Draft:Northwest (band)

Northwest are a Spanish experimental pop duo formed in London in 2015 by singer and composer Mariuca García-Lomas and producer and multi-instrumentalist Ignacio Simón. Their music explores different genres, from contemporary classical music and avant-garde music to art pop, psychedelia and electronica. They have released three studio LP albums to date and and several singles and EPs.

Early career
Northwest was founded in 2015 right after Mariuca García-Lomas (vocals, piano & keyboards) and Ignacio Simón (guitar, piano, keyboards, drums and orchestral arrangements) moved from Madrid to London to pursue a career in music. Simón had already been part of several music projects in Spain and United Kingdon, most prominently the art rock band Al Berkowitz. García-Lomas had a background in visual arts and filmmaking but little experience in music.

From 2015 to 2017 they recorded and released a handful of singles and videoclips on their own label Tempel Arts. This first set of singles were well received within the art pop and dream pop underground scene. Between 2017 and 2018 they played steadily in the English capital and started recording the bulk of what would become their debut LP at City, University of London. However, more recordings took place in other locations, such as Cumbria, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Madrid. A real tube organ was recorded on spot at St Bartholomew's Church in Wigginton, Hertfordshire.

Apart from the core members of the duo, other musicians took part in this sessions, providing other instrument recordings such as cello, violin, clarinet and a whole experimental ensemble (City, University of London Experimental Ensemble), which Simón himself conducted.

I & II
Their self-titled debut album was split in two LPs and released in two installments as I and II. The former had a private launch in 2018, along with a manifesto on their website where the duo criticized the music market, the modern music listening styles and music promotion through social media and other platforms. The album remained hidden for almost a year and only accessible to the 460 people that privately asked for it, who subsequently received a hand-written postcard along with a physical copy and an exclusive code to the digital album. I was publicly released on February 2019, along with a 11-minute long video for the song London. The continuation to this album, II,1 was released in December 2019.

Touring, Pieces of Northwest and Anomaly
In 2018, Northwest started touring to promote the release of their debut album, performing in several cities in mainland Europe such as Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Riga or Moscow. The duo documented these tours with a series of videos shot on location along with electronic and classical-contemporary compositions of their own, which gave birth to the instrumental side-project Pieces of Northwest. The LP Ten Clarinet Pieces and Two Preludes For Strings, by Pieces Of Northwest, was released in 2020, presenting a collection of twelve contemporary-classical pieces. An EP, What is a River?, followed in 2023, featuring a 16-minute piece for strings.

After a two-year hiatus with no formal releases as Northwest, they published the single Anomaly in 2023.

Studio Albums

 * I (2019)
 * II (2019)
 * Ten Clarinet Pieces and Two Preludes for Strings (as Pieces of Northwest) (2020)

Singles and EPs

 * Reflection - Single (2015)
 * Look at Me - Single (2016)
 * Wind - Single (2016)
 * Dimaryp - Single (2017)
 * Same Old Sky - Single (2017)
 * Before The Spell - Single (2020)
 * Anomaly - Single (2023)
 * What Is a River? - EP (2023) (As Pieces of Northwest)