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ojos de brujo, ojos de brujo, ojos de
brujo
Ojos de Brujo. Interview
"Ojos de Brujo isn't a currency of exchange"
Silvia Calado Olivo. Madrid, December 2003
Photos: Daniel Muñoz
Translation: Joseph Kopec
Success has caught them by surprise, but not off guard. Ojos
de Brujo reaffirms itself as an example that independence is not a hindrance
to reaching the public ... no matter what language they speak. Nominated as best
newcomer and best European artist by the BBC, gold record in Spain, sold out in
the one hundred twenty concerts of their international tour ... the group is leaving
its mark wherever it goes. Neither its vindicatory message nor its musical research
- based on flamenco but with multiform expression - are unaware; nor do they leave
anyone indifferent. It might be for that reason that there are more and more accomplices
in that crusade of theirs whose banner is self sufficiency. Now the time has come
to organize the brainstorming in order to weave what will be the band's third
album since, far from stagnating, "the restlessness has multiplied".
Ojos de Brujo might even surprise Ojos de Brujo.
Ojos de Brujo in concert
'Barí' has meant the consolidation of Ojos de Brujo. How do you weigh
things up?
Ramón: Artistically, it's surpassed all our expectations. We'd
more or less foreseen it in Spain, but internationally we've had terrific success
which has been a surprise. It's incredible to be in Oslo and it seems like you're
in Barcelona. At first they're like a little cold, but halfway through they were
already way into it.
What do you think is the key to that universal understanding?
Ramón: There's a part they understand loud and clear: the flamenco
part. But the way of presenting it, situated in other musical contexts, is a lot
more understandable than a seguiriya or a traditional soleá. If they have
a reggae or funk base, it's simpler. The staging is also more digestible than
the typical group. From the outside, the originality is appreciated.
Marina: And the live show is very energetic, very emotional... for ourselves.
We're not a jazz or a chamber flamenco band, but a folk proposal. And I say folk,
because it reaches people. It goes where a rock concert fits. And it's conceived
for people to have a good time.
And it has added merit, because La Fábrica de Colores is struggling
for self sufficiency...
Ramón: Of course, it's a struggle for self sufficiency. You don't
see it so much from the outside, but trying to be there without a brand name behind
you, without sponsors, is very hard. Maintaining a tour, releasing an album, doing
a festival... our whole life goes into this artistic project. And it's the only
way to be sincere. With a company, with a multinational, with a sponsor, you're
nothing more than a tool to sell something else. We want to champion this artistic
project. Ojos de Brujo isn't a lucrative foundation.
Marina: You also start to see the repercussions. There are experiences
from other types of music which are recycling flamenco or use some of the keys
to its style such as the Madrilenians La Excepción.
Ramón: It's open season. Flamenco is no longer necessarily identified
as something very folkloric, but that root is taken as music which can give cause
for things to happen. A lot of groups have now broken with that inertia. And now
hip hop flamenco is nearly in fashion.
Marina: Now it's a more natural fusion.
Do you think there used to be bias towards flamenco among musicians of other
genres?
Ramón: Before there could be bias, the equation would have to
be set up. It seems very natural to us in the field of research. Afterwards is
when the criticism arises, the biases... The result is people who identify with
flamenco unconsciously. Hip hop is what it is because it's drawn from where it's
drawn from. And flamenco is what it is for the same reason. It's not a formulation.
We were alone before; now there are those who have caught onto the form, but not
the background. The lyrics give them away; that's where a great part of the truth
lies. There's always a proposal which breaks the inertia and commercial offers
that ride the wave...
Marina: The analysis, however, is always positive since although it's
commercial, the echo of what's happening on the other side might reach you all
the same.
What twist do you give to your immersion into flamenco in your new repertoire?
Ramón: In the last tour we started off with industrial soleá
and now we're beginning with a more ambient style: an air tone is shot off, a
little Zen and then we jump in. The bulería 'Imagino' is taking more and
more shape, which is a journey like that of the zambra. There's the funk flamenco
through bulerías with a couple of graffiti, street lyrics. We play with
the richness with the bulería's rhythm which, over funk, is a style that
moves terrifically.
What can you tell us about the third album?
Ramón: We're half getting the material together, trying to focus,
exploring roads we've never been down before... And it's all a natural trend,
within that pseudo-school of hip hop flamenco research we've set up. In that sense,
we have three doors open. The first is of the type 'Tahitá', simply flamenco
rhythm, like soleá through bulerías. The second goes along the lines
of 'Tiempo de soleá', hip hop tangos, in a more pronounced way. The third
is like 'Quien engaña no gana', a base which plays with the flamenco color
of voice, in the wave of electronic and root music research.
Marina: And afterwards there are the songs. A song comes out and it's
the way it is, like a child. You're nearly a mere transmitter. There'll be a surprise
for us, too.
Ramón: We resort to our identity. Marina is very flamenco and
she sees things clearly very quickly...
Marina and Ramón |
Marina |
What is your system of composing?
Marina: A great many. For me the lyrics and the music usually come out
together. And they open up the musical parts. Then it's developed starting from
their grooves.
Ramón: It depends on the processes. There's an interaction. Each
one's things always rely on those of the rest. It's put together bit by bit. That's
why it's hard to mark one direction. You have to go with the flow. We have tools
that we understand. In 'Barí' you can already see the strength that communication
has and we're going along those same lines.
Marina: The third album disturbs me. The group is really together now,
very connected, we have very good ideas and what comes out is going to ooze that
strength. The restlessness has multiplied instead of diminishing.
Ramón: In other groups I've been in before, a time comes when
discovery stops; you enter a vicious circle. And in Ojos de Brujo it's the opposite,
it's very fun; you open up and you don't see the end.
Marina: We continue to like ourselves and surprise ourselves.
Ramón: That's the cornerstone. If I were alone, I'd try to do
it. If Marina were alone, she would, too. And that happens to all of us. Marina
has already started her research journey on her own. And so has each of us. We
all have a goal we're projecting out towards.
What would you like to say to people who follow the group from so different
places all over the world?
Marina: To those who do so via Flamenco-world.com, thank you very much
for using that channel, which seems very valid to us. And in general, thank you
for your support to this group in its crusade of self production!
Ramón: The message we get from people is "what you do is
so fabulous and I'll help you to stay there". I think they're aware that
Ojos de Brujo isn't a currency of exchange.
magazine@flamenco-world.com
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