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Today, a new collaborative track has been released on all digital platforms to denounce the problem of tourism saturation affecting Menorca. It’s a song created four-handedly, with the involvement of various Menorcan musicians, born from a will to denounce, but also to reach a broad audience without giving up its festive nature.
It is, in the words of its creators, “the new alternative soundtrack for the Menorcan summer; we don’t want to ignore the overcrowding situation we’re suffering on the island, but we can complain by singing — something we’re very good at here.”
The song features the voices of singer Anna Ferrer, Verlaat, and Frank Pons (Pèl de Gall), and also involves more than ten musicians from the brass band Bon Ball Tenim. The song has been produced and arranged by Àngel Gelabert, mixed by Genís Trani, and the brass was recorded by Toni Pons (EduSound).
From Menorcan folk to electronic pop
While the song begins with brass sounds reminiscent of a traditional festive musical atmosphere, Convindria evolves toward electronic pop, a sound far from the usual style of most of the musicians involved. The intention of blending these universes — folk, pop, and electronic— is to reach more listeners, spaces, venues, and ambiences. The goal is for this song to be played “at parties, where everyone can relate to it.”
In fact, some parts of the song directly reference figures from Menorcan music, such as Els Parranderos or Joana Pons. The Menorcan folk songbook resonates in the background, with a wink to Plora Guiterra, for many the quintessential anthem of the island. Thus, the play with traditional music helps to locate the song in Menorca for anyone who listens, and also helps to ground the song’s identity and message of protest.
The use of popular musical resources is broadened with the inclusion of samples that distort the guitars of Els Parranderos, and the track becomes universal. Many of the musicians involved have stepped away from their usual stylistic identity, leaving their musical codes behind to open up to a genreless song: festive, energetic, powerful, and suitable for all tastes.
The message: a song is needed to set limits on tourism
The lyrics are direct, with a clear message: limits must be placed on tourism because residents’ lives have become unsustainable. “We’ll say no to the tourist season / if it’s this overcrowded / there’s no more capacity / people live in Menorca” is one of the verses heard in a track that points to the issues of housing, overcrowding, loss of local shops, gentrification, landscape degradation, and general resource scarcity — in short, collapse.
The proposal reads like a motto-manifesto, a song that is needed if the aim is to start setting boundaries to touristification and reclaim livability for those who inhabit the island. All these ideas align with the principles of Via Menorca, a campaign by GOB involving both protest and proposals, which from now on will also have a song.
For now, only the single has been released, but on July 8, the music video will also be published — a collective action in which more than fifty people took part, driven by the organization of Via Menorca.
The song can be listened to on various platforms: