Manel (band)

Manel
Manel at the Palau de la música catalana in 2010
Background information
Origin	Barcelona, Spain
Genres	Pop folk indie
Years active	2007–2023
Labels	Discmedi Ceràmiques Guzmán
Members	Arnau Vallvé Martí Maymó Roger Padilla Guillem Gisbert
Website	Official page

Manel was an indie pop band from Barcelona who sing in Catalan. They released their first album in 2008. They describe their musical style as a synthesis of pop and folk music.^[1][2][3] Critics have linked their style to that of other Catalan-speaking musicians such as Pau Riba, Jaume Sisa, and Antònia Font.^[2][4][5]

The members of Manel met while attending Costa i Llobera school in Barcelona.^[1] They first came to public attention as finalists in the 2007 Sona9 music competition, in which they were awarded the Premi Joventut. With the prize money they were able to cover the production costs of their debut album,^[1][6]

Els millors professors europeus (The Best European Professors), whose title alludes to a lyric of the song Pla quinquennal. The album, recorded at Estudis Nòmada 57 between June and October 2007 and produced by Discmedi, was released the following year to critical acclaim.^{[3][4][5][7][8][9]}

The Catalan magazine Enderrock pronounced it the best pop-rock album of the year.^[10] In its issue of January 2009, Rockdelux described it as the third best Spanish album of the previous year, while the magazine MondoSonoro rated it the seventh-best.^[11]

The video for Dona estrangera, directed by Sergi Pérez, was awarded the prize for best video at the 2008 Cinemad festival.^[12]

Apart from the songs featured on Els millors professors europeus, the group's repertoire includes cover versions of No t'enyoro by Els Pets,^[13] La Tortura by Shakira, and Common People by Pulp.^[14]

It wasn't long until Manel became a sociocultural phenomenon in the Catalan-speaking world, giving rise to a considerable number of new Catalan-speaking pop groups, among whom, distinguished by the sales numbers they have achieved, are Els amics de les arts.^{[15][16] [17]}

Els millors professors europeus went gold, selling more than 30 000 copies.^[18]

Their second album, from which two songs (Aniversari and Boomerang) were released in February 2011, went on sale on 15 March 2011 titled 10 milles per veure una bona armadura. In ten days, it became the best-selling album in Spain.^[19] The title comes from a phrase pronounced by Kenneth Branagh in Much Ado about Nothing. In its first week, it sold more than 10,000 copies and reached number 1 on the CD sales chart in Spain, something which hadn't happened with a Catalan disc in more than 15 years.^[20] This second album was also released on vinyl.

Manel's third studio album was Atletes, baixin de l'escenari (in English, Athletes, get off the stage), published by and distributed by Warner Music in CD, vinyl and digitally. The album was released on 16 April 2013. In its first week, the album reached number one on Promusicae billboards in Spain, selling more than 10,000 copies.^[21] The title refers to an incident at the 1992 Olympic Games where an announcer ordered a large number of dancing athletes to get off the stage as it was feared it would break.^[22]

On 1 March 2016, Manel announced through a press release the release of a fourth studio album, titled Jo competeixo, which was released on 8 April and consisted of eleven songs, recorded between November and December 2015.

On 12 September 2019, Manel announced the publication of their fifth studio album, titled Per la bona gent,^[23] which was released on 4 October and consisted of twelve songs. This work included collaborations with artists such as Jaume Sisa and María del Mar Bonet.^[24]

On 11 March 2021, Manel released the single "L'amant malalta" ("The ill lover"). This was followed on 16 April by the release of a limited edition three-track EP, also titled L'amant malalta.

Two years later, in March of 2023, Manel announced that they would be taking an indefinite break from performing together^[25] and that lead singer Guillem Gisbert would be pursuing solo projects. On 1 March 2024 he released the LP Balla la Masurca!.

• Arnau Vallvé: Vocals, percussion, and MIDI
• Martí Maymó: Vocals, bass guitar, contrabass, clarinet and sweet flute
• Roger Padilla: Vocals, guitar, banjo, melodica, mandola, ukulele and MIDI
• Guillem Gisbert: Main vocals, ukulele and guitar

• Els millors professors europeus (2008)

• 10 milles per veure una bona armadura (2011)

• Atletes, baixin de l'escenari (2013)

• Jo competeixo (2016)

• Per la bona gent (2019)

• Music of Catalonia

• Official site
• (in Spanish) Biography and reviews
• (in Spanish) Manel se va de fiesta mayor. Diario El País (20 August 2009)