Els Amics de les Arts is one of the best-known bands of what some have called the new wave of

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

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

- pop. Their songs are short stories made with simple melodies, touches of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

, wordplay and much irony.

History

''Catalonautes'' (Pistatxo Records, 2005) was the band's first demo album. It contained their first four songs, recorded at home in one afternoon. This was the first and the last album they planned to make. However, as a result of feedback they decided to make a second demo. ''Roulotte Polar'' (Pistatxo Records, 2006) was completed a year and a half later. They all went on an

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exchange, each to a different place, but they wrote the songs together through

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and recorded them in their winter holidays, in December 2007. ''Castafiore Cabaret'' (Pistatxo Records, 2008) was the group's first recorded album, with six self-produced songs. They sent 8,000 copies to the magazine

Enderrock ''Enderrock'' is a monthly musical magazine published in Catalan, since 1993. It specializes in the promotion of pop-rock music in the Catalan language and around Catalan speaking areas. On 2004 it was awarded with a National Award for the socia ...

and started making homemade videos: ''Déjà-vu'' and ''A vegades'' ("Sometimes"). They started the ''Castafiore Tour'' across

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

and their music spread by word of mouth. They considered, for the first time, recording a second album in a professional studio. ''Bed&Breakfast'' (Discmedi, 2009) came out in 2009. They started touring, hiring five musicians for their gigs. The album has been awarded many prestigious prizes. It became a Double Gold Album (more than 45,000 copies sold) and spent 74 weeks among the top-selling albums. They rounded up the tour with a double concert at the

Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, en, Palace of Catalan Music) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan '' modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for ...

in Barcelona. The new album ''Espècies per Catalogar'' (Discmedi, 2012) ("Species to be catalogued") represents a step forward both musically and lyrically. In the week of its release, the album reached number 1 in sales on iTunes and number 4 in the Spanish Promusicae Chart (Spain's official

music chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

). The twelve songs on the album are composed of melodies that blend organic instrumentation with electronic beats. In March 2013, they were asked to write and produce the official song of the 2013 World Aquatics Championships being held in Barcelona. In April 2014 they publish his third studio album "Només d'entrar hi ha sempre el dinosaure" (Discmedi, 2014). It definitely establishes them as one of the most important Catalan bands of the decade with unquestioned singles such as "Ja no ens passa" and "Preferiria no fer-ho". They tour around Catalonia, Spain, the UK and Ireland. They get their third Spanish Gold Record (more than 20.000 copies). In 2015, to celebrate their tenth anniversary they performed three special shows in which they played with a Big Band. During their last concert they received on stage their first Platinum Record for the 45.000 copies of their debut album "Bed and Breakfast" (2009) Currently, the band is composing new songs.

Members

File:Joan-Enric de Els Amics.JPG, Joan Enric Barceló File:Ferran els amics.JPG, Ferran Piqué Fargas File:Dani de Els Amics.JPG, Dani Alegret Ruiz

Current members

* Joan Enric Barceló Fàbregas (2005–present):

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

and acoustic guitar. * Ferran Piqué Fargas (2005–present):

and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

. * Dani Alegret Ruiz (2005–present):

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

and hammond organ.

Former members

* Eduard Costa (2005–2018):

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...

, moog synthesizer and

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Castafiore Cabaret'' (Pistatxo Records, 2008) * ''

Bed & Breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

'' (Discmedi, 2009) * '' Espècies per catalogar'' (Discmedi, 2012) * '' Tenim dret a fer l'animal'' (CD+DVD live) (Discmedi, 2013) * '' Només d'entrar hi ha sempre el dinosaure'' (Discmedi, 2014) * '' La taula petita EP'' (Pistatxo Records / Clippers, 2015) * '' 10 anys'' (CD+DVD Live) (Pistatxo Records, 2015) * '' Un estrany poder'' (Sony, 2017) * '' El senyal que esperaves'' (Música Global / Universal, 2020)

Demos

* ''Catalonautes'' (Pistatxo Records, 2005) * ''Roulotte Polar'' (Pistatxo Records, 2007)

Special albums

* ''Càpsules Hoi-poi isc de rareses' (Pistatxo Records, 2009) * ''Les mans plenes'' (Pistatxo Records, 2009) – Cooperation with the fanzine ''Malalletra'' * ''Non-non'' (Pistatxo Records, 2009) – Cooperation with the fanzine ''Malalletra' * ''Submarí Pop. Tributo catalán a The Beatles'' (Grup Enderrock, 2010) – Compilation * ''Bed & Breakfast'' Special Edition (Discmedi, 2010)

Videos

*
The city between blue and blue
' official song of the 15th FINA World Championships Barcelona 2013 *
Monsieur Costeau
' official clip of his album ''Espècies per catalogar''
Making of Monsieur Costeau

Microdocus. 16th European Baloon Festival
Documentary series of the tour (1) ''Espècies per catalogar''
Microdocus. Cap Roig Festival
Documentary series of the tour (2) ''Espècies per catalogar''
Microdocus. Grec Festival
Documentary series of the tour (3) ''Espècies per catalogar''
Microdocus. Porta Ferrada Festival
Documentary series of the tour (4) ''Espècies per catalogar''

References

External links

Official web page

Els Amics de les Arts in the media

Discography and lyrics of Els Amics de les Arts

Videoclip of ''Jean-Luc''
{{Authority control Musical groups from Catalonia Spanish folk music groups Sony Music Spain artists Música Global artists