Róisín Murphy and, with even more fantasy, I’ll bring back to life Donna Summer and La Lupe.
You recently released an evocative slice of electronica, ‘Guest Star’. We love the vocal feature – how did the track come about?
Well, it started in a very silly way. My dear friend JP was visiting me in Barcelona from Perú and after some drinks JP started to sing. It came as a complete surprise to me, I found it interesting and funny so we decided to record it. Two weeks later I started to add music to the vocals. It took me around 3 weeks to finish it. Usually my process is different. Once music and lyrics are done I ask someone to sing on it.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team?
So far I’ve been doing it on my own and feel more confident this way, nevertheless I’m open to other ways of working.
As a Peruvian artist, how would you describe the local music scene? Do you find inspiration in the eclectic culture around you?
Well, to be honest, I’m not very up-to-date with Peruvian music. Though, I’ve been living abroad most of my life and travel a lot so, I’m always finding sources of inspiration around me, being in Perú or in any other country. Said that, in ‘Guest Star’ I’ve been slightly influenced by the vocal games of Peruvian artist Yma Sumac.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
In the beginning I was relying completely on music libraries, but lately I’m increasingly feeling the need to create my own sounds: personal vocals and my own loops. Also, my big challenge is for the sound to be impeccable, at a professional level.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
I’m halfway through an album, I hope to be able to finish it sometime this winter. The reality is that, in the coming months, I’ll be pretty busy with my photography work and will have little time for music. Having said that, I really enjoy the combination of both crafts. I only wish the days were longer to give me enough time for each of them.
