Vacaciones

Vacaciones is a Spanish indie pop group from Murcia, active from 1998 to 2006. The band forms in April 1998 and begins with Ruth, Angel Pop, Rafa and Jose Alberto writing upbeat, dreamy pop influenced by Heavenly and Los Fresones Rebeldes, with crystal-like guitars and naive female vocals. The name comes from their song “Vacaciones En El Mar”; the word means “holidays” in Spanish.

Early formation and first releases

The band plays its first gig in July 1998 as a one-song appearance at the end of a Hello Cuca and Los Fresones Rebeldes show, with Felipe from Los Fresones helping on drums. They debut “Poppy Girl” there. Soon afterwards Encarna joins as a second vocalist, and the band plays a second gig at a school end-of-term party for children. That summer they record their first demo, which they hand to Elefant Records during the Benicassim Festival. The demo begins to receive radio play.

In January 1999, Elefant releases the four-song single “Dani”, recorded with Carlos Campoy of Ferroblues and Antonio Galvañ of Parade. Encarna then leaves and Ana joins on keyboards and backing vocals. The band plays a run of concerts and festival appearances in Spain, including shows in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza and Valencia, and shares bills with acts such as La Pequeña Suiza, Los Planetas, Polar, Cecilia Ann, La Monja Enana and Niza. “Imperfecta”, one of their most popular live songs, appears on the Elefant compilation Verano Del 99.

2000 to 2003

In February 2000 Vacaciones release the CD single Un año de..., followed by a seven-inch with “Espero una respuesta”, “Ahora sí!” and cover versions of songs by France Gall and Los Tres Sudamericanos. A promotional video is made for “Ahora sí!”. After these releases Angel Pop leaves and Carlos joins on bass. The group continues touring and appears at festivals including Contempopránea in Alburquerque.

In November 2000 “Ahora sí!” is included on a compilation released by the American label March Records alongside artists such as Baxendale, Waltz for Debbie and Club 8. During 2001 the band works on its debut album while continuing to play festivals including Contempopránea, Socarrat and Lemon Pop. Their first album, Sonreír, appears in April 2002. It is recorded with Carlos Hernández at Refugio Antiaéreo Studios in Granada and contains fourteen tracks, or fifteen on vinyl. The album also appears in a performance context at the Mini Pop Festival in Barcelona, and the band plays Contempopránea again later that summer. During the rest of 2002 they tour Spain to promote the record.

Vacaciones’ songs appear on the soundtrack CD for the short film Looking for Chencho and on the compilation Elefant 2002, released by the Mexican label Suave. They then record extra material for the single “No me digas que me quieres”, which is released in 2003 with “SCC”, “Lloverá” and a cover of Lio’s “Amoureux Solitaires”. A video is made for the single, directed by Les Nouveaux Auteurs and including a cameo by Amelia Fletcher. The band also appears at Primavera Sound and Benicassim FIB in 2003. Later that year Angel returns on second guitar and makes his first concert with the band at Easy Pop Weekend Festival. Ana leaves in December 2003.

Later line-up and final years

In April 2004 Maria del Mar, also of The Yellow Melodies, joins on keyboards and backing vocals. With this line-up the band plays in Alicante, then travels to Sweden for the Emmaboda Festival in August, sharing the bill with acts including The Ladybug Transistor, Finishing School, Kaito, Bearsuit and The Radio Dept. They receive positive reviews in the Swedish press. Back in Spain, they appear at Lemon Pop in Murcia.

At the end of 2004 the band begins recording new songs, which appear in February 2005 on the four-track CD-EP Suelta los problemas ¡ya!, released on Discos de Paseo. This release leads into the album Emmaboda, recorded between February and May 2005 at the band’s own studios, Gratis, where it is also mixed and produced by the group. J. M. Rosillo masters the album, which is released in October 2005 on Discos Imprescindibles and Autopop. Vacaciones then plays festivals around Spain, including Contempopránea, Lemon Pop and Marbella Grill Festival, and tours nationally to support the album.

The band splits in April 2006. After that, Ángel records his own songs in Hellín, Carlos 77 continues rehearsing with Higinio, José Alberto and Rafa form another band with Pili from The Yellow Melodies, and Ruth and Rafa also form a separate group while continuing as Vacaciones DJs. The band returns for a special gig at Lemon Pop Festival on 21 September 2007.