Perséfone to release 'Live In Andorra' — 20th‑anniversary concert with national orchestra

On 4 May 2024 we gave our first concert in Andorra in ten years, and it felt important to show what we had been doing because we usually play abroad and people here — even friends and family — hadn’t seen our progression, Sergi “Bobby” Verdeguer says. “We’ve played all over the world, but the show at the Auditori was unique,” he adds. The performance was being recorded, which brought extra nerves, but the night was very special and “it will be great to be able to watch it again in 30 years,” he says.

That recording is being released as Live In Andorra, a live album that Perséfone will issue with Napalm Records on 5 December. To coincide with the release, a special screening of the concert will take place next Tuesday at Illa Carlemany at 19:00, offering fans a chance to relive the performance.

The Auditori initiative invited a local band to perform during the season, and Perséfone had long had a proposal from the National Orchestra of Andorra (ONCA). The group ultimately combined forces with the orchestra to mark Perséfone’s 20th anniversary. “The album is a snapshot of what Perséfone was at that moment,” Verdeguer explains. The concert was a kind of best-of set, covering material from the band’s third album up to their then-latest release, Lingua Ignota.

Because the occasion was unique, they arranged and played instrumental pieces that featured the orchestra and that they had never performed before and have not played since. The result mixed aggressive, powerful songs with melodic passages that the orchestral arrangements highlighted.

Verdeguer singles out the track “Living Waves” as representative of the band: “It reflects what we express, the moment when we released it, and our collaboration with American singer Paul Masvidal, with whom we have a special bond.” The band often explores themes related to the human condition, self-knowledge and relationships; Verdeguer describes the album as having a spiritual bent.

Masvidal has been associated with Perséfone for about ten years, and Verdeguer stresses the closeness: “I don’t even count it — I’ve been his friend for a long time. We consider ourselves family.” He notes that maintaining a long-term musical project and relationships is difficult, but the band members care for one another, have learned from their mistakes and continue to strive for improvement.

Asked about another twenty years, Verdeguer is cautious: “I don’t know if we’ll have the same energy — the shows are pretty intense — but I hope so.”