Indietracks interview #6: Los Bonsáis

Interview by Claire Walker.

Los Bonsáis is a noise pop duo from north Spain, signed to the legendary Elefant Records label. They combine the electricity of My Bloody Valentine, the primitivism of Beat Happenning, and the instant shake-you-up of The Vaselines. This year they’ve released a mini-lp with ten songs called ‘Nordeste’ and their previous shows include Madrid Popfest, Lemon Pop 2013 and Wales Goes Pop.

Hi Los Bonsáis! So you are from Asturias in Spain, do you have a good indie pop music scene? I know Axolotes Mexicanos are also from this area, is there anyone else that is worth looking out for?
We live in a region with music great tradition, but now we only have a few bands influenced by indie pop, names like Indienella or Lavandera. We have other kind of bands in Asturias, genres like rock or powerpop. We want more indiepop bands here now!

You also make a fanzine and produce your own artwork, how important is it to be creative other than musically?
We like to have control over everything concerning our albums: photos, promo, posters, video clips, artwork … We think the band as not only music… and we also love DIY.

You’ve released two mini albums and your new EP ‘Nordeste’ (it’s super fun by the way!), any plans to release a full album?
We haven’t plans to release an full album soon, but maybe one day… we have no hurry. I think 10″ format is perfect for our short songs! We now have plans to record a new very special EP, but we can’t tell you anymore … it is a secret.

Do you have any surprises lined up for your Indietracks set?
We will play a lot of songs from our new mini-lp “Nordeste” and some “old” songs. We will play a very special cover of a British cult band that we have translated into Spanish. The result is a very nice song! We hope people enjoy it!

What bands are you particularly looking forward to seeing?
We are looking forward to seeing bands like Cinerama, The School, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Darling Buds, The Catenary Wires, The Fireworks, Tigercats, Martha … and much more! We love the line up! And we want to discover new bands for us, we are very excited!