Robin and the Goblins

Berlin based Baroque Pop artist Robin and the Goblins blends medieval imagery, lush floral strings and 80s fantasy movie synthpop. Drawing
from their own experiences with anxiety and feelings of alienation, the Spanish non-binary songwriter explores heavy themes with a contrastingly
candid approach. You can get a taste of their intricate lyricism in their latest track ‘Cyclone Season‘.

What are your favourite qualities in a song?
I’ve a bit of dislike for reality, so I love songs that conjure up landscapes and take me to parallel worlds in my mind. When sounds or lyrics stimulate my imagination, my will to live is restored.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I tend to use metaphors and sounds inspired by mythology, religion or fantasy fiction…But I’m actually trying to strip those away so that I
can be more honest about my own experiences, which I find REALLY hard to do. That’s why I need to write. You don’t need to look for reasons to
write when you’ve 2.5 decades of repressed emotions!
Where are you happiest?
Either performing on a stage in front of a lot of people, or humming to myself inside a tree hole, miles away from civilization.
As a performer, what makes a show special or memorable?
I guess becoming one with the music so that I forget that I have a body, a past, a personality…that is what I really want. I’d also like people to
feel like they discovered something about themselves. I really, really want to make people cry.
As an audience member, what makes a show special or memorable?
Emotional outpouring! Being taken on an emotional journey that is cathartic in some way. Watching performers who just RADIATE freedom was always very liberating for me. Also any show in which I fall for a cute boy in the crowd that I’ll never talk to is a memorable one.
What is your idea of success?
It changes 57 times a day. Today it’s giving myself the time to write more frequently and not having to send an e-mail ever again. But in general,
I’d say success for me is letting go of your complexes, or at least understanding and making peace with those winged demons. I feel like
music is the way I can do that.
What is something you would like to learn more about?
At the moment I’m reading a book about sexual repression in Victorian England. I’m also obsessed with how cults work, and how monotheistic
religions have been playing with people’s minds for centuries.
What was your biggest musical failure?
I wanted to be on David Letterman by 25 and I haven’t, so there’s that.
What was your biggest musical success?
Finishing songs, really. I’m the worst at finishing things. It’s also a great success for me to listen to a finished song and feel like I was honest.
Putting out my first song ‘Choirboys‘ felt like that, so when people started messaging me about how they could relate, it made me feel less alone.
Who do you look up to?
I’d say Saint Hildegard von Bingen, who was a composer in the 12th century. She had these really intense visions but didn’t dare to share them with anyone so she got physically sick. As a highly sensitive closeted gay I could relate to that. But then she became a philosopher and composed beautiful music for female choirs and all. When she died, jets of light filled the room. An inspiration.
What was the first song you have ever written like?
It was called Crystal Lake, and it was a cheesy goth power ballad about crying so much that your tears become a lake and then you drown. It was
basically me screaming for 3 minutes. I recorded it a cappella on tape and sent it to all the major labels in Spain when I was 13. I can’t
believe I was that determined.
Who deserves a shoutout and why?
There’s this Berlin-based songwriter called Ben Osborn, he’s got a beautiful album out called “Letters from the Border“. It makes me cry. There are such gems in the Berlin scene: NanseaElspeth AnneMone…pure talent.
 
You can find out more about Robin and the Goblins here and below is their song ‘Shadow Dancer’

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