Kiko Veneno and "la familia pollo": Little day-to-day expressions

Kiko Veneno has put out another recording: bigger, better, and rounder. Part of his merit lies in the simplicity of its lyrics; the search behind his polymorphous rumba.

New meanings

"That's what I'm looking for, and that's my skill as a writer: doing basic things by working out those little day-to-day expressions. That's my field, it's what I know how to do, and I like doing it. I don't know how to make them more complicated; it's a very clear style that I identify with. I try to give them a certain weight, or to discover their weight and give them new meanings."

Nine weeks and half a ham

"My friend Jo (his producer) got in the 20th of February, and we went to see Raimundo. He gave him half a ham and we took it to the studio. That's how the recording got started."

His producer Jo Dworniak traveled to Seville for their fourth recording together, the first that Kiko has made in Seville. They've come to know their creative process quite well. Raimundo Amador is one of the six great guitarists that participated in the recording.

"The human factor is important. The studio is a nice place; we could be with friends, in the Alameda, in my house... That made it possible to work more than on any other recording. When I was in London I spent six weeks on recording and mixing. This time we spent nine eeks recording, and I went to London twice for the mix."

…and multiply

His recording company keeps one eye on him and the other on his sales, dwindling since 1992's "Échate un cantecito." Jo was put in charge of his personal sound to make it more accessible. The English musician-arranger-producer has put more work into this latest offering than any other recording, push-starting it with his hours of work and ideas.

"He pushes me and I push him... There are things that I don't know anything about, like engineering; and there are things that he doesn't understand, like the lyrics, or the feel that I'm looking for. Each of us contributes the best we can offer, and we quickly reach a middle-ground. When you listen to the recording, don't you get the sensation that a lot of work's gone into it; that it was all very rehearsed and well done? It takes people six months to put out this kind of recording. It's a lot of work, a lot of effort. When there are two people that can communicate in a team... It was the same thing with Raimundo and me on the first recording. It was a brutal combination; there weren't two of us, there were sixteen!"

Africa, in common

"He did it, with my help and intuition, but, by myself, I never could have managed to shape that sound. I've tried, but until I met Jo, it just didn't happen." There are other details, like the string arrangements of Antoñito Smash in the excellent ballad, "Tengo el corazón de tinta," but this is an exception: The main ingredient is the polymorphous rumba that invites the listener to smile and relax.

"I put down the rhythm, the accents, and the feeling, but recording it is another matter. The African bit in the first recording, for example, was important. He said that if I wanted to get that sound I needed an African percussionist. So we created a space between rock and rumba, between Andalusia and America, with the common denominator, which is Africa. I don't know, it's some kind of sonic intuition. Jo is a sonic artist. He's not an intellectual that tries to define fusion, but one that puts it down on tape. I love watching him work."

Familia pollo (chicken family)

"A lot of things came together. We've had hens and chickens... and family is the most important word. Chicken is the adjective." The whole recording is a family affair. His wife even designed the graphic concept of the CD booklet. Then there are the European chickens, one of his open metaphors:

¡Feos! / Ugly!
yo creía que mis pollos eran feos/I thought that my chickens were ugly
pero más feos / but even uglier
son los pollos europeos. / are European chickens

"That came from the contaminated chickens, from Belgium, that had been given feed that wasn't legal, like the "mad cows." That's how I wrote that one. It coincided with the war in Bosnia.

Los traficantes / Dealers,
los auténticos elegantes / the real elegant ones,
son los presidentes y / are presidents
los ministros autorizados / and ministers in charge
Tiran bombas sin venir a qué / Dropping bombs for no reason
yo no quiero ser de ninguna ONG / I don't want to belong to an NGO

Approaching in a boat

"I've always done different versions, but I haven't recorded them. For example, just from the Beatles, we did 'I am the walrus,' 'The word,' and 'Glass Onion,' with fandango lyrics."

In his official discography we can only find versions of Bob Dylan and Paco Ibañez. In this recording, "The House of the Rising Sun" is very close to "Memphis blues," but in English, and with the refrain of "Chan chan," by Compay Segundo. "For this song I tried to bring together the two points of the Gulf of Mexico that have traditionally shared a connection: New Orleans and Cuba. The primitive rhythms of Delta blues used a kind of percussion that was vital to the Cuban son. Ry Cooder was right on the money with "Buenavista Social Club," in that it returns the heritage of the blues of the 1920's in Cuba. That's what makes it so great. But I wanted to use the idea of the refugees in boats."

Shirts and towels

"It's the evolution of people and buildings... until we reach 'Polisound,' the horrible sound of the sports centers, with all that echo."
Period writing and craftiness set to boogie, and a change of shirt in "Se han llevado las toallas":

El gerente del teatro / The theater manager
antes era muy rockero / used to be a real rocker
ahora le limpia las sillas / Now he cleans the seats
a la gente con dinero / of people with lots of money

"This is a kind of social chronicle. When you studied at the university, there were guys that were into the student movement, but little by little they turned into bosses."

Evocation

(From "Manuel")
Se rompió el mundo / The world is broken
y no ha sido Manue / l but Manuel didn't do it

"It's the story of a five-year old boy with Down's syndrome. He'svery special because he understands everything."

el mundo es una piedra / The world is a stone
hay que poner la oreja / you've got to put your ear to it
y escuchar su corazón / and listen to its heart
porque si no, se aleja / Because if not, it goes away
y no comprendes la razón /and you'll never understand why

"Maybe people won't understand the story, but I don't care. It's clear to me, but it's got an open poetic part, and it can be read in different ways."

Preparing texts

From "Negrilla":
La llevo en el corazón / She's with me in my heart
como un marcapasos/ like a pacemaker

"They're simple lyrics, almost stupid, like something Homer Simpson might say. Because they're so simple, they express everyday actions, and everyone can identify with them."

From "Cuando me levanto":
Cuando me levanto por la mañana / When I get up in the morning
miro por la ventana / I look out the window
y me entran ganas de pensar / and I feel like thinking

"That's an age-old blues line that I've always liked. It's one of those everyday things that you hear in your head, but it's deep and very real. There's also a sense of sadness that joins us to blues; nostalgia. Along with joy, I try to use pain as a source of expression of art, like they do in flamenco or blues. People relate to suffering and pain. In life, there's either pain or there's heroine, but there's got to be something."

Love, for example (from "Cuando me levanto):
Hoy empieza todo / Everything starts today
tú y yo solos / you and me alone
contra el mundo / against the world
dentro del mundo / within the world
y un segundo la eternidad / and one second an eternity

That great humanist

He always includes a nod to popular lyrics, and this recording is no exception:

(From "Esperanza")
En esta vida maldita / In this cursed life
las cosas más le faltan / the things we need the most;
siempre le faltan más / the one who has them least
al que más las necesita / is the one who needs them most

"The common theme in my lyrics might be flamenco lyrics. Since the beginning I've used a set of flamenco lyrics in every recording. In this one I used something that Camarón sang. He was a great humanist."

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