Banin, a member of Los Planetas from 1997 to 2024 and also known for the side project Los Pilotos, is set to release his first solo album in early 2027 on Mushroom Pillow. According to El Mundo, it will be a fiery record that clearly references his traumatic exit from Los Planetas.
The artist says he found out he was out of Los Planetas when he saw posters for the ‘Súper 8’ tour, the 1994 album on which he did not play. The drummer Eric, who also wasn’t called for that tour, later joined the group. But not Banin, who now states: “In Los Planetas there was never much communication. Everything was discussed through third parties, and those third parties weren’t interested in talking about it either.”
He continues: “Excluding us from ‘Super 8’ was a fairly ugly move, the kind of move someone makes because they can and because they hold the upper hand on the board and because they know the other side has no weapons to defend themselves. I’m not going to judge it because enough has already been done by the audience and the press. I stayed away from that debate because it hurt me, and almost everything I want to say is in the record. I wanted my way of explaining myself to be through songs.”
The first single from Banin is titled ‘Prípiat’ — a reference to Chernobyl — and it will be heard soon, while the album carries the cheeky title of “Pluto Is No Longer a Planet.” El Mundo asks about a string of explicit lyrics that seem directed at Jota, such as “what you did to me cannot be named / there is no word that can come close” or “a pig that has tasted blood always wants more.” Banin replies that he has not drawn inspiration from a single person to write the album. However, he adds: “Anyone who has ever had a cruel boss will identify 100% with me and with my songs. I have tried to make them useful for people who have nothing to do with Los Planetas.”
Finally, he speaks of his warm reception as a member of the Carolina Durante tour and how good he feels with them. He attributes this to the mental health work being done by the newer generations: “For me, harmony in a successful band is something wonderful. I never saw that in Los Planetas. I suppose there’s a key factor: the new generations come emotionally better prepared. We didn’t have any emotional education of any kind. We went out there and had to sort things out as best we could.”
