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You also earned the respect and collaboration of other major international groups and musicians like Asian Dub Foundation or FunDaMental. What does that mean to the group?

It's comforting to feel you're in tune with groups that you like and that the feeling is also mutual.

Marina and Ramón (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

In fact, the line-up of musicians that will be working on the international remixes is striking. How's that project going? What can these other viewpoints contribute to Ojos de Brujo's music?

In Ojos de Brujo things take their time, because we do everything ourselves, but the projects are slowly coming to fruition. Nonetheless, when you do these things you grow as an artist, as you get a chance to share different forms of expression. We're in touch with a lot of artists we met on the tours, and we got together for a number of joint ventures. People like Martin Morales, DJ Vadim, Mad Profesor and DJ Quica are doing remixes for us. With Asian Dub Foundation we're starting a remix exchange project, and they'll probably appear on our third album. And then we just finished working on two tracks for the new Nitin Sawhney album, who we already did a soleá por bulerías flavor remix for, entitled ‘Soleá Dreams’. And there's sure to be more things in the pipeline. It's the best thing that can happen to you, artistically speaking.

Do you miss that collaborative spirit in flamenco artists?

Each one seeks out his own path where he feels most comfortable, and that has to be respected because it's being true to yourself. I have that admit that I myself went through phases where flamenco was like a drug and anything else that wasn't flamenco sounded mediocre.

But you did have Belén Maya as guest bailaora at a lot of live shows. What common ground do you share? How did she contribute to the group's live act?

A nexus, restlessness and curiosity. By definition, Ojos de Brujo - the sorcerer's eyes - search beyond external appearances. Belén Maya caught onto that, and in her performances with us she magnified it all over the stage. Belén Maya’s dance uses a language of expression with a magic that casts a spell over everything she touches.

What's the recording schedule going to be for the next album?

Bring all the ideas that sprung up over the course of the tour to fruition, organize them, package them up and, if all goes well, we'll have the album out in the fall.

Ojos de Brujo (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Do you already have some notions of the direction the new songs will take, which way the band's music could evolve?

There'll be more funk, more hip-hop, more flamenco, more of everything... but it'll be tighter, for sure. And the fact is we have the advantage that we spent a lot of time together these last three years, so when we play everyone learns from everyone else.

	"The DVD will be our best effort to squeeze a three and a half year tour filmed across half the planet into a single live show - a real treat"

And what about flamenco? What role will it play? Are you going to take another fresh angle on it this time?

The common denominator in anything Ojos de Brujo does will be the flamenco foundation that gives life to all the group's compositions.

While the public eagerly awaits, the Ojos de Brujo DVD is scheduled for release shortly. Can you tell us a little about what it contains?

The DVD will be our best effort to squeeze a three and a half year tour filmed across half the planet into a single live show - a real treat.

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