Guitar indie pop, friendly and with the very clear idea of having a good time is the proposal of Besmaya -Javier Ojanguren (Ojan) and Javier Echávarri-, whom we could call the Javis of music, who began their journey as a duo just three years ago, back at the time of the pandemic. Sony Music signed them and published their first self-titled album, a work that they have been presenting this year throughout Spain, hitting the country’s main concert halls.
If you don’t have them on your radar yet, you should play songs like Kill the penalty or Auxiliary rope. Now they open a new musical stage with automobiles, theme next to Yarea that they just released this weekend and that is somewhat calmer than the songs we are accustomed to.
Today we contact them to answer 40 things about them and we discovered curious things, like Inigo Quintero It’s in their contact list, that they spent the first salary from their record advance on a van and doing the tour and that as soon as they arrived in Madrid they ended up in a booth sharing a hookah with Becky G. If you are also intrigued, read on. These are 40 things about BESMAYA told by themselves.
- Your real names: Javier Ojanguren (ojan) and Javier Echávarri
- Where are you from: San Sebastián and Barcelona, we live in Madrid
- What is your history as a band: Summary: we recorded at home, it worked on Spotify. We put on a tour, it worked in theaters. We left everything and dedicated ourselves to this!
- Brief history of your stage name: Our parents are very fond of crabbing (always catch and release) and crabbing in general. When they were young, they took a trip to the Bering Strait to fish and see king crabs (an amazing animal). The company that organized that trip for them in the 90s (which sadly closed) was called Besmaya, and they gave them merchandising sweatshirts. That’s where we got the name from.
- When did you know you wanted to make music? Ojan: For me it was the first concert I went to in my life, when my father took me to see Green Day when I was 11 years old. It was seeing the band come out on stage and the stadium collapsing when I said: I want to do something similar with my life. Echávarri: I don’t remember, it has always been something that I had liked to do. He lived in a very musical house.
- The song you would have liked to compose: Ojan: Jesus, etc. of wilco; Echavarri: States of The Blue Nile.
- A favorite artist: Ojan: From what I’ve told before, green Day. Echavarri: Radiohead.
- The music you listened to at home when you were little: Ojan: There wasn’t much music played in my house. Echavarri: The Cure, The Smiths, Aztec Camera, Shack…
- A song you’re obsessed with right now: Ojan: Juan Salvador Gaviota de Ralphie Choo; Echavarri: Saw You in a Dream of The Japanese House.
- One you hate to hear right now: Ojan: The truth is that I don’t like listening to my own music, especially the older songs; Echavarri: I agree with Ojan!
- The artist you would like to collaborate with: Ojan: Cupid, which was the band that inspired us to start pop in Spanish. Echavarri: Alizzz We also like it a lot
- Is it a dream or a reality? Ojan: A dream for which we will fight.
- A musical genre that you would never delve into: Ojan: Reggae or ska. Echavarri: THE country, but the one that doesn’t look like Wilco.
- The most famous name in your contact book: Ojan: Right now probably Inigo Quintero (laughs) Echavarri: Yes (laughs)
- If you weren’t artists, you would be… Ojan: Lawyer; Echavarri: Computer Engineer
- The hardest thing you’ve done as a band so far: Ojan: Bet big on live streaming. We spent our entire first record advance on buying a van and producing a tour; Echavarri: In the end it has paid off, but it was a big leap.
- What makes you most lazy about the music industry: Ojan: mamoneo and vanity in events. The “out of interest I love you Andrés”. Echavarri: It’s like a meme, “one day we drink some beers and we get into trouble.”
- A lucky number: Ojan: I don’t believe in luck. Echavarri: What do I know, the 2nd.
- A silly hobby: Ojan: Watch videos about huge ocean liners on YouTube. Echavarri: I’m a fan of competitive eating videos.
- A moment in your life that you would like to repeat again: Ojan: Our first concert at the Subsuelo hall in Pamplona was epic. Echavarri: Publish the first topic.
- What you would tell yourselves as children: Ojan: Read more and spend less time on your phone. Echavarri: Learn to produce and play the guitar more
- A life lesson that has changed you: Ojan: Having collaborated with a residence for people at risk of social exclusion helped me to be more grateful for everything I have; Echavarri: You should never run, time always puts everyone in their place.
- Something that you CANNOT stand, that makes you sick: Ojan: Lies and incompetence. Echavarri: The liars.
- A phrase that you repeat a lot: Ojan: “Why choose when you can encompass?” Echavarri: “What a stick”
- Something about you that very few people know: Ojan: That we have made work/studies and music compatible until now.
- A movie that defines you: Ojan: Begin Again. Echavarri: Spirited Away.
- Some cartoons that represent you:Ojan: Zipi and Zape? (laughs); Echavarri: Phineas and Ferb?
- Something that is fatal to you: Ojan: Draw; Echavarri: Social networks.
- Your personality in three words: Ojan: Passionate, perfectionist, happy. Echavarri: Cheerful, temperate and passionate
- Your most beautiful childhood memory: Ojan: The Ojan family vacations; Echavarri I remember them with great affection (our parents are very friends); Echavarri: I agree.
- What you miss from that time: Ojan: The few worries. Echavarri: The lack of responsibility.
- An important decision that you regret: Ojan: Thank God, I think there are few important decisions, really. Maybe I didn’t take advantage of my free time during college to make more music; Echavarri: But even so, the little we did helped us a lot.
- Your favorite word in Spanish: Ojan: Spanish has too many beautiful words to choose one. Echavarri: Ataraxia
- A mania: Ojan: Sometimes, the order. Echavarri: I hate having dirty things in the sink, clean before eating.
- What has been your most rewarding concert?: Ojan: Our last concert in Madrid with more than a thousand people was memorable, on top of that were our families (grandparents, parents, sisters); Echavarri: That is without a doubt the best but it was also very gratifying to play at the SanSan 2023 festival. Ojan: It’s true, all our favorite national groups were on the bill.
- What is your favorite verse from ‘Matar la pena’ and why: Ojan: “We remain the same, even if they move us,” always reminds me of the importance of maintaining our values even if the environment around us changes. Echavarri: “They cry in the limo and they make another topic because the important thing is to kill the pain” no matter how well you seem to be, sometimes you are screwed but the most important thing of all is to shoot palante.
- The best advice you have received and from whom: Ojan: I strongly remember one time that Paco Salazar, our producer, told me this phrase: “In our work, success is a trap.” Echavarri: “Why choose when you can encompass” great phrase from our manager.
- The most surreal thing that has happened to you in your career: Ojan: ending up in a booth sharing a hookah with Becky G. Echavarri: That was very random, plus we had just arrived in Madrid.
- If you had to give a title to your next song, it would be… Ojan: Everything that has happened. Echavarri: This has changed me.
- If you were not Besmaya and you met him, what would you think of them? Ojan: Well, they are the best band in Spain, and humble on top of that! Echavarri: How nice (I hope).
