By Sorrel Moseley-Williams, Herald staff

It’s Tuesday and just one-third of the indie rock band Zeno and the Stoics is in Buenos Aires. Less well-known in Argentina than in their native Spain, vocalist James Fraile (who was brought up in Miami) and bassist Felipe Hinojosa (also called Pipe) could use that to their advantage and try to wing tonight’s gig if the remaining four are still lost in transit.

Still, that would be an enormous letdown for the group who are excited to be here because this is their very first gig outside of the motherland. The usual route for an indie-rock group would be to gig around the UK, but as Felipe explains, “we‘re a bit different.” And it’s not just because they’re a Spanish band who sing in English.

Jamming together for five years, Zeno and the Stoics made a demo which led to their first album Cosmic Catastrophe. That was released two years ago and marked the entrance of keyboardist Eddy, the sixth and most recent member to join. Working with Gordon Raphael, who produced the first two Strokes’ albums (whose debut Is This It was named album of the decade by UK music magazine NME last week), James and Felipe talk about the unique experience they shared with the North American producer and owner of the London-based Shoplifter record label.

“We were considering some national producers and they wanted to be hands-on, telling us how to arrange the songs, to cut the lyrics here or that we should bring a track  down to two minutes so it was shorter for radio play,” says James. “But then this really sweet, intelligent, out-of-this world guy heard the demo and told us ‘I want to work with you — and I really like your sound as it is’.”

Raphael stayed in Spain for a week, says Felipe, and in the morning he’d visit the Prado to see Valázquez then watch the band rehearse. “I’d ask him ‘which song do you like?’ and he’d ask me back ‘which song do you like?’” he recalls.

“That’s right, he stayed for two hours one time and then for seven hours another,” adds James. “He’d walk around, look at an amp and tweak it a little, then carry on walking about, not saying anything. He’s a very tall, Tim Burton kind of guy, and by answering a question with a question it’s his way of getting out what is in you.

“He wasn’t arranging the songs for us — the way we had them lined up is the way they are on the album now. We’ve had lots of control on this album. We combined our ideas with Gordon to put them in places where perhaps something was lacking, as we had been concentrating on the sound as a whole in concerts.”

It turns out that Raphael so wanted to mix Zeno and the Stoics that he told them he was willing to accept any price because, says James, “he didn’t want anyone else to touch it.”

Generation Game

The six-strong band comprises older 30something hands James and Felipe while newest addition Eddy is a youthful 22. But the age gap isn’t a problem when it comes to making music. “We all have different tastes, for example, I never listened to pop music when I was younger as my mum didn’t like it,” says Felipe. “But all these tastes lead to us making very different sounds.”

James adds: “Over five years these tastes have come together to reach an agreement on this album. We’re not saying we’re bringing the 60s and 70s back, we’re just doing stuff we enjoy. It sounds good to me, and I like The Cure or The Doors while it also sounds good to Felipe, who’s into The Cars. And the inspiration is getting everyone involved and feeling happy with the pop, rock and folk mixture we’re making.”

Passionate about what they do in every way — Eddy studies history of music, for example — they all share their experiences; if Eddy hasn’t heard of a particular artist then James will lend him several CDs the next day, while half-gypsy drummer Curro from Seville has played the box since he was four and might suddenly throw a flamenco rhythm into a jamming session.

Although Zeno and the Stoics aren’t the only Spanish band whose lyrics are in English, it seems as if they may be creating their own obstacles and alienating the Spaniards. “When we pitched our demo three years ago, all the labels liked the music but wanted us to do one album in English and another in Spanish,” says James. Having lived half his life in the US, he says he’s totally comfortable singing in English “and inspired to write in English. I don’t want to throw all that way and simply comply with what others want.”

However, the media has been more welcoming, he adds. Rats in the Fridge was used for a TV advert while track one on the album, Elixir, is the theme to Doctor Mateo, a Spanish TV show based on the UK’s Doc Martin.  Seems like Raphael’s Midas touch is working...

Felipe and James are looking forward to the BA gig as they’ve heard from some musician friends that the audience really gets into the swing of things, unlike fans in Spain who tend to stand around tapping their feet. And hopefully, the remaining two-thirds will have made it with their equipment.

First time playing Argentina, first time playing outside of Spain, it will probably be worth your while to see their international debut, if only so you can say “I was there.”

Where & When:

Zeno and the Stoics, tonight, 11.30pm at La Trastienda, Balcarce 460. From $50. Tomorrow, Friday, December 4, 11.30pm and 1am, at La Diosa, Rafael Obligado s/n Costa Saleguero. www.myspace.com/zenoandthestoics