Over 15 years ago, in the Cantabrian town of Noja I discovered paddle tennis. Since then, and whenever my blasted tendonitis has allowed me to, I have never stopped enjoying this fulfilling and tremendously interesting sport. Some three years ago, my matches with Jon Lasuen (also known as “el moña” or “the Caribbean Manatee”), Lucio, Mikel and Jon, the “sos”. It is with these companions that I discovered up to what point one can become “addicted” since they used to take me to play a match be it with rain, hail or sunshine. I used to pull their legs saying they were suffering of “Padelitis” and I thought I had to do something about this phenomenon. So I started to gestate what is now my tenth record, a very special record dedicated to Jon Lasuen, as he is no longer among us, but he crops up in our memories every time we play. The most difficult task was to write some texts that would not be too ungraceful and that would communicate to all paddle tennis lovers the sensations and emotions that one feels when practising this sport. It was my wish that when they listened to these lyrics they would feel as if they were their own, as if they had written them themselves.

There I was, ennumerating peculiarities of the game and writing the lyrics for each one. The first text I wrote was “Si lo pruebas repites” (If you try it, you repeat) which flowed on the paper extremely easily, since each verse took me to the next as if I was reading instead of writing. The truth is that during the month of August I had composed nearly all of the lyrics, some humouristic and others morbid, funny, appealing and satirical,… I had managed not to fall into a one-track theme and I spoke of paddle tennis both as a social phenomenon and vice-versa, I also spoke of society taking advantage of the excuse of writing about paddle-tennis.

The musical part had to be adequate for any kind of public, easy to listen to and to sing, it had to be both commercial and direct. And the best way was to work on the record following a pop-rock line with a southern taste and with some allusions to flamenco, a world that is very distant from me but that I find extraordinarily attractive. The two arrangers with whom I have worked understood my concept perfectly, all of which is reflected in the final result.

In a work of these characteristics the real protagonists could not be missed: the paddle-tennis players who make us have such a wonderful time playing. This is why I was thinking about them when writing “Mi Argentina del alma”, (The Argentina of my soul) a song composed with coined expressions about the soul. I also wanted to include representatives from all levels of paddle-tennis.

I also wanted to make a song for children that would represent the future of paddle-tennis, schools, education, sports and entertainment… but finally I decided that a chorus of children would sing the chorus of ““Si lo pruebas repites” (If you try it, you repeat) as it was one of the songs they like the most. They represent the future.

For me, this record has been a challenge because of the peculiarities of the songs, a challenge that has made me develop as a composer and lyrics writer; now I only hope that you like it and that you will enjoy it.

Thank you.