Jo Solana sets Miquel Martí i Pol to music

• “El Fugitiu”, a poem by Miquel Martí i Pol set to music by Jo Solana, was released last Friday
• It’s part of his debut album, where he brings music to seven works by four Catalan poets
• The artist is celebrating 38 years in Catalan music

Few Catalan artists can celebrate 38 years in music without having gone mainstream, joining the show business, or riding the wave of a one-hit wonder. Joan Josep Martinez Solana is one of them. In 1987, he founded Juanito Piquete y los Mataesquiroles, an underground band that became a reference point for fans of gritty, neighborhood rock blended with punk. Between 1987 and 1992, they released four albums. Later, with DBS, he explored crossover sounds, releasing two albums before the band disbanded in 1997. Over the next two decades, performing as Juanito Piquete, he released five albums and a couple of EPs. Eventually, he felt the need to reconnect with his younger self, the one who first fell in love with music, and reinvented himself as Jo Solana. Now, accompanied by a violin and double bass, he presents his first album under this new identity, “Memòria”, with “El Fugitiu” as the lead single.

The album features seven poems by four Catalan poets, including “El Fugitiu”, written by Miquel Martí i Pol. Musically, Joan Solana (guitar and vocals) is joined by Òscar Estanyol (violin) and Raül Bruna (double bass), who played guitar during the final years of Mataesquiroles more than thirty years ago. Together, they bring the emotions of these poems to life with honesty and humility, free from commercial constraints. They are also joined by special guest Clàudia Segarra on violin.

“Memòria” will be released in digital and vinyl formats on April 11th, with pre-orders opening tomorrow on the Kasba Music website.