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Ojos de Brujo (Spain)
Song : ±·²¹¾±³Ùá
Album : Bari (La Fabrica de Colores, Spain)
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Ojos de Brujo sing "in a rumba dub style" on their 2001 debut album
Vengue (Edel). The Catalan collective don't only rewrite a Bob Marley
lyric, their whole musical aesthetic is based on joyously reinventing
flamenco and Catalan rumba.
'We like people with open minds,' said original lead singer Dani
Monoloco of the Ojos de Brujo manifesto when I spoke to him earlier
this year. 'It's time to try things. We don't try and invent
something, it's more like cooking - you can eat paella all the time
but if you mix it with something it's new and tasty. We don't have to
do Catalan rumba like our fathers. We try and do fusion, not
confusion. The song has to work. Maybe we'll put some berimbau over
Latin funk. Or with palmas (the rhythmic handclapping of flamenco)
we'll mix some hip-hop scratching. OK, you can't change the rhythm of
flamenco but you can put a Hammond on that rhythm and it works.'
Ojos de Brujo translates as "eyes of the wizard". It's an appropriate
name for a band who attempt to create musical magic. And judging by
the results on Vengue and the October 2002 follow-up Bari (on their
own label La Fabrica De Colores), the Catalan group do possess
Gandalf's touch. Formed from a collective of young Spanish musicians
who use flamenco as a foundation for cross-genre experimentation,
Ojos de Brujo incorporate elements of hip-hop, funk, salsa, and
reggae into a dynamic flamenco sound. On Vengue they offered a dozen
songs that managed to reflect equal amounts of traditional and
contemporary flavors.
Dani "Monoloco" is also the front man for the innovative rock-fusion
group Macaco and in-demand as a producer and collaborator. No doubt
as a result, the hardest working man in Spanish showbiz isn't present
on the new album. Instead, his place is now taken by the stylish and
charismatic female flamenco singer and rapper Marina "La Canillas"
Abad, reported as sensational by those who saw Ojos de Brujo's Womex
showcase.
And let's not overlook the other members: guitarists Ramón and
Antonio play funky rumba flamenco. Xavi Turull, a master of the
cajón, flamenco's wooden crate, keeps the rhythms dancing. Colombian
percussionist Beto adds primal Latin grooves. And DJ Panko helps push
Ojos de Brujo's lo-fi flamenco vision into the 21st Century.
Garth Cartwright 2002
Read your comments on Ojos de Brujo
More Spanish music on Radio 3:
Flamenco in Brighton
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