From Badalona to Amsterdam · Formation · First professional years · Departure toward Europe
This dossier documents the first major stage of Pere Soto’s career: formation and professional activity in Catalonia, the recording of Coincidencias (1989), and the departure toward Europe through Berlin and Amsterdam.
← Back to Historical ArchivePere Soto’s musical path begins in Badalona (Catalonia). These early years were essentially practical: playing, listening, studying, experimenting and searching for a voice of his own. Contact with different musicians and environments in Catalonia gradually expanded his language — from jazz and blues toward a more open conception of the guitar and of improvisation.
Catalonia became the first territory of his professional and creative activity. Badalona and Barcelona form the starting point of a trajectory that would soon project itself beyond Spain, first via Berlin and then Amsterdam.
This page covers the formative and early professional stage (1977–1990). Documentary materials (photographs, posters, programmes, press) are being progressively added as the archive is reconstructed. Dates and details will be refined as additional verified sources become available.
| Year | Milestone | Source / scope |
|---|---|---|
| 1977–c.1980 | Early formation in Badalona. Practical learning: performance, listening, experimentation. First contact with jazz, blues and contemporary popular music. | Artist biography / archive reconstruction. |
| 1980s | Intensive activity in Catalonia: concerts, encounters and projects related to jazz and modern music. Progressive presence on the Catalan scene. | Artist archive; programmes, posters and press from the period (in reconstruction). |
| 1989 | Recording and release of Coincidencias. Nominated best album of the year by Nacional-Radio 4 (Spain); broad broadcast across Catalonia. Turning point before the departure toward Europe. | Artist discography; Radio 4 / RNE references; artist CV. |
| Late 1980s | Decision to widen professional and artistic horizon beyond Catalonia. First European destination: Berlin. | Artist biography / trajectory notes. |
| c.1990 | Move from Berlin to Amsterdam. Beginning of the European stage proper (jazz and improvised music scene). | Artist biography; subsequent Amsterdam activity (1990s). |
First professional and creative territory. Jazz coexists with blues, rock, swing and other contemporary musics, shaping a personal language that would later accompany the musician through Europe.
Landmark recording of the Catalan period. Nominated best album of the year by Nacional-Radio 4 (Spain) and heavily broadcast across Catalonia. Represents a turning point immediately before the departure toward Europe.
At the end of the 1980s, Pere Soto expands his horizon beyond Catalonia. Berlin provides direct contact with a different musical reality and a broader European environment — a first door into the international stage.
After Berlin, the decisive choice is Amsterdam: international atmosphere, intense musical activity, and a strong presence of jazz and improvised music. From this point the trajectory is no longer developed only in Catalonia.
Materials preserved and gathered during the reconstruction of the documentary archive (to be expanded):
1977–1990 · A stage of transformation
From the first steps in Badalona to the departure toward Europe.
From Catalonia to Berlin.
From Berlin to Amsterdam.
A first stage completed, and the beginning of a new international dimension.