A Q&A with Whisky Sugar

Barcelona rock trio fuse 80s glam with 90s grunge…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
‘Tannen’s World’. So this song feels like our band’s quiet scream about the state of the world. The obvious reference is the Back To The Future antagonist Biff Tannen, but despite the fun little joke (who’s the most obvious Tannen in today’s political world?!) we wanted to go a little deeper. Our song’s about a societal shift that feels like it was manufactured rather than a natural move towards authoritarianism – who would move naturally toward an authoritarian?! – something that feels off. You can’t quite tell how or why, but something switched and now you can’t quite comprehend the world you’re in. That’s what our song means to us.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
Well the hardest part was getting it to listeners amongst the daily stampede of music being churned out! We make all of our recordings, mixing, mastering in a studio that our bandleader John rents. Maybe we’re a little crazy to be putting out our own little brand of fervently handmade rock’n’roll in a world that’s – let’s say somewhat swallowed by electronic music, Reggaetón / Trap and K-Pop. Want some soulful tunes from a Spanish band that loves Queen, The Rolling Stones, Poison, Nirvana, Ramones and Led Zeppelin in equal measure? Hit us up!

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do you enjoy most about producing your own material?
Our co-founder John Side did everything from recording to mixing and mastering all of our songs, including our first album Tales From The Bottle. We get to work aiming for a particular sound on each song, but John adds everything from the musical arrangements to the soundscape, to the whimsical sound effects (check out ‘Tannen’s World’) that bring depth to our compositions.

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
FUN AND FREEDOM, that’s our aim. We want people to rock out to our songs – on their own or with us at a gig! – and feel transported to a less controlled era, where whimsy and playfulness are celebrated and move you to dance and shout. That’s Whisky Sugar.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
A lot of our tunes start with a story. ‘Barbarella’ from our first album both celebrated and mocked the Instagram Model hype that never really left the culture boilerplate. We came up with a tune that was sensuous and then wrote our very tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones drummer) was a hero of ours, but after Rai Storm read an obituary in the NYTimes, he felt like he’d already heard the song in his head and just wrote the lyrics down. ‘Tannen’s World’ feels like a story that’s being told as we speak.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
John Side: A lot of bands and people including Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Steven Tyler, Prince, Little Richard, Milton Nascimento, Héctor Lavoe, John Paul Jones, Michel Camilo, Cat Stevens, Silvio Rodríguez and the list goes on. Victor: The ultimate singer and my biggest hero has always been Freddie Mercury. His voice, stage presence, and charisma were on another level. He had the rare ability to be both powerful and vulnerable at the same time. Watching him perform made me understand what it truly means to own a stage. He’s been a huge influence on the way I see music and performance. Rai: I’ve been influenced by everyone from Lennon/McCartney, to Patti Smith, to Julian Casablancas. But the biggest might be Kurt Cobain and Bob Dylan.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
Oh we want to tour the UK, Germany and France as our immediate favourites. If you know anyone who’s looking to hire a rock’n’roll trio with a big sound, original tunes, and a suitcase full of rock covers we’ve perfected from our heroes (Ramones, Hendrix, David Bowie, Sam Cooke, Poison, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Stones and more) then hit us up! Rai: I’d love to play at the Roundhouse or Royal Albert Hall in London. Vic: A US tour would be amazing. And I’ve always dreamed of playing at Wembley Stadium. John: I want to play in every rock and roll stadium in the world, every place with good vibes.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
‘Breakfast for Millionaires’, it’s one of our favourites and we went out to the desert in Zaragoza with a couple of actors to film a music video for it.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
1. Write music that makes people want to sing with us all night long. 2. Play all over the world. 3. To be able to record in the most rockin’ venues in the world.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Rai: Share Love, Not Rage. John: Thanks for the love, keep rockin’. Vic: Thanks for enjoying this with us.

Find out more about Whisky Sugar at youtube.com/@whiskysugar