Los Piratas was a Spanish rock band from

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

, founded in 1991. They were considered one of the most influential groups in the

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

scenes in Spain. They released five studio albums (one of them a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

), two live albums, three compilations and four albums of rarities, before disbanding in 2004. The band's influences included

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

Los Planetas Los Planetas (''The Planets'') is a Spanish indie rock group from the city of Granada which started out in the mid 1990s and continue now through the 2020s. The group's first hit was "Qué puedo hacer" (''What can I do?'') from their album "Supe ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment and 1980s Spanish pop. The group was in both the mainstream and independent scenes, and evolved from

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

to a sound with electronic touches and greater musical maturity. Their lyrics were initially about relationships, frustrated loves and loves to come, and later became darker and deeper.

History

Creation and early years (1989–1994)

The band was founded in

, Galicia (Spain) in 1989, when Iván Ferreiro and Paco Serén decide to create a group they call ''"Los Piratas del Capitán Baroli"'' (''"Capitán Baroli"'' is a reference to Barullo, a great friend of Iván's). After recording a demo with the catchy song ''"Somos Pobres''", Ivan and Paco start recruiting other members for the band. First they talk to some members of the band ''"No Grites Tonta"'', Fernando Romero, Fernando Lorenzo and Miguel Jiménez. Lorenzo and Miguel eventually leave the project and Romero goes to live in the United States. Months later, Los Piratas consolidates as a rock band, with

Iván Ferreiro Iván Ferreiro Rodríguez (born 15 August 1970) is a Spanish singer-songwriter born in Vigo, Galicia. He was the voice, leader and composer of the popular pop-rock band Los Piratas. Career After Los Piratas split, by late 2003, Iván kept p ...

as leader and vocalist, Alfonso Román on guitar, Paco Serén as

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

and guitarist, Pablo Álvarez on bass, Javier Fernández, known by the nickname of ''Hal 9000'', on drums and

Raúl Quintillán Raul, Raúl, Raül, and Raüll are forms of a common first name in Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan. The name is cognate of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph and the French R ...

as keyboardist. In October 1992 their first album was released, a live album with the same name, recorded in the CDB hall, produced by Javier Abreu and edited by the

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in '' Shatter M ...

label thanks to the wonderful work of their manager at that time Ángeles Rivera, who went with the demo in hand to all the record labels in Madrid. In this work the group followed a style close to pop rock, with

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

tints, or rock, and their themes were centered on frustrated love and the love that is to come. A year later, in 1993, Los Piratas released their first studio album, '' Quiero hacerte gritar'', which included most of the songs from the previous album. In it, the group continued with their pop rock line, present in the previous album, despite having some songs more oriented towards rock and even

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

. The production and label were the same as in their debut album. With both albums, the group began to reap the rewards of their hard work.

Road to success (1995–1997)

The band released in 1995 their second studio album, '' Poligamia'', under the Warner label and the production of Juan Luis Giménez, from

Presuntos Implicados Presuntos Implicados was a Spanish pop music, pop band, created in March 1983 in Yecla, Murcia. The band was originally composed of the siblings :es:Sole Giménez, Sole Giménez and Juan Luis Giménez, and their friend Pablo Gómez. In the same ...

, who helped them to get closer to the desired sound, more rock, as well as incorporating more complex elements and

samplers Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

. In some songs there are acoustic and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

elements and they also had the collaboration of the former members of

Duncan Dhu Duncan Dhu is a Spanish group created in San Sebastián, Spain in 1984. Its original members were Mikel Erentxun (former singer in "Aristogatos"), Diego Vasallo and Juan Ramón Viles (former members of "Los Dalton"). Nowadays, it mainly consis ...

Mikel Erentxun Mikel Erentxun Acosta (born 23 February 1965) is a Spanish rock musician of Basque heritage. Formerly with the group Duncan Dhu, he started his solo career in 1992. He has released 16 albums as a solo artist and has covered The Smiths' song, ...

and Diego Vasallo, in the song ''"Tu perro guardián''". They also performed a cover of

Tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...

's ''"Dime que me quieres"''. With this album they got to be broadcast on radio formats and increased their sales considerably. In 1997 the album '' Manual para los fieles'' was released, where Los Piratas evolved into a "warm" rock, that is to say, making their music more complex by adding

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and fusion bases, such as the use of the

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

and other typical elements of Galician

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

. The production was also the responsibility of Juan Luis Giménez and in some tracks they included collaborations with

Antón Reixa Antón is a corregimiento in Antón District, Coclé Province, Panama. It is located near the north-western shore of the Gulf of Panama The Gulf of Panama () is a gulf of the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Panama, where most of east ...

, Anxo Pintos,

Kepa Junkera Kepa Junkera Urraza (born 1965 in Bilbao, Basque Country (autonomous community), Euskadi, Spain) is a Basque people, Basque musician and composer. A master of the trikitixa, the diatonic accordion, he has recorded more than 10 albums. Allmusic ...

, Miqui Puig">Allmusic ...

, Miqui Puig of ''

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, Miqui Puig of ''Los Sencillos'' and Soledad Giménez. The lyrics changed, becoming darker and deeper. In addition, the song ''"Mi matadero clandestino"'' was part of the soundtrack of the Spanish version of the movie Batman & Robin (film)">Batman and Robin Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comi ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment In this way, the band assimilated the electronics of the former and managed to create suffocating atmospheres. The album was recorded, as was ''Poligamia'', in a residential studio in France located in the middle of the countryside and with Juan Luis Jiménez still as producer. At first, the Warner label refused to distribute it because they considered it too commercial for the independent circuit, but it was finally released by the label and became a gold record with more than 50,000 sales. That same year, the album was re-released adding unreleased tracks, remixes, rarities and live tracks. Later, in 2003, they released with unreleased songs ''Respuestas'' and ''Dinero''

Independent season (2003)

In that same year Los Piratas' last studio album, ''

Relax Relax or RELAX may refer to: Albums * ''Relax'' (album), by Das Racist, 2011 * ''Relax'', by Blank & Jones, 2003 * ''Relax'', by Los Piratas, 2003 Songs * "Relax" (Deetah song), 1998 * "Relax" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song), 1983 * "Relax ...

'', produced by Suso Saiz and recorded at Estudios IZ, in the Basque Country, was released, with which they left the mainstream scene. It was more dark and electronic than their previous works, losing the protagonism of the guitars and moving away from a more rock sound, which caused it to be received with coldness by critics and the public. He showed himself to be more experimental, opting for

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

chill-out Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

and jazz orchestrations, among other sounds. The album was re-released that year, adding five new songs, all of them tribute. Later, a special edition was released that included the albums ''Respuestas'' and ''Dinero'' which contained mainly instrumental songs, thus forming a quadruple album.

''Fin de la segunda parte'' and separation (2003–2004)

Soon after, rumors began to spread about the separation of the band. On October 23, 2003, a live farewell album was recorded at La Riviera in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, entitled ''

Fin de la segunda parte A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

'' (End of the second part). It featured collaborations with

Enrique Bunbury Enrique Ortiz de Landázuri Izarduy (born 11 August 1967), best known as Enrique Bunbury, is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He has been described as "by far the most international star of Spanish rock." He was propelled to fame as lead singer ...

, El Drogas from

Barricada Barricada (from Spanish: ''Barricade'') were a Navarrese hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s ...

and Amaral, and included both videos of the performance and CD recordings. Los Piratas gave their last concert in December of that year, in the Galileo Galilei hall, and disbanded in February 2004. Iván, leader of the band, commented on the split: While the breakup of the band was in the making, Gabi Davila in collaboration with the members of the group wrote ''"Empatía, Conversaciones con Piratas"'', the book that summarizes the trajectory of the group from its beginnings.

After the separation

After splitting up, Iván began a solo career in early 2005, while Alfonso Román formed ''Trash of Dreams'' with Suso Saiz, to later start playing individually. On the other hand, Paco Serén and Hal 9000 were part of ''Ectoplasma'' until the end of 2007. In 2008 '' Disco duro'' was released, a set-box that collected all the re-released studio albums of the band. Each one included short texts written by journalists or people close to the band who talked about it, and some unreleased tracks and never released demos. In addition, the set-box included a DVD with a documentary reviewing the history of Los Piratas and how each album was recorded, photos of the band, unreleased covers and a wide range of material. At the same time, a single CD edition was released, a compilation of the greatest hits, with some unreleased tracks.

Style and influences

The first two albums of Los Piratas were oriented towards pop rock, with intense guitars, sometimes close to blues or psychedelia. This style was described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

as "rock oriented towards teenagers". In ''Poligamia'' they moved closer to rock and in ''Manual para los fieles'' they continued along that line, only adding electronic and fusion elements, such as folk. The electronic sound continued in their following works, always with the presence of rock elements, until they definitively separated from it in their last studio album, ''Relax'', in which a darker sound can also be appreciated. The band cited

and

as influences. Other influences included

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment and Spanish pop of the 1980s. Los Piratas were also considered one of the most influential groups in the history of Spanish pop and rock music. The group also covered songs by several artists, such as ''" Las cosas que pasan hoy"'' (with Anton Reixa) and ''" Dime Que Me Quieres"'' by

, ''"

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

"'' by

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

, ''"

Bésame Mucho "Bésame Mucho" (; "Kiss Me A Lot") is a bolero song written in 1932 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. One of the most important songs in the history of Latin music, it became one the most popular pop standards of the 20th century as ...

"'' by

Consuelo Velázquez Consuelo Velázquez Torres (August 21, 1916, in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco – January 22, 2005, Mexico City), also popularly known as Consuelito Velázquez, was a Mexican concert pianist and composer. She was the composer of famous Mexican balla ...

and ''" Toda una vida"'' by Nuria Villazán. The group paid tribute to

Hombres G Hombres G ("G-Men") is a Spanish pop rock band, formed in Madrid in 1983. They are widely considered one of Spain's most prominent pop groups of the 1980s and early 1990s. The band consists of lead vocalist and bassist David Summers, lead guita ...

with ''" Ésta es tu vida"'' and to 091 with ''" Otros como yo"''. Their lyrics initially dealt with relationships, frustrated loves and loves to come, and later became darker and deeper.

Members

Last formation

* Alfonso Román, guitar (1991–2004). *

, voice and guitar (1991–2004). * Javier Fernández, ''Hal 9000'' drums (1991–2004). * Pablo Álvarez, bass (1991–2004). * Paco Serén, guitar and keyboards (1991–2004).

Former members

, keyboards (1991–1998).

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Quiero hacerte gritar'' (1993) * '' Poligamia'' (1995) * '' Manual para los fieles'' (1997) * '' Ultrasónica'' (2001) * ''

'' (2003)

Live albums

* '' Los Piratas'' (1992) * ''

'' (2004)

Compilation albums

* '' Fin (de la primera parte)'' (1998) * '' Disco duro'' (2008)

Rarities albums

* '' Sesiones Perdidas de Ultrasónica'' (2001) * '' Respuestas'' (2003) * '' Dinero'' (2003)

References

{{reflist Spanish indie rock groups Spanish alternative rock groups Spanish pop rock music groups Musical groups established in the 1980s Musical groups established in 1989