Interview conducted in Spanish, translated for your enjoyment

Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to Unicorn about the release of their first E.P., Nemesis, now available on Bandcamp and Soundcloud for free streaming and paid download. Norah, the lead singer of the genre-bending new band from Barcelona, had a good deal to say about the formation of the band, as well as its sweetly surreal style, and promising future locally and, hopefully, internationally.

Norah, one of the two principal songwriters in the group, is a spirited young woman from Spain with dyed white hair and possibly the most positive and frenetic energy I’ve witnessed in a musician.

According to Norah, Unicorn began as a long distance project between her and Vic, a multi-instrumentalist she met on Facebook. “Hearing each other,” said Norah, “we realized we had to do something together.” After this, Norah moved to Barcelona to start the project, and little by little filled in their lineup. They are currently five, and are seeking a drummer.

The current lineup of Unicorn is keyboardist Gachi, a friend of Norah’s, guitarist and synth player Borja, a friend of Vic’s and bassist David, who, according to Norah, was “a lucky find.”

“I met David a year ago when I rented his flat for a couple of days. We kept in contact, and when the band formed I proposed he be a part of it, and now we’re all together like a great, big family. We’ve been together a few months, Vic and I since January, the rest joining over time, but as a band just a little over a month.”

Norah stated that the band’s musical influences are varied, and include Daniel Johnston, Devendra Banhart, The Beatles, Patrick Wolf, Belle and Sebastian, and Suede.

“I believe we love a ton of different music and that we try to always contribute our musical references in the music we write.”

On the topic of the band name, Norah said, “We are called Unicorn because we like them as a concept. They are a version of something that exists, but mythical and magical.”

Unicorn’s current release is called Nemesis; the name came to the singer as if by “divine light” and the whole band liked it. Afterwards, said Norah, they discovered that Nemesis is a celestial object that generates a complete change to the planet every time it passes by. Some believe the wayward astral body caused is responsible for many mass extinctions, making the name even more tantalizing for the band.

If you haven’t had the chance to read my review of Nemesis, the tracks are “Don’t Speak,” “Holy Mountain,” “Daniel Johnston,” “Who Are You,” “What Are You Waiting For,” and “Time.” Each is quite unique, a surreal blast of excellent songwriting prowess.

“In the end, the music that we make we make for ourselves, and we suppose that there will be an audience that understands our music and wants to join in the experience. I believe that our message tries to bring us closer to a liberty that we lose everyday; music is a free form of expression that we can enjoy.”

Fans of electronic music, rock and roll, indie, and anything off the beaten track will absolutely dig Nemesis, hopefully the first of many releases by this band on the rise. Find them on Facebook, Bandcamp, or Soundcloud for enjoyable, original tunes, and if you ever find yourself in Barcelona, you may be lucky enough to see the magic for yourself.

3 Comments

  1. Great band! Definitely a band to watch out for in the future. Sublime vocals and intelligent songwriting.

  2. tried one of their songs. not for me…. no way.

  3. listen to Don’t Speak again!