Interview, Joan Garriga, Rumba singer: ‘Parties are serious business’

Without missing a note on his diatonic accordion, Joan Garriga sweeps down gracefully to pick up the underwear one of his female fans has thrown to him on stage. Although receiving critical acclaim and a prestigious Ciutat de Barcelona prize for Clavell Morenet, the new album by his band La Troba Kung-Fú, Garriga's high-energy Catalan rumba is far from stuffy and academic, as his knickerless fans will attest. Here he talks about disco politics, African immigration and the serious business of partying. (Full story in printed edition).