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Photographs by Lola Quadrada and text by Marcel Beltran
The elite is an electronic punk group that David Burgués (Diosito) and Nil Roig (Yung Prado) created a few years ago, both born in Tàrrega, in the province of Lleida. The first is a fan of several teams and throughout his life he has frequented stadiums of all kinds. The second, as he himself admits, does not even know dad soccer. But that is not an impediment for Straight to hellthe second album they uncork in 2024 after the release of Stairs to heavenSome explicit mentions are made of football, such as in the seventh song on the album, titled ‘Carafutbol’. Now that their rogue rhythms, their electrifying lyrics and their shocking live performances are reaching more and more people, with a collaboration included in the Gallery Session with Diego Ibáñez (Carolina Durante) a few months ago, we met up with the duo in Barcelona. The idea is to talk about music, introduce a ball into the equation and let it be whatever God wants.
From one to ten, how much do you like football?
David: Five. I love football, but I wouldn’t give it a higher rating, really.
Nil: I say ten, although I have no idea what it is.
The music?
D: Diez.
N: Ten.
And the party?
N: At first one, but once I’m involved I love it.
D: It represents me.
Good. We already have a start. For Nil this is going to be more complicated, but I’m going to ask the question anyway. During your childhood, did you ever dream of being a soccer player?
D: I do, but for the money.
N: I don’t remember, but it could be that I dreamed it too.
And with being musicians?
D: As a child, maybe not so much, but there came a time in my life when I said to myself: ‘Wow, this would really be cool.’
N: Yes, it caught us more as teenagers.
D: I think since the Green Day album, more or less. american idiot. We were eleven or twelve years old.
Did you play football in those days?
N: Sure. It all started at Unió Esportiva Tàrrega.
D: Great team.
N: We are children of Joan Capdevila.
D: Each one played a different year. I only remember that I was on the bench until Christmas. First I asked my coach why he didn’t put me on, and he yelled at me four times. And then I told my mother that I never wanted to go back. That’s all my experience playing on a team.
N: I don’t remember much but I think he also played a lot on the bench.
And you didn’t play in the schoolyard?
D: Yes, there yes, without stopping.
N: In the schoolyard, to death. FIFA Street.
D: And on the street, too. All childhood playing. Always with the ball from one side to the other.
Are you for or against pureta leagues?
N: We haven’t explored it. But we’ll still have to start with this.
D: Yes, that does seem funny to me.
N: 100%.
If you had to choose one, perhaps because of its rebellious or scoundrel essence, which soccer team would best represent La Elite?
N: CF Angulària. It’s the club in a town next to Tàrrega, some hangers-on.
D: They are in Third Catalan, I think, now.
N: It’s possible that the only complete game I’ve seen in the last three years was one of yours.
D: And they are nonconformists. Because they play on natural grass, and they are the only club in Lleida, apart from Club Lleida Esportiu, that has a natural grass field. From time to time they pass the tractor to water it. Yes, it is quite a team Cold.
And where does your connection with the team come from?
N: Because he plays alongside Tàrrega.
D: That’s it. It’s right next to the pools we go to in the summer.
N: So, when you go there, besides bathing, you can also see some phosphorus.
Are you aware of current football news?
D: I do. I am a Barça fan to death and I follow it. You have to recognize it. It’s like that. And then I also support other teams. I like Celta, which as they are in another part of the table also allows me to experience football in a different way. And then I also really like Lleida, and I am aware of how things are going there. Finally, in England, I sometimes look at a team called Mansfield, which I am very fond of, and, although I don’t even know what league they are in, I sometimes look at how they have turned out.
Where does your love for those teams come from?
D: With Barça and Lleida, forever. I follow Celta because my girlfriend is from Vigo, and we have colleagues who are from their fans; Their values represent a lot to me, I think it is a super humble club, that fights a lot to be where it is, that pulls a lot from the youth team and that defends the Galician, with a left-wing fan base, of hard-working people. Besides, I always love his shirt. The Mansfield thing comes because when I was a kid I went to England a lot and they took me to their stadium.
N: I don’t have any favorite team because I have no idea.
Haven’t you ever had a team, Nil?
N: Well, when I was little I was a member of Barça, but out of obligation. Because everyone was from Barça, and if you didn’t do the same… But without further ado.
And watch a game for the pleasure of watching it?
N: Never. In fact, it makes me very nervous.
[David se ríe]
N: The only thing I like about football is the people who like football. They have such a strong passion, I admire them. I would like to have a passion for something that was like the one they have for football. But it has not happened.
Is there any player, historical or current, that you have a special affection for?
N: To Cristiano Ronaldo. Because of these Tik Tok videos in which a voice like yours appears, made with Artificial Intelligence, saying good night and motivational messages. I love ‘Bug’.
D: Me to Oleguer Presas. And Eric Cantona. For the same reason. Because they are players who are more people than footballers.
The seventh song from your new album, Straight to hellIt is titled ‘Carafutbol’. In the lyrics of that song there are not many clues that clarify where the concept comes from.
D: He talks about a colleague of ours who at the time was the typical one that you would tell him to go to dinner and he would answer: ‘Eh, no, man, Barça is playing’, I don’t know what. ‘We have to go to a place where they show the game’, that’s it. And it comes from that. Because we started calling it ‘carafutbol’. In the end, it is the word with which we end up describing all the people, not just that they like football, but that they have such a brutal fixation on the game. But just football for football, with nothing in return, you know?
So, I understand that on your part there would never be any problem if a gig coincides with an important match.
N: Well, you’ve done the thing of putting it on, haven’t you?
[Risas de David]
D: No. Let’s see. I only did it once. And if there is anyone from Barça who is reading this, they will understand me. It was the preseason after one of the worst years in our modern history. After Xavi came back and such. I was, during that preseason, absolutely crazy and crazy for them to win a fucking game, and then yes, they were playing that day and I told the coach that if we scored or something important happened, that he should let me know. But hey, now the truth is that I would never do it again.
Do you think that what you feel for your football team is comparable to what you feel for your favorite music group? Maybe from there, Nil, it is easier to get an idea of what the first ones feel.
N: Wow, on the contrary, I understand it less. I don’t like people who are superfans of a group. Because the beautiful thing about music is being a fan of music in general. But the group that only likes one group and takes it to whatever extreme… I don’t know. Those who go to death with Bad Bunny, for example. It’s like… Damn, your life is so boring, isn’t it? Always the same.
D: And it is true that this, whenever it has happened in music, has ended badly, like nonsense. And it also applies to football, to what happens with certain rivalries that get out of hand. If you are a big fan of something, you always end up in something absurd.
And do you notice that fan phenomenon with La Elite?
N: We always say that we don’t realize that.
D: Yes, we are not very aware.
N: Sometimes someone may come up to you and hit you with a badge and such… But it is not usual. And we don’t think about it much, either.
D: I also think that our audience, in general, is a pretty cool group.
N: Yes, and they don’t idealize us much, but because they can’t, because we are two hangers-on.
D: Exactly. And if someone idealizes us a lot, it’s because they are completely hooked.
The bar is a concept that appears frequently in your songs. And the bar and football have always gone hand in hand. Leaving aside the sick case that you mentioned about your colleague, do you like watching the games at the bar?
D: Yes, as teenagers we hung out quite a bit. To see the Championsespecially during the week.
N: It’s true. Some of the last games I saw were those of Champions of Barça that year when they won everything. Now that I think about it, I’m sure I stopped watching games because of that team. Because, after that, you couldn’t see anything else.
D: It happened to me too. I had a few years, after so many titles in a row, in which I stopped watching Barça. A major emotional hangover. But yes, going back to what you were saying, before, to watch the games for free, a few of us would get together at the bar. We had one beer for the entire game. And I’m talking to you about when you could still smoke inside the places. It was much better to see the matches like this.
And are you going to the stadium?
D: I do. I like going to different fields. I was recently at Leganés watching Celta, precisely. But what I like most is staying at a colleague’s house, with a club that is a football fan but at the same time is Coldlet’s get into the game and make it a moment of disconnection. Then we’ll go party and forget about it. But now, no; Now it’s football time.
Do you also achieve that disconnection by listening to or making music?
D: Yes, completely. This is very simple. There is always evasion in primitive things. Music, at least ours, which is not very complex, is also for that. That simplicity allows you to get your things out.
What would you answer if one day a team asked you to sing their anthem?
N: They already asked us for it in Tàrrega, in fact. Also that we sponsored their t-shirts. But this should be prohibited. If you can’t put alcohol or tobacco brands, how are you going to put our music group on your t-shirt, which is worse than both things combined.
You have a good relationship with Carolina Durante. With Diego Ibáñez, in fact, you recorded a Gallery Session. They are from Madrid, from what I understand. Is there a lot of heat out there?
D: With Diego we only talk to poke each other. When I see Madrid getting badly beaten, the first thing I do is open up Diego. And he has been doing the same in these hard years we have gone through.
