5 Takeaways From Enrique Bunbury’s Chat With Billboard Español at LAMC 2023

Last year, Enrique Bunbury was on the verge of calling it quits. “I started having a convulsive, nocturnal cough that made me unable to sleep at night,” says the Spanish superstar, who went through his greatest moments of uncertainty while on tour celebrating his 35-year career. “I felt sand in my lungs. I accepted that it was the end of my career on stage.” But he did not retire, and the former frontman of Héroes del Silencio lived to tell the tale.

Bunbury chatted with Billboard during the virtual edition of LAMC 2023 about his upcoming album Greta Garbo, due out in May, why Los Angeles turned out to be the perfect place for him to live in anonymity and why he was on the brink of quitting the stage altogether.

Here are five things we learned from Bunbury, in his own words.

A severe allergy that he was unaware of almost led him to retire from the stage.

The last year has been complicated. The hardest and most traumatic part was at the beginning of 2022, when we started the 35th anniversary tour. I started having a convulsive, nocturnal cough that made me unable to sleep at night. I felt sand in my lungs. I had had a few episodes on previous tours, but it was on this one that I lost my voice and couldn’t sing. We came to the conclusion to end the tour. I accepted that it was the end of my career on stage. After several months of tests with a specialist, [we discovered] that the problem came from a chemical component in the smoke on stage called glycol. [It was] a source of satisfaction to know that I physically had no health problems, other than this reaction to a toxic component. I can lead an absolutely normal life and continue with my work.

His single “Invulnerables” is a sample of what he has experienced during the last year.

Almost all the songs on the new album [Greta Garbo] were composed in this period and have a very direct relationship with what was happening to me. There are some songs that show the most dramatic part and the circumstances of the lowest moments, and others in which I lived a certain euphoria and a certain enthusiasm thinking that nothing is over. In the end you move on to another stage, and there are new horizons that opened up and I started to get excited about the possibilities of expressing myself in other ways, and to be able to continue my career in a new direction. These ups and downs exist and are shown in the album.

Surprisingly, he found anonymity in Los Angeles.

I’ve been living in Los Angeles for 13 years. I’ve been a pretty nomadic person. I’ve moved around to different cities and I like to change houses and locations. It helps to have new perspectives to your outlook regarding music and the profession. I think musicians are observant in that sense. I can live a life of near anonymity. Sitting in a café and being able to observe and write is something I have not been able to do in some places because I have felt observed. Being known in cities in Spain or Latin America has hindered me a little bit. [In Los Angeles] I’ve been fortunate enough to be anonymous enough to be able to go to a supermarket, go to a movie, walk down the street. It’s something I’m especially grateful to the city for. 

At the same time, L.A. is a big capital — it’s a place where a lot of things happen on many levels. Not only Hollywood, there is also independent cinema and porn cinema, there is all kinds of cinema. The same in the music world, there are big and small record labels, and clubs with a very alternative vibe. It is a city where all the big artists want to go. Culturally, it’s a city that offers a lot.

He takes meticulous care of his wardrobe

I try to accompany the music with an image that corresponds to each of the albums or creative moments I’m in. I’ve always liked that artists on stage take care of their stage presence. It seems to me a form of respect for the audience. Dressing, let’s say, is like when you go to a special celebration, when you go to a birthday party, or when you go to a funeral or to a church. You try to dress as dignified as possible. I think there’s something ceremonial and festive about a concert. All that I want to show also with the costumes, with the lights, with the stage. It’s a way of respecting the public, the audience and the profession.

He identified with the Greta Garbo Syndrome.

The title [of my new album] comes from the actress Greta Garbo. At the age of 36 she decided to step away from public life. We call that the Greta Garbo Syndrome. It’s something that flitted through my life during this period. The thought that I wasn’t going to have that contact with the fans made me reflect in many directions. What was going to happen to me? To what extent was it going to be a total farewell? To what extent was it going to isolate me from not having that ceremonial contact with the fans? To what extent am I going to miss it much? Is it going to be a blessing? All these reflections appear on the album. 

Musically, it’s an album that we recorded organically, with analog tape, together with producer Adán Jodorowski. It may seem a bit retro or vintage, [but] I think it’s finally fresh, direct and electric. I have the impression that people are going to pick it up with interest for the fact of seeing me somehow so naked musically and in the texts.

The LAMC 2023 virtual event takes place this week, April 26-28, with back-to-back panels on mental health, music publishing, localization strategies and more. For the fourth year in a row, LAMC is offering free registration for all panels, workshops and presentations. Watch the full virtual program on Twitch.