October 2006 is something of a pivotal month in the in the life of Spanish band Nexx. For a start the band release their sophomore album, 'Another Dawn' through Angel Milk Records and then, at the end of the month, they have picked up the prestigious opening slot at the Firefest III gig in Nottingham. With all of this in mind HardRockHouse caught up with guitarist Bernando Llobregat for a chat about all thing Nexx related...

  

Bernardo Llobregat

Hi Bernardo, to kick off the interview would you care to introduce yourself and the other members of Nexx to our readers?

Hi everybody at HardRockHouse!. I'm Bernardo Llobregat, the guitar player of Nexx. It's a great pleasure to talk with you; and, of course, Patri (vocals), Jose (Bass), Benji (Keyboards) and Oscar (Drums) say hello to you too!. 

Who are your personal  hero’s and influences? 

As a guitar player, my big influence is Yngwie Malmsteen. I love his music and playing; He's the Maestro. As a musician and listener in general, I like different kinds of music, from Classical, Celtic or Flamenco to Heavy Metal but, in the middle point, there's the music I love: Melodic - Hard - Rock. For example: TNT, Treat, Nelson... 

Nexx

The band originally formed in 2000, how did the band come together and why did you decide to play AOR/Melodic rock, which at the time was not, and arguably still isn't, very fashionable?

Yes, It's true. Melodic Rock is not the music for the big audience, probably because it's a music that needs a serious listening. But, nowadays, there're a lot of hits in the pop & rock music that, in essence, are AOR!. So, at the end of the 90´s, Patri, Jose and Oscar played in a covers band called Farenheit. In these days I had stopped playing the guitar but, seeing Farenheit live and knowing that the band was about to close down, I decided to talk with Jose and Oscar to begin a new similar project. We needed a keyboard player: Fran was the man. I know him long time ago. All the members of Nexx have different influences, but there's a common point: Melodic Rock and AOR. We love 80´s and early 90´s music. So, we said: "Let's do it, why not?". 

How would you describe the band's sound? 

Mmmm, It´s not easy because, for me, it's a very special sound. I could say that Nexx sounds classy, sometimes furious, sometimes sentimental, but always classy.  

In the bands early days the band played lots of covers, why was this? 

In the very begining, we didn't have in our minds to write our own songs. We were a band that had fun and learnt playing covers. We were very lucky because we sound good together: One year later we began to write our own songs!. It was a very natural process. 

The band signed with Now and then in 2002 and released your debut album Colours the next year. How did the record deal with Now and Then come about? 

It came about in the Gods of AOR 2001. We played in the festival as a covers band, the first day in the morning, and we got a great success. The people from N&T saw the show and decided to sign up Nexx for two albums. In this show, we played two original songs and they were welcomed!. 

Patricia Tapia

Colours was recorded here in the UK, with Pee Wee Coleman, how did the band find their stay in England - must have been a shock to system after sunny Spain? 

I'm from the north part of Spain. The weather is like the English one; no probs on it!  ;-)

Honestly, we feel in England as at home. We spent a very good time: All the people from the studio and from the record label are very nice and treated us like a part of their family. England is a very special country for us. 

The band have also played several prestigious festivals such as the Gods, Nemelrock and Firefest, which of these shows was the most memorable and why? 

Gods of AOR 2001, our first time in England: I remember and miss these days a lot. Nexx was a band without album, only a demo, and... We signed autographs!. So, this experiences mixed with the nice people that we met there, makes me be sure regarding the answer. I know that the rest of the band agree with me. 

Which tracks on Colours would you recommend to someone who has not heard the album, to give the best taste of the Nexx sound? 

Arches of Faith because there's a little bit of Symphonic Rock, mixed with AOR and Heavy riffs. If You Could Read My Mind because there's a lot of melody and not prejudices in the sound and song writing. 40 Days & 40 Nights because... For me It´s a very beautiful song. 

What happened with Now and Then records, as I thought that band had a multi album deal? 

We have signed for two albums with N&T but they closed down their business. As an AOR-Melodic Rock fan, the disappearance of one of the best labels of this kind of music was a sad new and, as a member of Nexx, it was a disappointment. It had been tough for us. 

There has been a three year break between 'Colours' and the new album 'Another Dawn' - was this simply down to the record company problems?

We wanted and, in some aspects, needed to release the second album in the proper moment: Maybe one year and a half or two years at most since the release of Colours. Due to the close down of Now & Then, Nexx turned into a non-signed band and, after two years of playing live and writing (we nearly had all the songs for another album), we arrived to a situation full of uncertainly. It took us one year to find a solution: To produce and finance the album by ourselves?. Maybe search a Spanish label or foreign one?... It wasn't easy but, finally, we've arrived at a good time for sure. 

So now you have a deal with your new label Angel Milk Records, hoe did this come about?

Andy Bramhall, the owner of Angel Milk Records, was one of the studio (JellyJam studio) owners when we were recording Colours. He knows us, our music and our playing and, when he decided to create Angel Milk Records, Nexx was there to sign a record deal. Andy trusted in us and gave us a hand unconditionally. Ta, mate. 

The bands original keyboard player Fran, left the band but still maintains your website, why did he leave the band? 

Yes, Fran will continue helping us from USA!. Now he lives there. He left Spain because his job and his family and, obviously, he can't continue playing with Nexx. Fran was not only the keyboard player; He's a close friend of us. Finally we met Benji: Now he's the man!. 

The New Nexx album 'Another Dawn' is about to be released, do known when it will be available in the UK? 

Yes, the album was released in Spain and Japan in September. In England and middle Europe it will be the 8^th of October, if I'm not wrong. 

How would you describe the style of the material on the new album? 

It's a very sincere and warm album. Regarding the feelings, It´s optimistic, sometimes dramatic... There're different kinds of music mixed together in Another Dawn's songs: Heavy, AOR, West Coast, Hard Rock... Honestly, I love this album. The band is really tight and compact live, so the idea of this second album was to get closer to the actual NEXX sound. The song writing was more a group thing rather than individual song writing, speaking in general, and the sound had to be more guitar oriented as it is live as well. That's Nexx nowadays. 

  

Could you recommend a few tracks from the new album to our readers?  

Of course, but it's my taste ;-) . Now I specially appreciate the acoustic sounds mixed with the electric ones. For this reason, Another Dawn is my favorite one. It´s a song plenty of valleys and mountains in the emotions.

I like very much Hey Father too. It´s heavy but beautiful at the same time.

If you prefer Hard Rock, Critical is the song... So, it's very difficult for me not to mention each song of the album. 

The band open the main day show of the FF3 , what sort of set can the fans expect  and do you know how long you will be playing for? 

We'll be playing 45 minutes. We're not sure now, but I suppose that the show will be based around Another Dawn in a 60%. The rest of the show will be Colours and, maybe, one cover. Emotionally, this will be a very important show for us. We'll be playing again in England, with a new album, and on the big stage. I'm sure it will be a beautiful day for us. 

And finally, the standard HardRockHouse question, is there any thing you would like to add or mention that we haven't covered so far? 

I'm very pleased to talk with you and to the HardRockHouse.com audience. I hope see you soon in the Firefest 3. We are all very happy with Another Dawn and we'll continue working and enjoying it. Thank you so much and regards to you all. 

Many thanks to Bernardo for talking to HardRockHouse.com. You can find out more about Nexx by visiting the following sites:

www.webnexx.com
www.angelmilkrecords.co.uk

Nexx's new album, 'Another Dawn' is available now through Angel Milk Records and you can check out the HardRockHouse.com review via this link