The international fair for the record industry market, Popkomm, which will be celebrating its 20th edition from 8th-10th October in Berlin, is once again making room for an important representation of some of the most outstanding Spanish artists.  The platform Sounds From Spain in which Promusicae is collaborating has chosen half a dozen of outstanding artists so that their can unveil their audible proposal in this event.
Likewise, Sounds from Spain will be supporting the Spanish group Boikot, who were chosen by Popkomm to participate in their official programme in a concert scheduled on 10th October.
The Sounds From Spain pavilion will serve as a meeting point for institutions, associations and companies which are linked to the music of our country will be present. The aim is for those national representatives who arrive at this event to find a suitable meeting place where they can develop ideas and business.
Regarding the musical offer, this year will be centered around multicultural sounds, where well known artists and groups mix with emerging ones. On 8th October, the bands Aaron Thomas, Capsula and Hora Zulú will perform at the Soda Club, and on 9th October, the Maschinenhaus will house the concert of Antonio Orozco, Almasäla and Depedro, who will be on stage accompanied by Lourdes Hernández, singer from the group Russian Red, to sing a duo.

Promotional platform

The record industry market Popkomm has become known as one of the most strategic places to promote Spanish artists. Among the artists who have already passed through Sounds From Spain are Hevia, Dover, Ketama, Estopa, Bebe, Ojos de Brujo, Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Javier Ruibal, Cathy Claret and Marlango, among many others.

POPKOMM 2008 – Programme

Wednesday 8th October 20:30

Soda Club (Kulturbrauerei)
Aaron Thomas – Everlasting Records, Madrid
Special guest: Russian Red – Eureka Discos, Madrid
Capsula – Discos Liliput, Madrid
Hora Zulú – Avispa, Madrid

Thursday 9th October 20:30

Maschinenhaus (Kulturbrauerei)
Depedro – Pias Spain, Madrid
Almasäla ¬– Ventilador Music, Barcelona
Antonio Orozco – Universal Music Spain, Madrid

Friday 10th October 23:15

Duncker (Dunckerstr. 64)
Boikot – Realidad Musical, Madrid

POPKOMM 2008 – Biographies

AARON THOMAS
http://www.myspace.com/aaronthomasband
Everlasting Records

Aaron Thomas was born in Hobart, in Tasmania (Australia), in 1976. He learnt the secrets of rockabilly form his stepfather, Lonnie Lee, an Australian superstar who reached the top position in the sales charts several times. Meanwhile, in his spare time he composed his own songs and improvised blues scales on his guitar.

Although he has spent several years performing in clubs in Australia, California and Spain, Aaron produced his first record, Follow the Elephants, at the beginning of this year. In this first work, Thomas dazzles the listener with organic and sincere songs where the influence of Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan y Elvis Costello can be recognised.

CAPSULA
http://www.capsula.org
Discos Liliput

Capsula is one of the most fascinating rock groups to appear on the new European scene. Their personal and catching sound is a “furious hologram in future” influenced, not only by the sounds of proto-punk of pioneer groups like The Velvet Underground in New York, but also by the dark sounds of the rock blues and psychedelia brought by bands coming from South America at the end of the 60’s.

The group moulds this sound in their latest album, Songs & Circuits, which they have presented live on the main stages of Europe (England, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Holland), South America (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay) and the United States, where they took part in the 2008 edition of South by Southwest SXSW.

HORA ZULÚ
http://www.horazulu.com
Avispa

This group from Granada, Hora Zulú began their musical career in 2002 with Me duele la boca de decirlo, an album in which they gave free rein to the fusion of styles and they started to stand out on the underground scene. After this first work, the quartet published Crisis de claridad (2004) and El que la lleva la entiende (2006), two records which situated the band as one of the most solid and promising in our country.

With their latest work, Creer querer / Querer creer, they have reached creative maturity and have exceeded the expectations that people had of them, thanks to songs with biting lyrics and melodies with a touch of rap filled with flamenco and metal. As a matter of fact, with their presentation single, Toma y obliga, they went straight to number two in the official sales chart of Promusicae.

DEPEDRO
http://www.myspace.com/myspacedepedro
Pias Spain

After following a long path as a singer, guitarrist and session musician, Jairo Zavala has reappeared with his most personal project: Depedro.
Zavala recorded Depedro en Tucson, Arizona, in 2007 with the help of the mythical Caléxico, one of the main exponents in frontier, mixed and independent music. For this album, Amparo Sánchez (Amparanoia) has also collaborated and it is with her that he has recorded Don’t leave me now.

The result of this work is a magical album full of emotions and feelings, thanks to songs that drink up the music from Latin American roots, the song itself, the rumba, the sound, African music, reggae, blues or salsa, all with lyrics that go straight to the heart, and in which he reflects on what is happening in the world and inside each person. 

ALMASALA
http://www.myspace.com/almasalapaloma
Ventilador Music

For the last decade, the streets of Barcelona have been witness to the birth of a new musical current based on the fusion of Latin American, Northern African and Southern European melodies and rhythms. Paloma joined this movement, after having begun her career on stage along with Ojos de Brujo, a group which she belonged to from their beginnings until the release of their first record.

Almasala is her first solo project. Paloma, always returning to her roots, melts traditional flamenco ‘palos’ with melodies from other continents in her first work, Eolh, in which she tells the story of a meeting between ‘tanguillos’ and Arabic scenes, ‘buleria’, ‘solea’, rumba and tangos with Latin American and Jamaican harmonies, ‘palmas’ and ‘cantes jondos’ on an electric background.

ANTONIO OROZCO
http://www.antoniorozco.com/
Darlalata Entertainment

Antonio Orozco is no longer a young promise as he has turned himself into one of the most outstanding Spanish artists. Recognition that has arrived by the more than one and a half million records that he has sold throughout his career.
Although Orozco published his first album, Un reloj y una vela, in 2000, success didn’t come until his second album, Semilla del Silencio, which included the hit Devuélveme la Vida.

Thanks to this success, Orozco embarked on a tour in 2005 which took him to Latin America and the United States. Just after this, in 2006, he published what is, up until now, his latest album, Cadizfornia, in which prestigious artists like the Senegalese Yossou N’dour collaborated. At this time, he also shared a studio with Lucie Silvas, with whom he recorded the song What you’re made of.

BOIKOT
http://www.boikot.com
Attraction Management

Their more than ten years on the stage is good proof that Boikot is one of the most significant groups in the history of Spanish rock. Formed in Madrid in 1987, it wasn’t until the mid 90’s that the members of Boikot decided to take a risk and add to their urban punk rock rhythms, sounds common to Latin American music.

Amongst their most famous works is La ruta del Ché, a trilogy in which unreleased themes are intercalated with covers of some of their favourite songs, like Raindrops keep falling on my head or Tommy Gun. At the end of the 90’s, it was already one of the groups of reference on the national rock scene and was also beginning to have international repercussions. Their latest work, the eleventh of their career, came out this year under the evocative title Amaneció.

The complete list of companies, institutions and associations at POPKOMM 2008 through SOUNDS FROM SPAIN, is as follows:

ASESORARTE
AEDEM (ASOCIACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE EDITORES DE MÚSICA)
ARTE (ASOCIACIÓN DE REPRESENTANTES TÉCNICOS DEL ESPECTÁCULO)
AVISPA, S.L.
DARLALATA ENTERTAINMENT
DISCMEDI
DISCOS LILIPUT
DISCOS LOLLIPOP, S.L.

DISCOS NECESARIOS
EDITARTE
EL SÉPTIMO SELLO RECORDS
EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING SPAIN
EUREKA DISCOS, S.L.
EVERLASTING RECORDS, S.L.
FUNDACIÓN AUTOR / SGAE
FUNDAMENTO DE CANCIONES                               
ICEX (INST.COM.EXTERIOR-MITC)
INAEM (INST.NAC.ARTES ESCÉNICAS–MC)
INTERPRETACIONES ARTISTICAS SS, S.L.
IVM/IVX (INST.VALENCIANO MÚSICA/EXPORTACION)
JUNK RECORDS
LUNAS ROTAS, S.L.
M20
MCKENZIE MUZIK
MIXER DE MEDIOS
PIAS RECORDS SPAIN, S.L.
POPSTOCK
PROMOMADRID - CÁMARA DE COMERCIO DE MADRID
PROMUSICAE
REPRESENTARTE
SELLO AUTOR, S.R.L.
UFI (UNIÓN FONOGRÁFICA INDEPENDIENTE)
VALE MUSIC / UNIVERSAL MUSIC SPAIN, S.L.
VENTILADOR MUSIC

 For more information please contact: Comunicación SGAE
Tel: +34 91 349 9774/ 73/75.

E-mail: prensa@sgae.es.

Web: www.sgae.es    www.fundacionautor.org