At Bryan we continue with one of our favorite sections of the blog: #bryanTalks

A space where we talk with women " doers " of things.
Women whose work inspires us, with whom we establish a common bond and from whom we learn a lot.

For the month of June, we have been lucky enough to interview Cristina Quesada. With Canary roots, with a lot of world travel and with excellent musical talent that has managed to captivate us.

We love your new album Think I Heard a Rumor (2019) and we cannot deny that it is quite different from the previous ones. What will listeners find when they listen to it?

 

Thank you so much! Think I Heard A Rumor is made up of fourteen songs, nine of them original - eight composed by Joe Moore and one of them by Ana from La Bien Querida -, four versions: by France Gall , The Wake , Ted Gärdestad and Evinha and one version from an unreleased song by Ibon Errazkin and Teresa Iturrioz , from Single. The style of this new album is highly influenced by eighties pop, synth pop , J-pop , Eurodisco and electronic pop, so you can dance non-stop.

In this work you have joined forces with Joe Moore to compose the lyrics. What has it been like to work together? What inspired you when composing the songs?

It was very cool! I think we have had great communication and that we have understood each other very well when it comes to working together, even separated by miles of distance. We started from the base that we wanted to make songs with a certain style, and from there, Joe created songs that I fell in love with from the first time I heard them, that deal with timeless themes such as love, heartbreak and having a good time, with which both I and many other people can identify with.

 

We are passionate about being able to interact with women artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and, as in your case, creators. Apart from the musical world, in what other facet would you say that you are a “creative” person?

 

I think I have always been quite attached to creativity, I love music but also cinema and television, years ago I was working as an actress in a television program in the Canary Islands called El Club de Archi and I have very good memories of that epoch. I also love to draw, although I do it as a personal exercise and my drawings rarely see the light of day, haha. On the other hand, I am also a doctoral student and I research children's literature, especially illustrated books. A priori it does not have to be a “creative” activity, but it seems to me that spending hours discovering authors and illustrators, observing illustrations and analyzing the relationships of text and image in each album also makes me develop my creativity a lot.

 

Being by your side, your single written by La Bien Querida. How has the step of working together been? What would you highlight about the experience?

 

When we started brainstorming for the new album, I was talking to Luis and Montse from Elefant about how cool it would be if Ana Fernández-Villaverde (La Bien Querida) wrote a song to include it, because she is one of my most important musical influences. After this conversation we spoke with her and she agreed. It makes me very excited. I remember that the first time I heard the first demo, sung by her, I was walking in Paris and it seemed like a very exciting moment.

We have always been struck by the fact that your songs are in different languages. What motivated you to do it this way?

 

The main reason is because I have musical influences from different countries, I love groups that sing in Spanish, but also British, American, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Swedish groups, to name a few. It has also helped me somewhat that I know most of the languages ​​in which I sing: Spanish, English, French and Swedish; and the ones I don't know as well, I would love to learn to speak someday. I have always been passionate about languages, they seem extraordinary to me and I love getting in touch with them through music.

 

You have lived in different cities such as Paris, Gothenburg, ... would you say that these experiences have also been reflected in one way or another in your songs?

 

Well, I think so, especially because in each place I have met new groups and styles of music that have influenced me. For example, in Sweden I have discovered pop groups from different decades that I did not know and that I now love, for example Ted Gärdestad , who in the 70s published the song Jag Vill Ha En Egen Måne and of which I do a version in my new CD.

 

Both we and many of your followers would love to hear you live. Are you planning to attend a venue or go on a concert tour?

I also really want to give live shows! I'm starting to close dates, but for now it's certain that I will play in Madrid in November, although I still don't have all the details.

 

And finally, 4 questions:

- A woman who inspires you:

 Françoise Hardy

- Your Guilty pleasure/s:

don't have! But if I have to say something, maybe sing “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” by Bonnie Tyler in Karaoke.

- If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Tapestry by Carole King

- Potato omelette, with or without onion?

Always with onion!

Thank you very much, Cristina.
How good to learn from all of you.