Musicians

The long gestation of this book has gradually given rise to expectations, hopes, doubts, jokes and comments of every kind, which always complicates somewhat the presentation of the experiment in question. So, to set about this task, I have fallen back on the most basic manual of journalism: the five essential questions behind any piece of reporting.

Who?

The protagonists are all those who, in one way or another, helped to build the history of the blues in Barcelona and its surroundings, generation after generation. This is precisely the spirit that animates a publication that aims to be the reflection of that dynamic in which, page after page, the artists pass the baton in a peculiar musical relay race. History and the inescapable passage of time are what determine the order of the portraits, which serve to pay tribute, to bear witness to the work of all and to bring out the faces of the newcomers. Nor does it claim to be a “who's who”, and it is obvious that we have not been able to reach that “all of them”, something we knew from the outset would be impossible. With some we were not in time to make contact when we began; others proved impossible to trace; a few more chose silence as their answer; and there were some who simply declined to take part. To all of them, our gratitude and respect. And an affectionate memory of Loti Lewis, Jordi Bonell and Víctor Uris.

What?

A photographic project that illustrates the Barcelona blues scene from its origins to the present day, attempting to unite two artistic disciplines in a single publication: image and music. Both are approached with the artisanal spirit of the early days: with the traditional analogue method, hand processing and a renunciation of the conveniences of the digital age. In this way, the raw, improvised and direct spirit of the first blues is sought, pursuing the concept of an interdisciplinary jam session.

When?

In the days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the musicians' world collapsed completely, Joan Linux conceived a project as ambitious as it was complicated (or vice versa): to put before his camera all the musicians who played a leading role in the history of the blues in Barcelona, or at least as many of them as possible. In those days of isolation and curfews, his photographic studio became the lighthouse to which the protagonists of Barcelona blues came in order, at least, to feel recognised as artists and to become part of the hidden history of the city.

Where?

In the working-class neighbourhood of La Sagrera, one of the city's most important centres for the production and dissemination of underground culture survives: the Nau Bostik. Curiously, the origin of this complex lies in the same place as the music illustrated on these pages: the United States. In 1923 — the year in which Bessie Smith recorded Down Hearted Blues— the American company The Boston Blacking Co., which adopted the name Bostik, set up in Barcelona. In 2015 this huge industrial concern became a centre for the dissemination of culture and cultural agitation thanks to the residents of the neighbourhood. It is here that the portraitist has set up his photographic refuge.

Why?

Perhaps because, as the Spanish popular saying goes, “when the devil has nothing to do, he kills flies with his tail”. It is possible that resorting to proverbs may not seem very intellectual, but in this case it is very apt. Perhaps that blues devil that got inside Joan during many hours of concerts behind the lens of his camera inspired this crazy idea: a collection of portraits that seek to capture the intimacy and spontaneity of the moment. The photographer's eye seizes the fleeting instant and turns it into a permanent memory. The brief light of a flash illuminates the figure of the musician for ever, and the sum of the artists' portraits creates the narrative of the city's musical history. Barcelona is that black-and-white snapshot reflected in the gaze and attitude of each one of those who play their blues.