Fifty years ago he recorded himself  playing guitar for the first time. It was 1965 and he was 15 years old. This summer is the 15th anniversary of Toti moving to a village in Empordà: Palau-sator is now his home.

How did you end up in Empordà?

I moved here in 2000. I was on my own:  “Hello and good-bye”, people used to say to me. I only know Caterina, who had a house here, Francisqueta from the village’s shop and the people from the restaurants. That was like this for three or four years maybe. One day, Pere from the restaurant Satorre said to me: “Do you want to come to a shack?” Wow, I took it as an official entry to society. We had a lunch party and then I started to play Bach. They loved it. Then I played Vinya Laia, which is more like flamenco. It was a blast of a party. They took my guitar and they started to play their tavern songs! 

What is it like to live in Palau-sator?

I never feel lonely here. The city is so many  things and so many people... that I end up feeling lonely. However, in Palau-sator I am in my element. In this land, when the skies are clear, you can see the Canigó and Montgrí. I have taken so many snaps! One must stop to capture the beauty... Obviously, if you can’t stop, don’t have time to observe, think, you can’t create. You can’t capture the beauty while living fast. 

How do you find music to make a song?

I am reading poetry, and suddenly, I come  across this poem and say to myself: how pretty. I carry on. After a while, I return to that poem. The third time I take my guitar and I say to myself that a song must be made. It is like a call. The poem has already made half of the song. 

Tell me about the beginnings... 

We also used to play with friends; we used to play jazz, bossa nova, Brazilian music. This was at the end of the sixties. I went to London to study classic guitar. It was 1969, and I was studying Bach in London... I hung there for the first quarter and then I said to myself: “I will be back”. With the money I had left I bought an electric guitar and a Wawa pedal –something that was still unusual here. With Jordi Sabatés and Romà Escales, a terrific flutist, I formed a band called Om. We played jazz-rock. As if it was an intellectual kind of rock. We went crazy when we heard an electric guitar then –you didn’t hear any electric guitars on TV. And they are everywhere now! My friend Caterina used to say: “May the Gods not grant your wishes!” And see, how right she was. They are granted to you and then you regret it... 

So do you think that the music scene is not  so good now? 

When the artists are good, all music is  good. Commercial music made by a good artist is wonderful. Michael Jackson made very commercial music, but he was good. The problem doesn’t lie in the music, but in the musicians. Is it because we have a massive influence from North American music? Yes… And it was a big influence in my time  too. But then there was more variety. 

What do we have left here? 

Speaking of which, the shack I usually go  to, which allowed me to discover this Empordà, when, from time to time, we sing these songs, we say: “So? Should we cross the pond?” But we basically always end up singing tavern songs. Because this is unique and extraordinary. And many people here do not even know they exist.

To say goodbye, can you tell us a story related to a character from Empordà? 

I went to play in Dalí’s home with my  daughter Laia, who was 3 years old. He was a completely normal person with me, nice and friendly. We sang together! Right next to me there was a waiter standing, carrying a tray with rosé champagne. And Gala: “Tell this girl to shut up, and you, drink and sing!” We sang popular songs in two voices! He was thrilled, but she was bitter and jealous about a three-year old kid. Of course, Laia was all youth. She wasn’t young like her. I think that I am not young either, but I do feel young inside. I am passionate and enjoy everything. I am happy here in Palau-sator. It is wonderful living here. This summer is the 15th anniversary of my living here. But many years ago I used to come here, to Caterina’s home, she with whom I was very, very good friends. She was a sweetheart. I have half a haiku she wrote for me, shortly before her death; it says it all about me: “La música del Toti Plou el so de l’ànima.” (Toti’s music It rains with the sound of the soul.)//