The rock group ANK1ms, formed in the summer of 2024, moves between the Raval and Guinardó neighborhoods, but the minds and hearts of these four young people, aged between 22 and 24, are focused on the world's social and environmental conflicts. All of this is filtered through the lens of science fiction. The determination with which they speak about their project contrasts with the answer they give when asked about the band's name. "It's complicated," they say, laughing.
What they have no doubt about are the successes of 2025. For example, in May they won the War of Bands at the Casal de Joves La Guineueta. Another conquest: until now they recorded their songs at home, but this year they will be able to record in a music studio. ANK1ms are Pau Blasco (guitar and vocals), Àlex Casamitjana (drums), Fiona Sarola Losana (bass player) and Mariona Bragós (singer) and they have the support of Esteve Carrera (guitar). At AMIC Cultura we speak with the two boys from the band.
ANK1ms, you are a rock band that plays original songs in Catalan inspired by science fiction and solarpunk. What does that mean exactly?
Àlex Casamitjana: First of all, thank you for pronouncing my name correctly, as we always have difficulties with that… (laughs). When we created the band, we were clear that we wanted to focus on science fiction to talk about social issues in a different way, which other Catalan bands already address.
Pau Blasco: And we do it through solarpunk, which is a movement that fosters optimistic visions of the future. It should be said that we try to approach it critically, as optimism alone is not enough; a bitter and realistic point of view is necessary. That's why our lyrics talk about anti-capitalism and de-growth, which are key to combating the social and climate problems we have right now.
Where does your interest in the environment come from?
P.B: It comes to us through conversations we have with our friends. Besides, Fiona is studying Biomedicine, Alex and I studied Computational Mathematics, and Mariona studied Humanities. But it doesn't come to us so much from our studies as from what impacts us every day, like the rent prices we pay, the cost of food, or the concern about pollution and the climate crisis.
In this regard, your first statement of intent came at the beginning of last year with the EP ANK1ms_1. Since then, you've performed concerts at La Bàscula, the Simbiruta Festival, Espai Jove La Fontana, and Barraques del Clot. It seems 2025 has been a sweet year for the band…
A.C: Yes, absolutely. We've followed the philosophy of signing up for everything possible. It's been a very sweet year that we'll always remember very positively because it couldn't have been better.
It's clear you travel a lot... Is that the key to launching a musical project?
P.B: Definitely. You have to get out there, talk to youth centers, apply for different opportunities, ask other bands what they did when they started... They won't come looking for you, so if you want to have a band, you have to hustle. Some people might think that having a band is just hanging out with friends, and that should always be there, but there's another very important part, which is planning, looking for gigs, making demos, and that's a lot of hours of organization. You need motivation and energy.
A.C: It was also important to go to musicians' jams where you can introduce yourself, make friends, and organize yourselves to make more solid proposals. Performing with bands like Cable Suelto, Mel i Mató, Fracàs, or Electra has helped us a lot. From the latter, we've been able to learn how to look for concerts, manage live performances, and things that can sometimes be intimidating for a band that's just starting out.
Is there a professional dream in everything you do?
A.C: Who wouldn't like that? Perhaps we're still a bit far from it, but if the opportunity arises at some point, I think we'd all be delighted to give it our all.
Having a band isn't just about hanging out with your buddies
Where is the band at now?
P.B: One of the things we most want to do now is record our songs.
A.C: And in fact, we now have the opportunity to do so, as by being finalists in the Gràcia Young Musicians Competition, we'll be able to record some songs this semester and, what's more, we'll perform at the upcoming Festes de Gràcia! What band wouldn't want to play there?
Now that we're talking about neighborhood initiatives and festivals, and also related to what we said about professional dreams, small-format venues have always been crucial for musical growth. The high price of concert venues in Barcelona and the metropolitan area is often criticized. How do you see it? For now, you're staying out of this circuit...
A.C: This first year we've had the opportunity to play in youth centers, youth spaces, and community centers, and we haven't felt the need to go to venues.
P.B: We definitely want to try this year, and we're aware, through other bands and colleagues, that there are problems playing there due to, as you say, the extremely high prices, the contract clauses, the percentage of money you keep... For most bands, playing in these venues is unthinkable. In general, emerging musicians don't get paid for what they do; they have their jobs and some free time they can dedicate to music, like we do.
You said before you're going to record new music now. Picking up on the theme of criticizing social and environmental problems, could Trump's interest in Venezuelan oil inspire a song by ANK1ms?
A.C: Yes, I would say so. We would do it from the critique of infinite growth and exploitation, not only of natural resources but also of the people who live at the expense of this, as they are also victims.
P.B: If we were to talk about Trump, we would also do so through science fiction, which, in fact, this genre is already a reflection of what is happening around us.
Which branch of science fiction do you like best?
A.C: We like it especially in literature and cinema. Since we all had this inspiration from a very young age, we decided to focus the group this way.
Emerging musicians have their jobs and some quiet hours to dedicate to music, just like we do
You must be one of the few groups that mix music and science fiction…
P.B: In the Catalan scene, probably yes, but the rock band Muse already did that, and they are one of our main influences, along with The Strokes.
To finish, you told me at the beginning that people have trouble pronouncing the band's name correctly. Why do you call yourselves that?
P.B: There are many possible answers, and one of them is that it's a secret (laughs). Basically, we wanted the word to sound like science fiction, to be plural, and to sound Catalan without knowing what it means.
A.C: There's a real origin to these initials, but with the guys in the group, we agreed that every time someone asked us, we'd invent something new. But what happened to us is that we didn't have a prepared answer at any concert! It got out of hand, and so we always end up saying it's complicated...
