Three years have passed since the girls of Ginebras released their first album (I will sleep when I die). Three years during which the group managed to reach the top of pop thanks to its freshness, its sound and the authenticity of the lyrics of its songs. They have been part of the most important festivals on the national scene, have collaborated with stars such as Dani Martín and have recorded at Abbey Road, like the Beatles they idolize so much.
Magüi, Sandra, Raquel and Juls continue to make history. That same month of March, to the delight of their fans, they wrote a new chapter in the form of an LP. It is Who is Billie Max?: a work of eleven songs where they dare with a more pop rock sound, perfect to play it live. With songs like Ansiedad, Desastre de persona or En Bolas, Ginebras have created a most enjoyable album and with which they demonstrate once again that they are one of the most important bands in the national territory.
To reveal all the secrets of Who is Bille Max?, the Ginebras girls received us at the Vanana Records studios — their label — with a huge smile. Don’t have it! In 2023 they release an album and end their tour at the very WiZink Ceneter in Madrid.
Question (Q): The first question is who is Billie Max, because it seems to me that she is a model on Instagram. Have you contacted him?
Magui: I like. Everyone is looking for it! We invented it.
Sandra: Basically it’s a kind of entity that appears in the first track of the album. The theme speaks of a dream. At first it was supposed to be Peter Pan and eventually we decided to create a being that would represent all four of us. And that’s Billie Max. It is the conjunction of the four. He has all our traumas, but also our joys.
Raquel: It started out as something meaningless and ended up being the main thrust of the album.
Genevas presents ‘Who is Bille Max?’ / Photo courtesy of Vanana Records
Q: And have you written to the model with the same name on Instagram?
Magüi: No, we didn’t know that existed. Hopefully there will be a cameo.
Sandra: But there are different interpretations. Because one character is called Billie and the other Max. Everyone draws their own interpretations. That’s great. The name is saved!
Q: It’s been two years since you released your first album, I will sleep when I die, is this release very different? Are they the same nerves?
Raquel: They are different. It’s true that with the first album it’s something that works, well, but if it doesn’t work, that’s it. We were four friends starting with a four-song EP. We were very young. Now we have a big responsibility, also more tools.
Q: It’s true that the pandemic hit you just as you were taking off, looking back, how did you experience those months?
Juls: I think it was bittersweet. On the one hand, it gives you time to prepare. Something that should be super hopeful, we experienced it without knowing how it had an impact.
Sandra: Now, with the release of the singles from the new album, we could see how people accepted them live. We saw how people were hooked. All the singles from the previous album were without any kind of concert. We haven’t had any real feedback, only via social networks.
Q: This new record seems more pop rock to me than the previous one, was that on purpose?
Magüi: We wanted to add some cane to it. I think that having started to give concerts made spring in us a reed which influenced us. Live, we like to scream and jump. One thing we do a lot is compose live. We wanted to keep the essence, but with something more to offer.
Juls: If we even want a van, with that I tell you everything. (they all laugh)
Raquel: Let’s see which show we’re hooked on this time!
Q: Pop culture is again very present in this new album: from Iker Jiménez to Elvis Presley. What does a Gin composition process look like? Paquita Salas is very cultural.
Raquel: You couldn’t have defined it better! It’s just that when we edited the documentary that we first recorded, we thought the same thing!
Sandra: I think it comes out on its own. We watch TV a lot, we write a sentence and when we compose, we put it out. It also comes from someone who has an idea and we are working on it. Someone has the song completely finished. But there are always references.
Juls: We love gossip, watching Save Me…we’re very wimps.
Q: You talk about Iker Jiménez in one of the songs, do you believe in paranormal phenomena?
Magüi: We believe in it a lot. Maximum respect. We are very respectful of these things because you never know. I have seen a lot of the fourth millennium. It’s a must on evenings after a concert.
Sandra: We like to give away our space. We have our coach. And she once helped a dead man cross to the other side.
Q: Another subject that you cover a lot in your songs is mental health. Do you think that the subject is little treated in music?
Juls: We think he’s better cared for now, but the number of suicides in Spain today is brutal.
Magüi: I think they talk about love too much, which is great, but they need to talk about other things. We sing a lot about our friends, partying, and other topics like anxiety.
Sandra: I think it happens in the culture. That they put romantic love at the center of everything and that already tires us. It’s fine, but if in your daily life romantic love does not occupy one hundred percent of your time. At the end we talk about other things.
Q: In Desastre de persona, you sing with Dani Martín, how did you meet?
Juls: We’ve known him for a long time, he’s pop. Mainly by networks.
Magüi: I remember we were on the couch and she shared a story where she said “my new favorite band”. I was like “what?”
Sandra: It was very cool. We believe that from the beginning he felt reflected in us with his debut. He made us feel very welcome. We admire him very much. It’s like our colleague. It is rare to combine this feeling of admiration and friendship.
Sandra: The gin girls would never have imagined it.
Q: You also collaborated with Fran Perea. Which artist from the early 2000s have you not yet met?
Magüi: It’s because Fran Perea is also part of our childhood. We were from Los Serrano. He is very strong.
Juls: We have already complied.
Sandra: Amaia Montero or Amaral.
Q: Sandra, you release music under the solo name Grasias. I want you to get wet: is it easier to release music solo or in a group?
Sandra: Release music with them. The solo is super boring. It’s a horror.
Juls: With us, you have to choose between four.
Sandra: But with you if a sentence seems good to the majority, it comes out. It’s true that working in a group has its downsides, but better is better and worse is less bad.
Who is Billie Max?Ginebras’ second studio album, is now available.