Toundra: Music For The Masses
As COVID-19 continues to cause chaos in our daily lives, we fight tooth and nail to survive. But somewhere along the way, we’ve grown selfish. As a global community, we’ve forgotten the struggles so many of us face on other sides of the planet. And just because there’s a pandemic, doesn’t mean the other problems just go away. Luckily, those who feel more fortunate than others are climbing up on their soapboxes and using their platforms to stand up for those who can’t. If you need pointing in the direction of a primer, look no further than Spanish post-rock institution TOUNDRA. Even without lyrics, they give a voice to the voiceless. And on their latest album HEX, they strengthen that.
“The global situation is not just about the pandemic, you know, we are sick of talking about just that,” states guitarist Esteban Girón firmly, holding his beliefs high on display during our conversation. “The world was sick before COVID-19, and we see it every day. During the years, we’ve been watching around us a lot of unfair things happening, and we wanted to express that we’re not happy about that. We wanted to express all of this as a part of the community.”
Communities might seem like they belong in museums these days, but communal spirit and solidarity is not lost on TOUNDRA – completed by guitarist David López, drummer Álex Pérez, and bassist Alberto Tocado. In fact, they wear the responsibility to use their platform for the right reasons like it’s a badge of honour. “I think we are responsible about shining a light on a lot of things we don’t think are right in our normal lives, because we are lucky that other people want to know our opinions about a lot of themes, so we are responsible. Not every band has to do that, but we decided that our singular band has a responsibility, because we are sensitive about so many things and want to drive our career that way.”
That responsibility rolls over into every facet of TOUNDRA’s existence. You can see it directly in the artwork of HEX, which depicts a post-apocalyptic industrial wasteland. Only, it’s not post-apocalyptic, it’s the Principality of Asturias, which is where they’re from. And it holds far more meaning than you’d think. “We wanted to talk about all these things, and it happened in England too in the Margaret Thatcher times, we were both an industrialised society and now we are not, and lots of people have no jobs, and young people have no hope, and the government hasn’t done anything about that, so the artwork is expressing our discomfort with that.”
Whenever you make music that speaks to a social cause, you run a risk of fans feeling like you’re shoving it down their throats. There’s a risk to the reward of educating others, and to giving those without voices a vehicle. Esteban and co. are conscious of this. It’s a tightrope they’re carefully treading across daily. “I just want people to enjoy the music. We have values, and we have a message but it doesn’t mean we need the people to listen to our values and our message. You can do it, but it’s not necessary, you can enjoy the music without listening to the message” he counters, when asked about TOUNDRA’s long-term agenda. “We are open-minded, and we don’t need people to think like we think – that would be intolerant, and we fight against that.”
So, it’s fitting in many ways that the album is titled HEX. Loaded with meanings, it could be both a blessing and a curse, which symbolises their own battle with sharing their beliefs. Of course, that’s not quite what TOUNDRA were intending. As it happens, it’s not so serious all of the time. “It’s called Hex just because in Greek, it means six. And our career started with the albums I, II, III, and IV. Then we did Vortex, which of course starts with a V for number five in the Roman alphabet, and so we kept it going.”
It’s not only in the titles you’ll find Easter eggs and references. TOUNDRA take pride in bringing their music together, but evolving it too. Split in two halves, side one is the towering three-part El Odio – a twenty-minute meditation on anger and its many forms. Side two is more experimental, seeing the band explore their electronic influences, particularly on the pulsating undercurrents of La Larga Marcha. They found inspiration through defiance, a willingness to break the boundaries other artists they admire seem not to experience. “Electronic artists like FOUR TET and Jon Hopkins are inspirations for us, because they are instrumental music, but nobody asks them ‘oh, but you don’t have a singer?’ as everybody asks us that, yet as artists we are really similar – I think we’re more similar to them than people who like post-rock expect.”
And El Odio follows suit. Whilst it basks in more traditional post-rock territories, the sprawling opus is a challenge: both to them as a band, and to the music industry they operate in. “We wanted to create a really long song because we wanted to, we want our music to be free, and the most difficult thing in life to do is be free” Esteban explains, exhausted by the shackles modern life bounds us by, before turning to the music industry. “The music industry now is driven by the responsibility of the artist having material monetised by clicks, because the managers and the labels are pushing them. So, we wanted to write these songs against that responsibility, against monetising singles, against the way the music market is.”
It’s a bold move for a band who create challenging, conceptual post-rock. But it’s one with heart, too. Whilst they’re going against the grain to push their beliefs, they’re also doing it in the hope people will take time and escape for an hour. “We wanted to do an album that needed time to listen to it. We want people to realise they need time to have a rest and just listen to the music. I think modern life is rubbish, and you’re doing a lot of things at one time, so we wanted an album where people stop and listen to the music, because you don’t need to be working all the time. Enjoy music for music, you know?”
HEX is out now via InsideOut Music.
Like TOUNDRA on Facebook.