Tags: boy from the south, indie pop, music, sport
It’s another instalment of Going Underground artist and this time we’re talking to Boy From The South, the Barcelona artist who’s mixing it up across Europe.
A musical project created by Pedro Balaña after learning to play the piano during the pandemic, The Boy From The South is a perfect addition to any summer-time playlist.
Balaña was working 9-5 in London when he decided to send off a few demos to Brett Shaw, the producer for other notable artists like Florence Welch (of and The Machine) and Foals.
“My aspirations are very simple, to make the music I like and make a decent living out of it! I don’t expect to be a multimillionaire, but as long as we can pay people that work with me nicely I’m good.”
“I only care about family, friends, music and climate change, so it’s pretty simple man – I’m not a fan of expensive things.”
The musical project has been something that has taken Pedro all over the world. The Barcelona born music star has found popularity across the Atlantic in South America, where he had his best gig.
“In Sao Paulo we played for 400 people with Moreno Veloso (grandson of Caetano Veloso). The crowd was amazing… I sang without a mic to a quiet room… legendary!”
However, Balaña also says that having an international project and wanting to play up and down the world can be “an absolute nightmare”.
“You have to: 1. Embrace couch surfing, and 2. Be very good at hustling!”
Nevertheless, Balaña keeps on going and reaching new heights, with The Boy From The South having amassed over four million total listens on Spotify.
His new song ‘Space Party’ has just been released, and you can expect to spot the name in places like Barcelona, London, Liverpool and Amsterdam.
If by reading and listening to this you’ve become a fan, or if you’re already a fan, then you can keep your ear to the ground around September for the next big single – and expect some more South American gigs in the future.
The Equaliser doesn’t just deal with music though, so of course we discussed sport too. With Balaña being from Barcelona it’s expected that he supports the team.
“We are on a bit of a rough patch now, people are still very nostalgic for Messi. I just think Real Madrid has a good 6-7 run and we are going to struggle so much.”
However it isn’t just football for Pedro, as he’s a big tennis fan too, even playing competition-level until he was 18. He still plays often and watches it when he can, in his own words:
“Vamos RAFA!”
By Jacob Tilley