Limitless energy: Cristian of Top Secret.
If you come across a party on the Costa del Sol where everyone is dancing and laughing, there’s a good chance Top Secret are on stage playing everything from Abba to Rage Against the Machine.
Top Secret is not just another covers band on the Costa del Sol trying to emulate the greats; the sound is absolutely theirs. With Gaetano on bass, Alex on drums, and Cristian on lead vocals and guitar, Euro Weekly News caught up with Cristian to discover what drives one of the most fun and energetic bands on the coast.
EWN: How long has Top Secret been going?
Cristian: Around ten years. Because I was bored with the music I was playing before. I just wanted to have fun. And I’m having fun; so is the audience.
EWN: What were you listening to this morning?
Cristian: Erm. In my free time… I don’t have free time. I don’t choose our songs because I like them. I choose the songs depending on the moment; it’s a perfect ‘fit-in’.
ABBA, Metallica, Michael Jackson, Prodigy . . . all with that unmistakable Top Secret sound
EWN: It wasn’t Rage Against the Machine, then?
Cristian: We play Rage Against the Machine, we play ABBA, we play Queen, Michael Jackson, and Metallica. Whatever we play, it’s in reaction to the audience. It depends on them. I say to the band, ‘Do, re, so, la … just follow me.’ I just want to bring the emotion out of the people. I’m just so tired of going to gigs where everything is so predictable. I need more. I need to play Prodigy; I need to play Faithless. Who cares about the music? We all know the songs. Let’s dance!
Cristian: For us the challenge is to go to a place where they don’t know us and create the magic. The others in the band, Gaetano and Alex, say, ‘Do what you want, man. We’ll just follow you’ because no two gigs are the same. I never know what I’m going to play or how much I’m going to play. It depends on the crowd. No one’s interested anymore in the old-style rock heroes. Since the pandemic, they just want to have fun. Make jokes; make them laugh. If I get the lyrics wrong, the people laugh. I’m not here to educate but to play music not everyone hears. If someone usually listens to Spanish pop, they don’t usually hear ABBA. I want to make the pop fans like rock and the rock fans like pop.
Father of one, Cristian leads a tightly scheduled life. He looks after himself, sleeps as much as he can, does voice exercises every day, and stays organised in every moment. What drives him is that he loves his job. He loves his life and lives it to the full.
Cristian: If you hear us play various artists that you have heard at a distance, and we link it to the style you like, for me it’s really fun. As well, if I can deliberately sing the lyrics badly, better. I change the order, and the people look at me. So I look at the person who’s singing along with a look on their face like ‘that’s not right’. And I say, ‘I’m singing it wrong, aren’t I?’ And we start laughing together. Then the guy buys another beer.
Watch out for Top Secret, the most party band on the Costa del Sol. They are currently travelling all over, including Seville, and are back on the Costa del Sol on Friday, June 6 at Louie Louie, Estepona, and at Premiere Club, Marbella on June 13.
