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The truth is that the specialized
labels have nearly vanished...
Everything’s gone to hell. And
the worst thing is that they get to Cádiz and announce:
“The best of flamenco, Andy and Lucas”. The
bad thing is that when they talk about flamenco in Cádiz,
they’re named. I don’t have anything against
that music, which also has its place, but they say that
it’s flamenco and people get confused. That’s
serious.
David Palomar with Mercedes
Ruiz (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
Is there a way to approach rock
without losing the essence of flamenco?
I think so, straight out. If you like
cante, you’re an enthusiast, you like studying it,
but you like other types of music and you get together
with real musicians from other genres like bass player
Pepe Bao, something good will surely come out of it. And
if moreover the songs are yours and they’ve come
out of you without seeking anything, that necessarily
has to sound good. Whether people like it or not is another
matter.
What can you let on about that
project?
I still haven’t had a chance to
do it live, but I might do it this winter at the Central
Lechera in Cádiz. I’m putting together my
own little band and I want to see the crowd’s reaction.
I haven’t sought a concept, but it’s come
out. There are a lot of string arrangements. I like metals,
but I can’t see them in flamenco, I see it as so
latin... I mean, for Juan Luis Guerra. I’ve looked
for more of a point between strings and electric guitar,
the harmony between those instruments, for it to have
punch but be flamenco at the same time. People who have
heard it tell me it might approach what Andalusian rock
used to be.
And how does the cante fit in?
David Palomar (Photo
Daniel Muñoz) |
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There are bulerías, like one by
La
Paquera with electric guitar and drums. There’s
a song at the end which is like a nearly rapped recital
por bulerías, with a Tomasito-like beat. There’s
a tune which is like a fandango but it isn’t...
and it has really nice stuff with strings. I look for
it to have punch, to be able to do a stand-up concert.
And for it to have room for a seguiriya for the live show
like the one Enrique
Morente did in ‘Omega’, look for a soleá,
created personal fandangos... And for the lyrics to say
something, too, for them to talk a little about current
things. Things are like that, searching for a sound which
isn’t usual on every record: refrain, musical bridge,
verse, refrain, verse.
That formula already seems worn
out, doesn’t it?
Camarón
did it with ‘Potro de rabia y miel’ and starting
there... follow the boss. And the boss is the boss; that’s
for sure. But you don’t have to create, but rather
put your mark on it. Deep down, everything’s been
created. If we talk about rhythm, rhythm is what it is.
Where you place the stresses is what changes. And you
seek your personality like that, to be a personal performer,
because being a creator is really hard. You have to work
for many years to do that, for something different to
come out... But it’s rare for it not to resemble
anything else.
Are you youngsters afraid to
appear with projects which don’t have orthodox cante?
The truth is we are. At the Córdoba
Contest I didn’t expect to opt for a prize or anything.
But well then, it’s welcome. And now, it sounds
silly, but I find myself obliged to record something like
that for it to remain. I’m going to do that, too;
one thing doesn’t take away the other. The flamenco
cante album is going to be by the books. The other is
going to be to try and play and enjoy myself live with
a band. The truth is that I’m a little bit scared
because even in the times we live in, flamenco is really
closed. And they don’t want to break out of the
pattern; there’s no way. And they don’t realize
that I’m not going to catalogue that project I’m
talking about as flamenco. It’s a thing which comes
out of something natural, but they aren’t flamenco
styles, but rather tunes, songs. I’m not ashamed
because of that, but after what happened in Córdoba
I feel a little embarrassed. But I think it’s a
matter of a month... a couple of glasses of wine in Cádiz
and I’ll forget about all that nonsense. Ha ha ha
ha.
What was the experience of the
contest like for you?
To begin with, I signed up a month late.
I called asking if I could sign up late... And I was told:
“You’re a month late, wise guy, just so you
know”. Ha ha ha. Shall I send it? Is there a chance?
“Send it; we’ll see if it’s accepted”.
And they called me up to tell me it was. I went with Rafael
el Cabeza. The first day of try-outs went well, great.
I qualified in the categories I opted for. And in the
finals it went well, really cold, a contest, the juries...
what that’s all about. I’m studious, but I
take it all to my terrain; I don’t copy Mairena
or someone else. So I wasn’t expecting it. It was
like a gift to me. It encouraged me to go on, but I don’t
want to feel any obligation. I did it to have a good time.
My project is going to happen; nobody’s going to
be able to stop it. And the flamenco album is also going
to be made because you don’t have the same voice
now as when you’re fifty years old. And my style
of voice, which is ‘ripped’, which wears down
in every performance... You notice how it changes every
year that goes by.
David Palomar with Fuensanta
la Moneta (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
And you already have a lot of
experience at the studio...
I love the studio. I think I learned
to work at the studio before I learned to sing for dancing.
We spent a month in Cádiz with Levantito making
demos, then we went to Sintonía Studios in Madrid
for a month, working with people like Fernando Illán,
Ñete, who was Sabina’s drummer... You get
together with musicians, technicians... and you learn.
Just like in Cádiz with the people from La Caleta
Records... and all the artists who used to appear there:
Enrique, Duquende, Tomatito, Estrella, Mercé...
I went through all that, since I was a pal of the studio
guy, “Palomar, come here and record some clapping,
some vocals...”. The chorus of Mercé’s
‘Aire’, for example, which caught me having
lunch with Rafael de Utrera when we were called. And off
we went. With La Macanita, Mariana Cornejo, Sergio Monroy...
Well, everyone from Cádiz: Pedro Cortejosa, Alfonso
Gamaza... they’re too much, they have privileged
ears. And with all the good pianists from Cádiz,
like Sergio Monroy, Jesús Lavilla, Juan Gómez,
who’s studied at Berkeley -, Galiana, who goes with
Manu Chao... There’s a gang of colleagues who work
with top people; they don’t go with just anyone.
How do you feel within your generation
of cantaores? What difficulties and advantages do you
have?
Young people are being helped. The cantaores
who are working for baile, people who do it well and who
are making an effort, are being responded to. In Cádiz,
for example, I think Encarnita
Anillo has quite a good place in flamenco; people
consider her highly and she’s a girl who sings really
great. And her brother Joselito also sings well for baile.
There are guitarists such as Ricardo Ribera, Keko Baldomero
– who was with Mercé yesterday -, Román
Vicenti, Andrés Martínez, who’s now
lead tocaor with Cristina Hoyos... There are people who
are doing it really well. And the same with baile: María
José Franco, El Junco, Rosario Toledo, Ana Salazar,
Juan Ogalla, María Moreno... I think the flamenco
breeding ground which was lost is being shaped up once
again. Cádiz had spent a decade or two not knowing
who was going to come out. I think there is going to be
a continuation. I, for one, am going to make sure there
is. I’m one of the ones who defends the legacy of
Chano Lobato, Espeleta, Beni... that’s my position;
you know me. I don’t know whether I like laughing
more or singing.
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