Javier Álvarez (singer-songwriter)

Javier Álvarez Fernández (Madrid, October 7, 1969) is a singer and composer from Madrid.

Biography

He began his musical activity in London around 1991, moving shortly after to Madrid to play on well-known public venues in the Spanish capital. He is part of the new generation of Madrid singer-songwriters that emerged in the 1990s, which also includes others such as Antonio de Pinto, Ismael Serrano, Miguel Dantart and Quique González.

After studying English Philology at the University of Madrid, he moved to London in 1991 to look for work. He began acting when he acquired his first guitar in the English capital, returning to Spain to play in the Madrid subway and in the Retiro park. Over time he became a regular in the repertoire of bars and cafes like Libertad 8, where he met other singer-songwriters like Pedro Guerra.

At the Colegio Mayor San Juan Evangelista he performed as an actor —not as a singer— the play El balcón by Jean Genet, whose version by Pedro Manuel Víllora was directed by Belén Macías. The producer Gonzalo Benavides notices him in one of his performances at the Retiro, offering him to record his first album in 1994.

Work

His debut has the support of the EMI record network, which redistributed the album under the Chrysalis label, and with the collaboration of artists such as Ana Belén, Víctor Manuel, Luis Pastor, Pedro Guerra or Rogelio Botanz.

Songs like La edad del porvenir or Uno, dos, tres, cuatro catapulted him to fame; The album also contained a version of Carton Houses, the work of the Venezuelan singer-songwriter Alí Primera. With this album he won the Ondas Award for the best New Artist in Spanish in 1995.

In 1996 he recorded his follow-up album Dos; three years later, in 1999, his album Tres appeared, where he experimented with electronic sounds and more radical lyrics. His song Padre was censored on the main music radio stations.

Dro East West released their Greatest Hits in 2001, an album that, despite its title, is based on versions of songs by other artists, not being a compilation of best sellers to use. Javier Álvarez rescues in it his childhood songs to give them his personal touch. Among the songs on this album are Por qué te vas, Every breath you take or With or without you.

Two years later he published his album Tiempodespacio, the fifth of his career. Already in 2005 she published a double album called Plan Be . In 2009 she composed the soundtrack for the film El venom del baile , directed by Paco Cao.

His latest album, Guerrero Álvarez, is made from poems by Pablo Guerrero, who participates in the album reciting his verses. With this album he obtained the 2010 Music Award for the best alternative pop album.

Influences

Her musical influences come more from pop than traditional songwriting.

Her influences include Michael Jackson, James Taylor, ABBA, Silvio Rodríguez, Tracy Chapman, Nanci Griffith, Suzanne Vega and Emmylou Harris.

Discography

• Javier Álvarez1995
• Two.1996
• Three.1999
• Great successes, 2001, 19 versions of great successes of other artists
• Slowly, 2003
• Plan Be2005
• The Poison of the Dance, 2009, soundtrack
• Guerrero Álvarez2009
• A2010, unpublished, unpublished
• 10, 2018

Collaborations, versions and compilations

• with Pedro Guerra: “I am older”, in Lots of Tequila!DRO, 1996
• with Luis Pastor: “For the days to come”, in Daily on board1998
• "Oh, Maricruz", in Tattoo1999
• with Nieves Arilla, choirs of Diego Vasallo: Songs of unfined love, DRO, 2000
• with Cristina Lliso: « Change of plans», in Next to you. Tribute to Enrique Urquijo, DRO, 2000
• "Without your heartbeat," Look at you as a scoundrel, Aute!VIRGIN, 2000
• «We're going to tell lies», in Fee ducks, DRO, 2002
• "If I don't have you," I'm gonna have a good time. Tribute to Men G, DRO, 2003
• with Antonio Vega: "Love in vein", in Released expressions. 25 years of Amnesty International, Author Factory, 2003
• «Aserejé», in Thursday. Impossible version II2004
• «From or samba é samba», in Samba pa youWarner, 2005
• "The age of the future" 20 years of Galileo Galilei Hall2005
• «Amoureux Solitaires», en Atasco en la Nacional2007
• "I have you in everything (or almost everything)", in Cloudy. Tribute to Pablo GuerreroPequod, 2007
• "Babylonian poles", in La Zarzuela + Pop, Author Factory, 2007
• «The girls are warriors», in Songs of GhanaSED, 2009
• with Luis Pastor: “For the days to come”, in Duos, 2012
• "Why are you leaving", in The 100 best songs of Spanish pop, 2012
• with Diego Harris: “Anda jaleo” and “Take this waltz”, Songs and lemons, 2014
• with Alfonso Gardi: "I live in you", in Daughters of the morning, 2016
• with Crudezas: “You, My World and Me”, in 17 seconds in Manhattan, 2018