07/10/2004

Niza still active

Last June news broke: NIZA had split. Silvia and Roberto took different paths, leaving behind a legacy of elegant and sophisticated pop, succinct in discography (two singles, one album and two videoclips), but still as prevailing as it was in the beginning, keeping the band’s name on a leading position in the current music scene.
 “Canciones de temporada” was released in Japan in the beginning of 2004 by Rambling Records (a powerful label specialized in reissues of 60’s classic albums or soundtracks such as Ennio Morricone’s), enjoying a great welcome and achieving thousand of copies sold, as it was expected after, back in ’99, their debut cd-single was selected by an important Japanese record shop as one of the most recommended of that time.
 
This Japanese edition of the album has a different cover, adapted from their second single “Topolino”, and as it is usual in Japanese releases, it includes some extra tracks. In “Canciones de temporada”, these tracks are: “Jamás te he olvidado” (taken from the “Modapop” compilation), “Radio Star” (a song dedicated to Juan de Pablos, which will be included next November in the tribute CD that celebrates the show “Flor de pasión”’s 25th anniversary, and also included in the “Momentos perdidos” compilation) and an exclusive song (for the time being) for the Japanese audience: “El muchacho de los ojos tristes”, a Jeanette cover wrapped in euphoric europop, produced by Guille Milkyway (from LA CASA AZUL).
Another important highlight is, last summer, NIZA’s album has been released in Taiwan (by Avantgarde Records), a country where a full compilation covering the career of the band will be released next Christmas, including some rarities. And to top all of this frenetic posthumous activity -for the time being; there’s still al lot to do with NIZA’s catalogue, for sure-, these days “Canciones de temporada” is to be released in South Korea (by Ales Music Records).
 
NIZA’s short career is a perfect reflection from a time marked by a new pop emergence in Spain; Their first gig took place during the Automarte Festival in Murcia, in April 1999, with METEOSAT, LA PEQUEÑA SUIZA and MUSIDORA, and the first song released by NIZA, taken from their demo, appeared in “Consuma Pop Español”, a CD compilation released by the estranged Madrid club Supergen.

NIZA quickly received the warmest of the welcomes abroad, even in the UK, where their debut single got some airplay by the famous BBC dj Mark Radcliff, or in France, where they played along with NOSOTRÄSH in an Elefant party in Paris organised by French fanzine Lollipop aboard a boat on the Seine. Japan always received the band with open arms, and their song “Por las tardes” was included in the CD that usually goes with the exquisite Japanese pop magazine Beikoku Ongaku. In Spain they got, for example, a cover in La Luna, and “Canciones de temporada” appears within the Top of album sales at some FNAC establishments (reaching number one in Madrid) and the first edition, of 2.000 copies, sold out in only one month.
 “Canciones de temporada” was produced by Ian Catt, known for his work with ST ETIENNE and TREMBLING BLUE STARS. The twelve songs that make up "Canciones De Temporada" go all over a sentimental relationship across the four seasons: from the bright spring to the unwelcoming and dark winter. With this album, NIZA strengthened their hold as masters of elegant and sophisticated pop bathed with charm and delicacy. Specially indicated for fans of Astrud Gilberto or Claudine Longet. Collaborations in the record came from Guille Mostaza (ELLOS) on bass, Eric (LOS PLANETAS) on drums and percussions, Guille Milkyway (LA CASA AZUL) doing backing vocals on "Parasol" and the Granada City Orchestra (winds and strings).

Niza [Topolino japanese edition]
picture: Archivo Elefant