Vainica Doble | Artist
Vainica Doble was a Spanish pop music duo formed 1966 in Madrid by Gloria van Aerssen (vocals, guitar) and Carmen Santonja (vocals, guitar). Although they were ignored by the big record companies, their songs and attitude caught the attention of many independent musicians who, over time, would form the so-called new wave of Spanish independent pop music. Carmen and Gloria met by chance at the Complutense University of Madrid. The story goes that Carmen was waiting for a bus whistling Tannhäuser to herself, and Gloria arrived, recognised the melody and joined in. Gloria was studying Fine Arts and Carmen was at the Conservatory majoring in piano. They began to collaborate musically in 1966, after the Benidorm festival, and began composing together. They later made their anonymous debut in a 1969 Marisol film, Carola by day, Carola by night. Then, through Enrique de las Casas, director of Televisión Española, they came into contact with the Music Son group and contributed songs, including "Lágrimas de crocodile", which was broadcast on television. They then composed several songs for the television series Fábulas, a project by Jaime de Armiñán. This TV work lead to them collaborating with musicians and arrangers who helped shape their professional work. They come into contact with Pepe Nieto, who produced the group Nuevos Horizontes, to whom Carmen and Gloria contributed four songs. Nieto proposed they record their own single which was released under the name Double Hemstitch. They then collaborated on a new season of Fábulas, accompanied by the group Tickets whom they continued to work with. In 1971 they recorded their first album, Vainica Doble, produced by Manolo Díaz. It includes surprising themes such as "Guru Zakun Kin Kon", the story of an alien dragon who traumatically comes into contact with the human species. Once the album was finished, there were problems with censorship because the song "Who Puts the Bell on the Cat", was thought to be an allegory about Franco. They recorded Heliotropo in 1973 which was a more elaborate production, with orchestral arrangements and the artistic direction of Pepe Nieto. The album contained the classic songs "Habanera del primer amor" and "Elegía al jardín de mi abuela". With this album they made some of their few live performances. In 1976 they record their third album, Contracorriente, containing the popular track "Déjame vivir con alegría", which featured an amazing sitar arrangement. In 1984 they released a double album titled Taquicardia, an intriguing and highly experimental work. That same year they created, along with Joaquín Sabina, the tune "Con las manos en la masa", for a TVE program presented by Elena Santonja, Carmen's sister. Following several more albums, the duo released their final album En familia In 2000, recorded on the independent Elefant label. Of their nine studio albums, standouts include Vainica Doble (1971), Heliotropo (1973), El tigre del Guadarrama (1981) and Taquicardia (1984). Carmen Santonja died in Madrid at the age of 66 in 2000, and Gloria van Aerssen died fifteen years later at the age of 83. Although Vainica Doble had a distinctly Spanish edge, it is almost impossible to establish parallels between them and any other Spanish music released during the years they were active. Gloria Van Aerssen and Carmen Santonja were truly unique and their mix of folk, traditional genres and psych rock is a landmark in Spanish pop.
Artist Website: wikipedia/Vainica_Doble
Featured Albums: Vainica Doble
Related Artists: Carmen Santonja, Gloria van Aerssen
