Last week Daniel Sabater received us at the Sony Music offices, coffee in hand and glass of water next to the sofa, to chat with us about everything that is coming in 2024: With no confirmed release date yet, the Murcian artist, composer and producer is preparing the release of his next EP, I don’t want to hit myself (of which we already know the singles of A YEAR OF SHIT and NONCONFORMIST) and his return to the stage with a theater tour.
In the first part of this interview we talked at length about the project. The singer opens the channel to talk about the demons that torment him and that at some point have made him reconsider abandoning his dream of music, verbalizing them in the form of a song to offer his most personal image to date: that of a 23-year-old boy in constant evolution who feels lucky enough to live from his dream but who does not want to give up his essence in any case.
In this second part we talk aboutThe preparation of his tour, his role as a producer, his internal fights with the creation of content on TikTok and the possibility of appearing in the future at Benidorm Festival. Will you stay with us to find out what he has to say?
WECB: You announced the venue tour very recently, are you looking forward to getting back on stage after a quieter year?
Daniel Sabater: Just as I told you before that I have had a complicated relationship with the ‘musician self’, my greatest fuel for this, what has always woken me up, is gigging. Every time I was a little disconnected I went to someone’s concert and it’s automatic that as soon as I leave I’m already thinking about the next tour. I’m thinking “I’m going to do this and I’m going to…” It’s what I like most in the world and I’m always dying to do concerts.
We wanted to wait a little to go on tour… We went on tour last year with the album and I wanted to continue playing gigs but I also like to take great care of the shows. I wanted to offer a new format, with a product different, with new music, with the upgrades we want to make, so I’m dying. Right now I have a month of pure rehearsal, of creating the show again and renewing it.
How are you preparing the tour? Because I understand that there is a process of adapting the songs live, rehearsals…
In this case, this year has been my year of making music by and for the shows. It doesn’t mean that the songs are going to sound exactly how they sound in the shows, then you also have to adapt them, as you say. But I kind of feel like it and I also have a good relationship with this EP because I already see it on stage and I think what I wanted to happen is going to happen. So I’m taking these months as an opportunity to remake the show from scratch… I want to add a lot of technical things… I want it to be an upgrade: something that in my niche, in my people, shows that there is extra work.
You recently uploaded a photo with Xavibo in the studio. Is it part of the EP?
He is not part of the EP but if you see me many times with other people it is because I like to collaborate with them and I’m sure there will be a thousand collaborations with colleagues and people you may know, but one part of this world that I love is producing …and in this case I was working with him for his project.
I wanted to ask you precisely about your role as a producer. How are you seeing the role of the producer in Spain and how did you start in this world?
In Spain it is true that we are beginning to see that this figure stands out and I love it because it has always been very much in the shadows and is a fairly large part of a project. For that part great.
And my production part… I started in music because I was trying to study guitar on my own. And to practice he played guitar solos on instrumental bases of other songs. So I started recording those guitars to later listen to them, improve the quality… and from there I started writing. I was already writing on the computer and started producing. I was already producing there, obviously fatally, what happens is that over time it has always been natural for me that the songs have been produced by me. Now, a lot of times I produce with other people because I always like to collaborate. But I have always really produced, and finding this thing of writing and producing for other people is something that brings me a lot closer to making music without pressure, without the mental paranoias of each one… Normally I can play a little more and I feel very happy when I work that way. So I think I’m going to do it for a long time.
In fact, it is a facet that you show a lot on TikTok. How do you get along with the platform?
Right now it is the platform you have to use to promote yourself and reach people. I have a relationship… it’s still difficult for me. There is a person here, Luis, who is the one who spends every day reminding me that I have to upload something, because he still has a hard time…
Because the content I upload is, let’s say, production content that I like to make: videos, flicking… but the part of doing challenges is more difficult for me, this part is more influencer, but this is the one that costs me the most. And I wish it didn’t. I’m trying to work and have fun. In the end, seen from the outside, TikTok is super cool: it is a platform that now lowers the level of demand a little. Have fun and make content. And like sometimes I have the filter of working hard and I want to be more calm down. But it’s true that when it comes to producing I feel comfortable and it’s fun for me. And that’s how people find out that I’m doing things.
I find it funny because on your Instagram broadcast channel you shared a photo of your computer and in the background you can see some notes with the title “TikTok”
I didn’t realize, huh… Because there are days when I get active and say “I need to upload a TikTok” and I jot down ideas. “I’m going to grab this video I saw…” or “I’m going to sample this other thing”, but I have to get a little more motivated. Because it’s fun. Alright.
In any case, I think that being more spontaneous, even though there is also a lot of work behind your videos, is part of your personality and I think there is also room for this type of profiles…
Fair enough, there are times when I get bogged down. In the end, the main part of my time is spent on these jobs behind the scenes, making music, doing sessions… which is like the most serious part. But it’s true that it’s cool, right? Why not be more natural. In the end I am a 23-year-old kid from Murcia who is making music. You don’t have to be so glamorous.
In the last year we have seen you go from blonde to red and from red to brunette. Is there a hair change due to a change in musical stage or has it been more spontaneous?
Everything has been mixed up a bit. I’ve always changed my hair a lot. Before this I had pink, blue, a lot of colors. And there came a time when I wanted to say “okay, that’s it, I want to have dark, more natural hair.” So I changed it. But it also coincides with this change of musical era, with which I released this project in which I specifically talk about this: enough showbiz, I want to stop for a moment, I want to connect with myself, I want to stop a little… So the two have been mixed. I think that personally I am in that same moment as the musical. It fits me. I’m comfortable with that.
At this moment the songs for the next edition of Benidorm Fest are being announced. Have you ever considered presenting yourself?
I do not discard. I’ve never had it particularly on my list, right? I have sometimes been close… but as I already told you, it has never been the main objective. I don’t rule out that in the future I will try it because I see it as a super cool platform, especially in recent years in which it is beginning to be what it has always had to be: this platform in which people present their proposals and where people know such diverse and cool music in Spain. I don’t know why I still haven’t… I’m focused on continuing to create the things that I have in my head, but I don’t rule it out. Why not? It seems like a cool thing to me.
You have worked hand in hand with Flavio, with Alba Reche… I don’t know if you are following Operation Triunfo 2023 and the boom it seems to have had, similar to that of OT2017.
Yes, I was surprised. I didn’t know what expectations I would have of returning and such… I’m not following it a lot, but things come up all the time and I see them. Now I have a lot of colleagues who are going to work there… So I’m looking at it but I don’t follow it as much as I did on the 17th, but I try to stay up to date.
Finally: what plans do you have for 2024?
I’m looking at lots and lots of music this year. It started by releasing the EP, touring, and then I made so much music that I want to package that after the EP I want to release a million more things: different, new and in what format, but a lot of music. EP, tour and much more music. Hopefully without stopping.
