Enrique Morente

On the September third 2000, the singer Enrique Morente played a concert in Madrid with the Chekkara Orchestra of Tetuan. Morente performed various songs with his regular group, followed by a set played by the Chekkara Orchestra, but the grand finale consisted of more that twenty minutes of music played by both groups in a fusion that highlighted the fluid effectiveness of the songs they were performing. An enthusiastic public embraced the music with open arms.

How did you come up with the idea for this project?

It came out of a long time relationship with the Orchestra of Abdessadak Chekkar, an Arab musician with whom I performed many shows and learned a lot from (deceased 1988).

Was it complicated preparing for this concert?

On the first of the month we performed in Malaga, that was the opening night. I went a few days to Tetuan, smoked a few of those cigarettes that they smoke down there and made it out alive. They also treated me incredibly well, we sang, we played, we rehearsed, we came to an understanding and from this we created the songs that you've seen tonight.

Enrique Morente

Did you have a clear idea of the rhythms that came out in your music?

There had already been a few things, an idea in my head - they always seem to tend towards the tanguillo and the tango. This also happens a lot in Latin America. In the end these rhythms are pretty common to different types of music around the world.

It seems to function in a very natural way

Yeah, yeah, that part is easy...

More than a fusion of very different styles it seems you have created a common music between you.

If you see it like that than I am very happy and very excited. What I don't want to do is a "piece" from the 21st century, but instead create a cordial and brotherly encounter between the two.

Will you record this music?

I haven't really thought about it, but hey... if I had to put out a CD for every culture I mixed with I'd be putting out about 7 or 8 CDs a year. It wouldn't be bad - if I got paid for it by the record company then I could build myself a home.

This year you sang the Flamenco Mass.

In Hannover, at the Universal Expo.

You're also performing the Lorca CD, doing concerts with Lagartija Nick (Omega), but even with this, you've now adopted new poems.

I did a poem from the 15th century, a medieval poem with music that is also ancient.

Enrique Morente and the Orquesta Chekkara

What kind of music do you feel best playing?

Each thing has its moments. With each project I have the same excitement, because without it I wouldn't do what I do.

Do definitions scare you?

Literal and dogmatic definitions tire me. I like the truth, the roots, I don't like those that are made by purists. What do we do then- those of us who aren't "pure"? And how do we live?

What plans do you have for the future?

I'm getting ready to work with Mauricio Sotelo (classical music director/composer), who has gone now for vacation, but it's something that he likes a lot... it is an adaptation of a poem by Jose Angel Valente that is called "Nobody."

If you weren't a Flamenco singer, what would you do?

I would be a rock singer, I made a mistake in my path, but I noticed it at age 50, now it´s too late to go back.

You've done more interesting rock music that many.

Good, I've made up for it a little - I just like the unconventional way of thinking more that of the stable and hypocritical.

Interview: Daniel Muñoz . 2000