Lole, flamenco cantaora. Interview

“Since everything I sing is new,
I can’t take notice of anybody”

Silvia Calado. Madrid, February 2008
Translation: Joseph Kopec

Lole returns. And she does so with renewed hopefulness, once again ready to reinvent herself, paying tribute to women and enjoying good company. She has Vicente Amigo, Alejandro Sanz and Felipe Campuzano as accomplices, who have designed cantes for this unique voice... silent for some time now. At her side are the women in her family, the new generation of Los Montoya. And rounding off the group, she has beside her a good handful of young musicians contributing freshness. Now it’s time to perform ‘Metáfora’, and to put together a new album right away, since La Negra’s daughter knows that “renewal has to be from day to day”.

Lole (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

‘Metáfora’ is Lole’s third solo album...

Yesterday I was asked what happened to the two previous albums, ‘Ni el oro ni la plata’ and ‘Liberado’. The only thing that happened was that they didn’t promote them. I don’t want them to look bad, but there are a lot of clever people; that much I have to say. I don’t have any reason to look bad with the audience, you all look bad. I’m consistent with my actions, but not with theirs. So those albums weren’t promoted because the people out there act so smart. I was hidden, but I wasn’t running away, I want to make that clear, from anyone or anything, in any case, from the smart people. But I don’t feel like talking about that now; I’m involved in other stuff now, I’m excited about other things.

But the work remains. ‘Ni el oro ni la plata’ is very interesting...

And ‘Liberado’ is also a really nice album, the thing is that it’s all gospel music and people here didn’t use to know that music. Now it’s beginning to have a following, but since you always have to get a jump start... But what am I going to do if I think of things?

Lole (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

Back to ‘Metáfora’, then. How has this album come about which you yourself have produced?

I already had some songs. For example, I’d had ‘Ilusión’ by Felipe Campuzano for a long time; it was going to be part of an album which wasn’t made in the end. I’d heard ‘La maza’ by Silvio Rodríguez. Alejandro Sanz gave me ‘Metáfora’ three years ago. And I had some others that aren’t there because the idea started to change. That’s how the album has come about. The time it’s taken to come out is due to the industry and because no matter how cheap a record is, it always costs money... And that’s been the reason why. I want to make it clear with a view to the public. I’ve worked, like everybody, since I was really young. People should know that it wasn’t because I didn’t want to sing and it wasn’t for religious reasons. No, the church is... I’ll make a comparison: when you want to listen to classical music you go to the theater and when you want to see something spiritual you go to church. And there aren’t any prohibitions or anything strange like that.

Even so, religion is a personal matter...

Yes, it’s a personal matter but I’m explaining it so that they realize it isn’t because of that, but rather because here people are really smart... that’s all.

And moreover, you’ve been active, haven’t you?

Yes, but not the way people wanted and asked me. And without releasing a record. Why do they ask me? And again and again and again. Let’s clear it up: it isn’t my fault, what I like is singing. I don’t want to wash my hands of it. The thing is that when you have a child, you have to put on his diapers, you have to give him affection, take care of him... But if it wasn’t like that before it’s because people are really smart and because the profession of piracy is really widespread. But they’re the ones who lose out because it’s not the same to be at your same old job as to earn money for a while and then things end. That’s really important because the one who responds is the public and the one who’s going to buy the album is the public. And I’ve lived that for thirty years. But people want things without making an effort and that’s not possible.

And she herself just as easily goes back to the past as she returns to this present which is ‘Metáfora’. She brings a copy of the album, carefully places it in a glass vase and gazing at it, and she goes on telling how some songs and others came about. “Then came the tangos ‘Canto al silencio’ which are by Joselito Acedo, who’s a kid from Triana who plays really well, who plays for singing and for dancing, who plays with Los Montoya. He’s also done ‘La plazuela’, the bulería which opens the album”, the cantaora explains.

And Vicente Amigo?

We’d asked Vicente Amigo for a song some time ago, but he ended up playing the guitar... and doing the clapping. We did it mainly because he intended to do something for me some time and I also had that intention. In the end, we were lucky to do so.

Vicente Amigo and Lole

Moreover, it’s a song which is dedicated to your mother, La Negra...

And which is really traditional; it has a lot of rhythmic tapping as far as the bulería goes. More than flamenco, it’s gypsy. His toque is really gypsy here. And we’ve laughed a great deal, we’ve had a really good time. Artists have a language of their own. We don’t go for advertising and money; we all make a living from this. We go because we love each other, because we like each other, musically speaking! Between musicians, everybody goes to work. What we don’t have nowadays are gatherings with each other. We used to be able to have lunches, we used to be able to sing, we used to be able to dance... I’d like to be able to sing with Joaquín, for him to dance and so some stuff together. We’re always on planes, we’re always on the move.

Is it true then that that’s being lost in flamenco?

It’s true. You used to go to Casa Patas or any other place. No matter where artists are, they’re always having parties. When I’ve been there one’s heel tapping, the other’s marking the beat. But I mean us, with each other. And that happened on this album with Vicente Amigo and the truth is that it was really, really good.

She stares at the back cover of the album once again and notices ‘La maza’. And she emphasizes what a shame it is not to know Silvio Rodríguez in person. She performed that song with Dorantes at Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco 2004. And she relates that he was busy and she couldn’t record it with him on this album, “but Pepe Rivero is there, and he can really play, too. Pepe’s a maestro. And I recorded the two piano ones with him”.

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