Interview: Zipper-Cremallera

Maria, David and Oscar from Madrid, Spain, are responsible for some of the most addictive and danceable pop songs of the last few years. It's been a while though since Zipper-Cremallera released 11, their fantastic debut album. I thought it was time to get to know the band a little bit better, and to see what they're up to.


Hello Maria! Can you give us a short history of the band? How did you meet? When and why did you decide to start a band together?

We met at the university in 1996!! At the beginning we were four and have changed second guitarist twice. Finally, the three of us decided to go on together as a trio. Oscar plays the drums and sings a little, David plays the guitar and sings backing voices and I play the bass guitar and normally sing.

I know it’s silly, but it’s still unclear to me what your actual band name is. Is it Zipper-Cremallera? Or is it Cremallera in Spain and Zipper for us English speakers?

Yes, both mean the same and it’s true that we decided to change the name to Zipper-Cremallera when we started to sing in both languages. At the beginning we only sang in English. But now, the meaning could be different. Perhaps in the future there could be two projects…

Like you just said, you sing in both Spanish and English. How have the reactions in Spain been? Are you a bit popular?

It depends on the year or moment that we’re going through. When we started, there were many Spanish bands that sang in English, then it changed and these bands were criticized and now, it’s changed again and there's a mixture. We’ve just been doing what we felt at each moment all these years. We’re not very popular in Spain, though, but have some good true fans (I could tell you all their names).

You were picked up by Cloudberry, WeePOP! and Liliput. Was it you who found the labels, or did they find you? Is the independent 'DIY' spirit of these labels important to you, or are you secretly hoping for a big record deal in the future?

Cloudberry and WeePop! found us thanks to myspace. And we’re very thankful to them because many people from all the world know us thanks to them. And Liliput Records is (or was) a Spanish little record label in Spain. But, it was dissolved last year, so we’re completely free again. But thanks to them too we've released our first long album in Spain.

To be honest, I’m not very aware of a lot of Spanish bands or a Spanish pop scene. Is there a community or scene you feel part of? Which other Spanish bands should we be paying attention to?

There's not really a huge pop scene right now. There are some bands that do similar things and we like them like Papa Topo, Linda Guilala, Indienella or M.A.L. You should listen to them.

A quote from your website: “We’d like to be the soundtrack of a really stupid happy moment of your life. One of those moments that won’t last in your memory for having been decisive for your future but you’ll vaguely remember it as one of the best from your past.” Can you tell us about one of those moments from your own life, and what music brings back that memory?

For example, David can't stop listening to Bicycle ride by the Swedish band The Never Invited To Parties, and I remember when I had to study for the exams that I always found more interesting to translate every song by Talulah Gosh...

Speaking of memories: what was the kind of music you grew up with? When was punk or indiepop introduced into your lives?

We grew up with the Spanish 80's pop music. Later, in the high-school we started to delve into British indiepop bands, we shared our cassettes with new discoveries to each other and finally myspace has opened our range of countries, especially Sweden.

First you played the London Popfest, and then Indietracks. It’s been an exciting year for the band! Do you like being on stage? What’s been your favourite performance so far?

We're very lucky for playing in both festivals. The London Popfest opened our door for the Indietracks and it's been amazing. We really love our English audience. I think we've played more times in England this year than in Spain. It's funny, but we feel more comfortable there. Our favorite performance was also at the London Popfest. The venue was completely full, it was sold out!! (though it's not a very huge place...) And we shared stage with Amelia Fletcher!!

It’s been a little while since your last release. Can we expect anything new sometime soon? Have you been writing or recording new songs?

In fact, we're recording 11 new songs right now. We think they'll be finished by the end of November. Some of them are going to be for a vinyl with Cloudberry Records, some of them for another vinyl with the Scottish record label Bubblegum Records and the rest of them, we will see...

Thank you Maria!

Zipper-Cremallera myspace
Cloudberry Records
Embajada de Liliput
WeePOP! Records
Bubblegum Records

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1. Zipper-Cremallera - Former friends