La Buena Vida

During the summer of 1988 in San Sebastian, singer Irantzu Valencia teamed with guitarists Mikel Aguirre and Javier Sanchez, bassist Pedro San Martin, keyboardist Borja Sanchez, and drummer Raul Sebastian to launch the Spanish indie pop outfit La Buena Vida. A common passion for classic pop from the Beatles through the Smiths shaped the group’s direction. Over the next four years they refined their gentle, luminous style away from the spotlight while writing more than 100 songs. In 1992 they joined the newly established Siesta label and promptly released their opening EP, Historia de un Verano. Their first full-length album appeared in October 1993; six months afterward came the EP Mira a Tu Alrededor. With the arrival of 1994’s Los Mejores Momentos, La Buena Vida ranked among the strongest commercial presences on the Spanish independent circuit. Following the mid-1995 Magnesia EP, the band remained out of view for well over a year before returning in spring 1997 with the Louis Philippe-produced Soidemersol; shortly thereafter, founding keyboardist Borja Sanchez departed. That record nevertheless inaugurated a second chapter for the group that extended deep into the 2000s. Subsequent albums included Panorama (1999), Eureka (2000), Hallelujah! (2001), Harmonica (2002), Album (2005), and Vidania (2006). Vocalist Irantzu Valencia exited in early 2009.