A Permanent Shadow is a musical collective from Barcelona whose only fixture is CP Fletcher who collaborates with the producers Valentí Nieto and Albert Català as well as a rotating cast of guest musicians. After the release of the debut album “Songs of Loss”, A Permanent Shadow are gearing up for their second album “Humdrum”, out in early 2022.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with A Permanent Shadow about the upcoming music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am of Austrian origin but have lived most of my life in Barcelona, Spain. I love Eighties music as well as Alternative Rock and Electronica. And I am a huge fan of David Bowie, especially of what he did in 1977 – Low, “Heroes” and Iggy’s The Idiot and Lust For Life. So if you throw all these influences in a mixer, you get A Permanent Shadow.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
It was actually Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” that hooked me onto music when I was a boy. I knew from very early on that I wanted to be involved in the music business one way or another. I started out as a drummer but some five years ago I decided that I wanted to write, sing and record my own songs, so I went for it. What keeps me going is the pure joy of creating songs and collaborating with other musicians.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Our debut record “Songs of Loss” was a concept album about loss and grief. The second longplay “Humdrum” which will be out in early 2022 is more loosely themed. There are songs about the corporate world, ageing, tsunamis and self-help gurus among other topics. Musically there are more uptempo songs than on the first record, with a stronger dance element. In terms of production, we recorded with a very small and tight-knit team, whereas “Songs of Loss” had more contributions from guest musicians.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Well, the biggest challenge is probably to get your name across and let people know you have new music out, what with the thousands of daily new releases. That said, technology allows you to hook up with other musicians and exchange ideas and in spite of the geographical distance, build a network and be part of one or various communities. And last not least, recording technology these days allows people like me to create albums without record company or management support, something that would not have been possible 25 years ago.
What was the last song you listened to?
I have an Eighties compilation playing on the laptop as we speak. Right now it’s UB40’s “One In Ten” and before that it was “Geno” by Dexys and “Ghost Town” by The Specials. Great songs, all of them!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I’ve had Tinnitus for years, so it’s fair to say I don’t have the most delicate pair of ears to appreciate the nuances in sound quality between an acetate cut and a regular vinyl. CD sounds better than MP3, even to my ears, but I find myself in the absurd situation of buying CD’s, converting them into MP3 and playing them on the laptop or my completely unfashionable and battered MP3 player when I’m out and about. But hey, I’m happy to support my favourite artists paying for the deluxe editions, especially if the CD artwork is appealing. Influential as some of my idols may have been, not all of them have managed to stack up millions over the years.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Good question. As a music consumer I honestly don’t use any of them. OK, Spotify on very few occasions, mainly to exchange songs for sound references with my producer friends. And I bought Babybird’s whole discography on Bandcamp, albeit for download. 80 plus records, can you believe it? What a prolific and most criminally underrated artist! As a musician, I focus the promotional efforts on Spotify and its playlists.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can check our website www.apermanentshadow.com for updates and links to all our social media channels.
Anything else before we sign off?
We will have a new single out on September 24th. It’s called “Shining Star” and comes with a stunning video directed by my good friend Dani Moreno. You can presave the song on Spotify and register for the video premiere via this link: https://hypeddit.com/link/037tml
