Family (Spanish band)

Family was a San Sebastian pop group formed by the graphic designer Javier Aramburu (voice, guitars, programming) and the musician Iñaki Gametxogoikoetxea (bass and programming).

Despite its brief existence, just 5 years and one credited album, it is considered a great influence on Spanish pop at the end of the century XX. Family's style, placed by critics in the Donosti Sound, has British roots close to groups like New Order.

The origins

Between 1983 and 1988 Aramburu and Gametxogoikoetxea formed a group together with journalist Ricardo Aldarondo called La Insidia that did not publish any album.

Later, between 1989 and 1990, without Aldarondo, they were renamed El Joven Lagarto. At this stage they published a demo with acoustic versions of what would later become their first album.

Work

There are 2 demos on cassette prior to the publication of Un soplo en el corazón: a domestic recording of Un soplo en el corazón produced by Javi Pez and a second demo produced by the duo titled October 1991 (also known as silver model, blue model or silver blue model).

Later, they recorded a flexi, shared with Fangoria and published by the Club Fan Fatal in 1992, in which the song The Sign of the Cross by Décima Víctima is covered. There are also several songs live recorded by fans of the band.

In April 1993, through Elefant Records, the group's only album Un soplo en el corazón was released, whose title was inspired by the film Le Souffle Au Cœur by Louis Malle. It was published in vinyl format and in compact disc format.

"A totemic publication as "Rockdelux" named this unique Family long, located somewhere between the Sonido Donosti and the Manchester of New Order, as the best national album of 1993 (starting with Moor Room of Cancer Moon. Its influence seduced many later Spanish pop bands like Astrud, La Buena Vida, La Casa Azul or also Fangoria. "

David Gallardo, newspaper El País (2017) [1]

The group shied away from interviews and publicity, distributing a single promotional photo in the media and surrounding itself with a special halo of mystery. They performed on rare occasions, among others, at the Morocco room in Madrid, opening for Fangoria. After dissolving, they reappeared on only one occasion as Eternamatic, a group formed with Teresa Iturrioz for a tribute party to the announcer Juan de Pablos. This was his last public appearance.

"A breath in the heart It's from that kind of discs that you finally have embedded inside. You recite those words so well arranged at the right time and ask yourself what is due? and you cannot answer. Perhaps, mere poetry adorned with notes, but no, is much more: it is that ensnared feeling of melancholy, delicacy, love, solitude, sadness, aesthetics, discoloration and droplets of joy condensed in 14 songs of very fine sensitivity; that breeze that blows in the heart by secret galleries; it is that yearning to intensify beauty; it is that..."

Simó Reus (April Eyes Zine) [2]

In May 2003 Un soplo en el corazón would be reissued by the Elefant record label, in the digipack format. No remastering work was done on the original recording tapes and only The cover was adapted by Javier Aramburu to adapt it to the new physical format.

In December 2003 Elefant and Rockdelux magazine (along with its issue # 213) released the album Un soplo en el corazón. Tribute to Familywhere Spanish groups covered the original Family album. The list of participants included many groups of a similar style (indie, rock, pop): La Buena Vida, Chucho, Astrud, La Casa Azul, Nosoträsh, Fangoria or Los Planetas. The song chosen by Astrud, "The beautiful summer", is actually a live a cappella interpretation of the theme song for the television series The Pink Panther, to which They added the lyrics of Family. The fact that it was not a strict version of the original song caused some controversy between Astrud and the organizers of the tribute.

"A decade after the appearance of the only long work published by the donostiarra duo, the Elefant stamp and the Rockdelux magazine have sponsored the edition of a CD, in digipak format, of tribute to Family that, respecting the order of the songs of the original album, demonstrates the influence that has projected A breath in the heart in the Spanish pop of the last ten years. "

Information on the Record Homenaje a Family (2003) [3]

In August 2013 Elefant Records reissued the album Un soplo en el corazonon on vinyl in a limited and numbered edition of 1,000 copies that include some of the songs present on the demos.

In 2014 the album Homenaje A Family was released. Un Soplo En El Corazón De Elefant new version of the tribute album released in 2003 with new artists such as Papa Topo, Band À Part or La Bien Querida who make new versions of the songs on the album. However, some of the versions included in the previous album are also included.

On November 27, 2015, Elefant Records released a remastered version of the demo October 1991 under the title Cassette.

Discography (official and unofficial)

• First Model (The Young Lizard / Family) (maqueta, 1989). As far as it is known it was never distributed outside circles of friends. Unlike the next model, October 1991I had no design as such. It contains acoustic versions of the themes that would appear in its first album except for three topics not included in it.
• October 1991 (maqueta, 1991). Also called silver model, blue model or silver blue model. It was distributed in some concerts as in the Siroco room of Madrid. Model produced by Javi Pez. It contains 10 themes influenced by the techno, which would then appear in its first album, except for the theme Sentimental that was ruled out.
• The sign of the cross (Club Fan Fatal, 1992). Flexi shared with Fangoria. Both groups versioned this topic of Victim Decima.
• A breath in the heart (Elefant, 1993). Family's first and only album. "More than an album is a legend" says Elefant's website.
• A breath in the heart (Elefant, 2003). Reissue for the tenth anniversary of the album. It does not contain extra themes.
• A breath in the heartOn (Elefant, 2013). Vinyl reissue for the 20th anniversary of the album. Limited and numbered edition of 1000 copies.
• Casete (Elefant, 2015). Remastered reissuance of the 1991 model.