Patricio Anabalón is somewhat unique in today’s music environment because his work easily spans both poetry and cultural styles. His latest album “La noche que nunca llega” (The Night that Never Comes) is an ideal example of effecting such a blend and is a product of collaborations with other artists from different parts of the world such as the Greek artist, Giorgis Christodoulou.
The work of Anabalón would surely show appreciation of poetry in conjunction with musical accompaniment that ranges from Latin American beats to Mediterranean tunes. He treats lyrics as the piece of art and craft and integrates the real life, dreams and literary references into the music effectively.
In this interview we learn more about Anabalón’s new works, discover the stories of his latest album and know his plans for new projects. Come and see us as we host a compelling story-teller in a musical artiste who still has lots to explore.
Listen to La Noche Que Nunca Llega
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What is your stage name?
Patricio Anabalon, which is also my real name.
Is there a story behind your stage name?
No, I use my real name, which is quite common, at least in Latin America, as a representative stage name in the singer-songwriter genre.
Where do you find inspiration?
In everyday life and in the dream world. My songs usually mix both dimensions and the elements obtained from there, I combine them with poetic and musical structures that give shape to my songs. This last album, titled “La Noche Que Nunca Llega” has a lot of that creative process and that type of inspiration.
What was the role of music in the first years of your life?
Without a doubt, fundamental. I was born in the 70s and at that time the singersongwriter genre was not only boiling in an astonishing way in every corner of Latin America and Chile was no exception. Therefore, music has always been present in my life and particularly the singer-songwriter, with which I was very familiar since I was a child.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
I have some roots close to the poetic vein. I myself started in the artistic world writing poetry and then, over time, I combined verses with music, until I reached this beautiful craft of being a craftsman of songs.
Who inspired you to be part of the music industry?
I have been producing songs for many years and although the genre in which I am inserted is not very massive, it does require dedicated work in the final stage of a musical production, particularly in relation to the dissemination and commercialization of the works created. I try, then, to be able to promote my work within the editorial lines of the industry that give it a worthy place and synchronized with the spirit that my work has.
How did you learn to sing/write/play?
Since I was a child I was very close to poetry. There I took my first steps as an artist. Later, when I was younger, I studied classical guitar and some vocal technique. Over time I have deepened my knowledge in both subjects, both poetic and musical. I try to exercise these areas of knowledge in my musical work and experiment with them continuously.
For example, “La Noche Que Nunca Llega” is a song that is built on the basis of several tenths (an ancestral Hispanic poetic structure) and is musically mixed with elements as diverse as Arabic, Greek, Spanish and African instruments. Experimenting is part of this continuous learning process.
What was the first concert you went to and who did you see play?
I have distant memories of having seen many troubadours in the 80s. It is likely that it was some meeting where Eduardo Peralta, troubadour and friend, whom I admire very much, participated.
Describe your creative process.
As I mentioned before, my creative process is nourished by everyday and dreamlike elements. Dream images have a great preponderance in my creations. For this reason, many poetic images abound in a line very close to the creative spirit developed by the surrealists last century. I am greatly influenced by these types of literary movements, which I read with fervor during my adolescence.
What is your main inspiration?
Today it could be the concept of “journey.” A motif that has always been present in the history of humanity. We can think of Ulysses and his return to Ithaca and how that concept is present, continuously, in our daily lives, forging many of the questions and concerns that are common to every human being during their existence. A large part of my songs are questions and seek, in some way, to pour those concerns into a “light and winged” dimension, such as a song.
Which musician do you admire most and why?
I admire many musicians. In the line of my musical work, I can mention Payo Grondona and Eduardo Peralta from Chile, Silvio Rodríguez, Augusto Blanca and Vicente Feliú, wonderful Cuban troubadours, and singers and poets like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Idir or Jacques Brel, whom I read and listen to frequently.
Has your style evolved since the beginning of your career?
Certain musical and poetic elements have evolved. The passage of time has led me to face certain creative challenges with new poetic and musical elements and forms.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
I think that technology, in some way, is a direct threat, if it is not well used in this creative process of “craft” of the song that I spoke of earlier. Technology, while it represents an advance in many aspects of today’s society, is also an element that disintegrates and erodes many of the traditions and identity elements of cultures, and song, as a traditional element with so many centuries of life, is not exempt from this.
What are your interests outside of music?
Reading poetry, science fiction classics and illustrated books.
If it weren’t a musical career, what would you be doing?
I would love to fully dedicate myself to poetry, illustration and creating scripts to be illustrated.
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the path of music?
Due to the nature of my artistic work, which is not very massive, the main difficulty is being able to access some media that can communicate the work developed in a broader and more effective way. The positive thing about these times is that there are many more instances and alternatives for dissemination and that “problem” that I may have had at the beginning of my career has faded away over time.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
Like most industries, the music industry is not exempt from vices and pettiness. I think the important thing is that the industry doesn’t change you, or attack the dignity and identity of your work.
Why did you choose this title for this project?
“La Noche Que Nunca Llega” is the first single from this new album that I’m presenting this 2024 and at the same time the title of the album. I think it summarizes and contains, in some way, many of the elements that are present in the rest of the album and, therefore, represents the work in its entirety.
What are your plans for the coming months?
I will be focused on the presentation of this new album, in which important musicians from Chile, Cuba, Greece and Spain participate; and on the culmination of a recording project with the prominent Chilean poet Pedro Lastra, on an album that contains several of his poems set to music and performed by me. I hope to present that work with Pedro next year 2025.
Do you have plans for artistic collaboration?
Yes, it is very likely that next year I will do a couple of new collaborations with some fellow singer-songwriters from Latin America and also more than one collaborative work with some Chilean poet.
What message would you like to give to your fans?
Thank you to those who support my musical work. To the new people who discover my music, I suggest that they immerse themselves in both the lyrics and the music, the songs are a conjunction of both elements and I hope they can feel them, smell them and fly with them
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