Dan Bejar’s band DESTROYER is about to release an entire EP in Spanish. Five Spanish Songs will be out on November the 29th. This will be the first time the band has released any new material since the acclaimed Kaputt in 2011. Bejar is a poetic wordsmith known for his lyrical complexity. Which makes his decision to sing five songs in a different language is quite a departure for him. Another drastic change on this EP is that all the songs are written by legendary Spanish singer/song-writer Antonio Luque. However Bejar told NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION he welcomed this opportunity to do something new: “I’ve always really loved Chinarro. And I wanted to take time off from singing DESTROYER songs. Unfortunately none of my stabs at english-language covers were enjoyable for me.”
On the promo sheet for Five Spanish Songs Bejar is quoted saying that it just “felt over for English.” A slightly misinterpretation of his opinion as he tells: “I might have felt that on the day that I wrote that. Though I was probably just embittered and angry over having to write a one-sheet.”
Bejar has been fan of the music by Luque for 22 years as he tells us. And you can clearly sense this on his recordings. Each song on the EP has a different vibe that appeals to even those that do not speak Spanish. Del monton for example has a smooth jazz feel to it while El rito is more rock and roll. This variance in sound is not surprising as that diversity has always been one of DESTROYER‘s greatest strengths as a band.
Mastermind Dan Bejar: “I generally love southern vanguards”
You can sense his fandom for the originals. What draws Bejar to the writing of Luque? “The words. The melodies. An approach to phrasing that is both very natural and very sophisticated. And I generally love southern vanguards.” he says with a grin.
Every of your albums is unique is this a conscious choice or does it just end up that way?
It just happens this way. Though it probably has something to do with bringing in different musical collaborators on every record. The new EP features collaborations with David Carswell, Stephen Hamm, and Josh Wells of BLACK MOUNTAN.
You’ve said that after your tour this November/December there will not be another full tour until 2015. What made you come to that decision?
Because I would like to take 2014 to begin and end a full-length of original DESTROYERcompositions. Five Spanish Songs will be the only Spanish-language DESTROYER recording.
And as the final sounds of the beautiful ballad Bye Bye close the new EP we can’t help but hoping for the best with new DESTROYER material soon. Five Spanish Songs can be previewed right here and will be available for download on November the 29th.
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