Rafael De Alba (41) is one of the many artists trying his luck for the second time in the Spanish MySpace selection. He’s a language teacher living in both London and Madrid and also a true Eurovision fan who has travelled to both Helsinki and Belgrade to see it live. His effort for this year, One more chance, has been making its way up the voting lists and is in top-80 in overall voting and top-10 in his category at the moment of writing this. Read in this exclusive interview more about him, his songs and his views on Eurovision.So tell me, who is Rafael?Rafael is a Spaniard who went on a stage for the first time at the age of eight, with a guitar that was too big. After a few attempts at music he studied English at university and became a Languages teacher.So that explains the English.....Sure, and I have lived in the UK for a long time now, I am between Madrid and LondonI think I noticed the song being recorded in London?Yes, that's right. My friend Hugo did the second mix.
Have you made any records or plan to?Not at all, I am just an aficionado but I have written quite a few songs in my life but I only performed live when I was in my late teens. Regardless of the result I will continue to make music. The sort of music I write is mainly mellow stuff with the guitar. I hope to add some more songs on my MySpace soon.
You participated already last year?Yes. Last year I was listening to all the entries, then I came across Chikilicuatre and thoughtif he can enter, I can enter! And recorded a song within 4 days, the song is Quédate Hoy
You didn’t qualify for the Gala even if you had more votes than some that did.Yes indeed. I had big plans for the Gala. This year I unfortunately was again very late. To be honest I recorded One More Chance during two weekends from beginning to end. Then there were initial problems with El retorno; they wrote the wrong title, Quedate Hoy instead of One More Chance, the video wasn’t working, wrong photo…. but a few phone calls got it all sorted out. Hopefully next year I can do it the proper way with the right preparation and promotion.I love the piano in the songReally? It's the first time I make a whole song with all the arrangements, including the piano and the first time I wrote something in English. I wrote the song on the bus, and as soon as I got home I started to play it on the guitar.
On the bus??It was quite slow, and had a different chorus. Then three weeks ago or so I thought, mm… what if I change the chorus and speed it up a bit that could be my proposal for this year's Eurovision and I got quite excited so I started playing around in Logic Pro…I want to know which bus route you take....Lol. It was a rather industrial area, I'm afraid!
Industrial area inspired you such a romantic song?Not really, the song is quite explicit about feelings of admiration for someone.They want their relationship to work etc. To be honest the words diverted a bit from the original theme as I started to adapt it. Then I thought I'd better add a Spanish verse.
Good choise. I like the language mixture. All English version just wouldn't be the same.Mixing languages is always a risk but at the ESC it's usually ok, it has a purpose.Virginia, Italian friend of mine said you made her think about Miguel Bosé….That's very flattering, he is a great singer! Some people say I sound a lot like Luis Eduardo Aute. He’s a big influence. He wrote for Massiel in the early days, then went on to sing his own songs. His lyrics are almost poetry. And I love Franco Battiato. First time I sang in a pub in my teens, I chose three songs from Battiato. I treni di Tozeur is suberb.
What do you think about the 50-50 juries-televote?I am not very sure. I think western countries need to make more of an effort because quite frankly, I always see myself playing many of the songs from eastern European countries. And I am usually very happy with the winning song or the top five. I am sure it will balance the voting a bit. I think it is a good idea to try. However, I do believe Portugal and Sweden ended up too low in the voting last year and so did Kate Ryan. It doesn't really matter. They are great songs that will stay in Eurovision history. As a Eurovision fan, I am always angry when people degrade the ESC reputation I just think it's such a great opportunity for the whole of Europe to enjoy good, live music and then some national TVs decide to spoil it and not take it seriously.
Which one is your favourite Spanish entry?Well, that's a tricky question! If we talk about the past, it has to be Eres Tu and Tu Volverás. I would have loved to have sung Yo Soy Aquel. David Civera did a great show and Beth got eurofans really excited but then failed to deliver on stage. I suppose those are the two ESC moments I'm most proud of, as far as Spain is concernedAnd overall, in general?I love so many: Cool Vibes, All Out of Luck and Hold on, be strong ... That song was amazing! Generally love what Thomas G:son writes.
So I guess Coral your favourite last year in Spain? I think she was fantastic.Yes, indeed. It was most infuriating to see Chikilicuatre win over her. La Casa Azul's entry was also very special, although I guess it doesn't reach wide audiences.
Thank you Rafael for the interview and good luck with the voting. There’s still a chance you can make it to the semifinals.Thank you! There are some great tracks this year and I hope Spain will choose the right one. Best wishes to all readers and thank you for your support and votes!
http://www.rtve.es/television/eurovision2009/candidatos/rafael-de-alba.shtml
http://www.myspace.com/rafaeldealba
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