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They're well aware that they have a place in today's flamenco fusion scene. And they acknowledge the work of groups that have gone before them. "It's good we're doing this now because those who came before us have opened a lot of doors, especially Camarón and Paco de Lucía, but let's not forget Las Grecas, Los Chorbos, Manzanita, Ketama, Pata Negra, La Barbería del Sur... all the people who started to experiment with sounds." They know they're destined to be branded 'jóvenes flamencos', a label they won't shrug off if it gives them some support, but which they will try to move away from in order to try and reach different audiences. And on the way, to broaden flamenco's following. "We're ready to fight to defend the track listing on the album, but there's no way we could do without the freshness provided by the guest artists." That's what makes every Echegaray live show a unique experience, subject to the demands of each moment. "One day we even left El Viejín playing solo guitar. We just felt like letting the guitar go it alone after so much banging and crashing."

Bandolero (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Aside from the music, the lyrics are difficult to ignore. "Our friends in the business told us that to write lyrics you had to recount your experiences. That's why there are lyrics that talk about touring, airports, rehearsals…" And then there's a dose of irony on 'Los bailaores'. Bandolero says he hopes it'll be met with "good humor, I mean the lyrics are written humorously and with great respect. In Cadiz they like to criticize the administration, but as for us… It was a phase in our lives, above all Ramón's life, he wrote it. And the result is an affectionate parody, very well executed and in no way intended to be disrespectful."

Bandolero, in fact, has only good words to say of Antonio Canales and Joaquín Cortés: "They taught me a professional attitude I never got from other artists, in terms of discipline, rehearsing, performances, and making the best of what you have. They gave me an incredible amount in my musical career. I started with them when I was sixteen, I was a kid, and everything rubs off on you little by little. At that moment in life you're receptive to anything, these days it takes a little longer. And to be honest it was a great experience, I'm really grateful; they gave me love, work, sneakers, jeans, food on the table and the chance to travel all over the world. I feel privileged for all of that, and it's all thanks to those guys".

Dance has been a key in Echegaray's musical development. Bandolero says "they taught us a whole lot: in terms of putting work together, the theater has given us plenty, it makes you serious, you get into a certain way of thinking. Now if you go to a small concert venue like Sala Caracol in Madrid, that's different - you can get something set up in no time. You have to think about lighting too, things that might seem like they're unnecessary like the idea behind the show, starting and finishing in a certain way, you have to have stuff going on in the middle but the start and finish are all-important."

Piraña and Chano Domínguez
(Frame from DVD 'Mira cómo viene')

	"We managed to get Negri and Antonio Carmona singing on the same track, that's like getting Ronaldinho and Ronaldo together in the same team"

If 'los bailaores' are mentioned only implicitly, they're more explicit in mentioning other big names: Antonio Carmona, La Barbería del Sur, Tomatito and Pepe Habichuela. "We've got 'club class' guests on this one. We always were surrounded by the people who do this stuff well. We managed to coax Tomate, who I'm with right now, into playing with us. From La Barbería, Paquete is my brother-in-law, he's Ramón's and Piraña's brother and feels very close to the project. He's contributed a lot to the album, energy, tips… El Negri is also very heavily involved, he's like family. Really he is part of our family." And that's how it came to be that "we managed to get Negri and Antonio Carmona singing on the same track, that's like getting Ronaldinho and Ronaldo together in the same team. Pepe Habichuela also gave plenty of goodwill. And Ketama has a lot to do with the fact that the disc fell to Gran Vía and they helped us - they're our godfathers professionally and musically speaking."

Panamanian Rubén Blades is also considered one of the elite band of collaborators on the disc, for letting them use 'Prohibido olvidar', the number where the voices of both Ketama's and La Barbería del Sur's vocalists fuse together. "Maybe at the outset we didn't stop to think so much about the lyric, but now we do. And there's a lot to it. When Ramón showed me it he said "man, this is protest music and we play protest music." As time went by and you heard the news, watched CNN, you realized this song is hard-hitting and speaks about what a lot of people are going through. We aren't trying to be Robin Hood and save the planet, but we say those things and put them to a rhythm. It isn't about making protest songs, but it isn't about sitting on the fence either. We make music, we don't know so much about politics, but there are a lot of needy people. We take a stance as people. I like, for example, Joaquin Sabina's casual manner as he recites his lyrics; and his manner of writing songs is what we'd like to achieve. And always bearing in mind that knowledge of what you're saying is more important than sincerity. Alejandro Sanz is writing some hard-hitting lyrics these days. The time is right... I don't know what's going on but the world's gone nuts. 'Planet of the Apes' is already happening!

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More information: Interview with Tino di Geraldo, percussionist (October, 2003) Interview with José Antonio Galicia, percussionist (September, 2003) Interview with Mario Cortés, box drum maker (June, 2003)