Interview with Transmisión N

Our conversation with Madrid punk band Transmisión N

Formed in 2014, the Spanish band released last December the album ‘Bailando a la muerte’. We liked this album a lot, so much that we included it in our favorites of 2023 and decided to interview Transmisión N to get to know them better. Let’s see what they told us.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW IN SPANISH | ENTREVISTA ESP

Radio Punk: Hello and welcome to our ‘zine. Tell us a little bit about yourselves, who are you, how and when did you meet, how did you decide to form a band, what other bands have you played in before Transmisión N?

Transmisión N: We are Mark, vocals and guitar, Willi, vocals and guitar, Txetxu, bass and back vocals and Ivan, drums and back vocals.

Well, the history of the band starts in Turin back in 2014 when Mark was still living in Italy. When he came back to Spain the name was translated (at first the band was called The Night Transmission). After some time playing gigs with different line-ups, Willi joined on guitar, then Ivan and Txetxu, and the band took the current form.

Some of us have played in other bands like Walpurgis, Jake Mate, Trastienda RC, Malamadre or Ániva Vudú.

Radio Punk: Tell us about your new album, ‘Bailando a la muerte’. How did it come about? What are the main topics it deals with? How does it differ from your previous works?

Transmisión N: This album has taken quite a lot of shape in the rehearsal room. Someone brought an idea and together we gave it shape. We were not looking for anything in particular, just that we liked what we were doing and that it sounded like Transmisión N.

As for the songs, they are about daily life, about what happens to us or around us. We don’t want to be a group with empty lyrics.

As for the difference with other albums, this is the second one recorded with this line-up and it shows. With “Día a día” the difference could already be noticed, but in this one, the experience has been quite evident.

Radio Punk: Madrid is the protagonist of many of your songs, from which a visceral love-hate relationship with this city emerges. What does it mean to be punk in Madrid? What is the situation of the scene like? Are there many squats, clubs where to meet and play music?

Transmisión N: The situation in Madrid has changed a lot. There are still squats that continue to resist like La Atalaya in Vallekas or La Casika in Móstoles, but it is true that the “scene” has fallen quite a lot, especially in terms of venues. Now it is difficult to find a space. Being punk or skin in Madrid is a constant struggle against extinction. It’s not that we consider ourselves punk as it has always been known. We are influenced by many cultures or countercultures that have made us who we are, both as a group and personally.

Radio Punk: You lived in Italy for a while and you still keep a close relationship with our country. The new album includes two emotional acoustic versions of ‘Il fuoco non si è spento’ by Bull Brigade, one in Spanish and one in Italian. And it’s not the first time you sing in our language, congratulations for your perfect pronunciation! What is the best memory you have of Italy? What do you think are the main differences compared to Spain?

Transmisión N: The best thing about that time was the scene that was going on. The scene and the concerts in Turin at that time were really cool. It gave a different point of view to the music compared to what I would have had in Spain.

The main difference is the food of course hahahaha.

Radio Punk: At the beginning, the band was called The Night Transmission and the first songs were written in English. How did the decision to switch to Spanish come about? What do you think are the pros and cons of singing in your native language or in English?

Transmisión N: When Mark returned to Spain he decided to translate the name, without losing its essence and start singing in Spanish, because here it is more common than singing in English for example. Singing in English maybe you will have more chances internationally, but in Spain maybe it makes things a little difficult for you, I don’t know.

Radio Punk: What are your favorite bands or artists and what do you usually listen to at home, in the car or on your headphones? What other bands have you collaborated with or would you like to collaborate with?

Transmisión N: We are a band with very different tastes which sometimes makes things difficult, but also shapes our own sound. Our tastes range from Social Distortion or the most classic punk, oi! like Kaos Urbano or Non servium, Bull Brigade for example is a band that maybe we all like or even some of us are very metal and hardcore.

There are a lot of collaborations in our albums with friendly bands like Sin Propina, Non Servium, Desvariados, etc. And some of us have also collaborated on albums of other bands.

Radio Punk: How important are values like anti-fascism, anti-racism, anti-sexism and anti-capitalism to you? Are there issues and struggles that you feel most connected to? And how important is the DIY ethic to you?

Transmisión N: We have always operated on our own and have not received anything from anyone. We managed everything ourselves. Now that the band has grown we have Pin Producciones to give us a hand.

It is true that there have always been people who have been by our side who have helped us with merchandising, recordings or if we wanted to improve something.

First of all we consider ourselves anti-fascists, there is no need to say it all the time. For us, the struggle is in what we do every day with our comrades, with the people who live in our neighborhoods, etc.

And as for capitalism, what are we going to say that you don’t already know?

Radio Punk: Tell us a little bit about yourselves outside of the band, do you have other jobs, what other hobbies and passions do you have besides music?

Transmisión N: Yes of course, at the moment we don’t live off this, so we each have our jobs that we combine with this. One of us is a teacher, the other one works in a truck workshop, one is a milling lathe operator and another one works for the management of a hotel.

We all have things apart from music, some of us sports, reading, movies… party!

Radio Punk: Let’s finish with a classic question in our interviews: can you tell us about a funny or grotesque moment in the history of the band?

Transmisión N: There have been many things in the short time that the four of us have been together, but the band has had many since its beginnings. From playing for nobody and playing for the waiter only, to playing for people who had nothing to do with us. Some fainting at a concert… the normal thing in a band that spends hours together and travels a lot.

Radio Punk: We thank you for this interview and we leave you some free space to say what you want to those who read us. See you soon, and we hope to see you in concert on the stages of our country!

Transmisión N: Thank you very much for giving us a space, for supporting our music and maybe soon we can go there and see each other’s faces. Cheers and Punk Rock!

Photos by Irene Del Real