Raimundo Amador, guitarist and singer. Interview.

The troubadour on his island

Silvia Calado Olivo. Madrid, November 2003
Translation: Joseph Kopec

The common goose, the black stork, the tern... Among all the birds that populate the marshes of Isla Menor, one stands out for his rarity. Raimundo Amador, 'rara avis' of flamenco, blues, rock and whatever he lays his hands on, has found, like the birds, a nest on the banks of the Guadalquivir. He finds the necessary inspiration there to go on trilling the sound marked for him by Gerundina. And he therefore names his fifth solo album after the spot, a record on which, at times, fusion has been forbidden in order to leave flamenco at home to excel. Although he has already participated on about eighty records, he still doesn't think of himself as a singer, much less a cantaor, and well, "a bit of a guitarist". If he sings it's because he feels like "a troubadour who has things to say". And his message is about the ordinary, about not forgetting the past, sharing, getting excited, free will, smiling... smiling a lot.

'Isla Menor' appears following three years of silence...

Three years doing the album a little, home a little, family a little, a little bit of everything and some galas to stay in shape. The truth is that it was good for me to be a little more relaxed... until I started with the album, of course. Since I started preparing it, it's been non-stop, but that's what those of us who dedicate ourselves to this like about it; taking advantage of it, reaping the fruits.

The album's title pays tribute to the place where you currently live. Is it your source of inspiration?

It really is; since I've been living there quite a few musical things have come out. I'm always doing a bit of a tribute to the locations where I live if I dig the name. I dig everything that sounds like an island.

What's your life there like?

Life there is quite natural, quite real. The countryside, the country people... To make a record, before making it in the city, I prefer to make it in the open air; it's more what I am. In the city you're not yourself or anybody; here you're just another working stiff. I have a lot to be grateful to Madrid for, since it's appreciated me; it's respected me. I can't complain about Barcelona either. However, Valencia isn't the place for me. Geez, in Murcia they're going to make me a monument. And I won't even mention Seville because it's made me... Though it's abandoned me a little bit because I'm called a lot for the tributes, for when it's something formal, like when my friend Silvio died. Since they knew I couldn't refuse, they put me at the top of the bill. And when there's money, they call someone else. A little bit of support for the family! I don't know if it's because I still haven't been forgiven for leaving Pata Negra. I'm very proud of Veneno and Pata Negra; they were cool groups. But I'm alive! I'm Raimundo, the one with the drum!

Shall we talk a little about 'Isla Menor'?

It's produced by Fernando Illán, who produced the first albums together with Arturo Soriano. And it has a series of tunes such as 'Fúmala', by Antonio Rodríguez; there's a song with Antonio Carmona which is called 'Marina' and it's composed by Juan Perro...

How did that encounter in 'Marina' come up?

They told me they had a song for me, I liked it and there it is. Afterwards the collaboration with Antonio Carmona came up. And it's one of the most serious songs on the album. That one and the gypsy song sung by Guadiana, Extremadura tangos, where there's no blues or anything. We artists really love him and appreciate him, since he's one of the good ones. People don't know that Guadiana has a big career, that he started on the first albums by Camarón clapping and cheering. He was already performing at party halls in Madrid. Camarón got things from him. He got things from a lot of people and nobody could say anything to him because he did it with such art... I really like Ramón, Guadiana and all the children, Paquete, Piraña, Sabú... They have a breeding ground there you wouldn't believe.

The album's flamenco is defined by those tangos...

And there's a bulería I sing to Manuel Molina, which is called 'Bulería para Manuel'. It's a more psychedelic bulería, since Manuel was in Los Smash... It has quite a bit of flamenco, the harmony is a little hippy, staying a bulería all the while. Manuel Molina is one of the greats. I attended the recording of 'Nuevo Día', they brought me from Seville at the age of thirteen. I didn't record, I just came to attend the sessions; they invited me. After that I came with a cousin of mine, Juan José Amador, and another boy, José Manzano, and we recorded two maxi singles on Victoria Street, with Columbia, which wasn't CBS yet. I'd seen the recording of Lole y Manuel and I already knew how a guitar was re-recorded; I'd caught on to some of it. Afterwards I recorded with the Montoyas, Veneno, Pata Negra...

	"Nuevo Día by Lole y Manuel was a magical album"

'Nuevo Día' was a magical album of lyrics, of music... total magic. It left a mark on me. We were the kids and he was our consultant, 'Sergeant Saucer' (ha ha) and that's why he took me. I'd just joined a rock group, to learn electric guitar. I tried to get into some flamenco group, but I realized I wasn't ready yet and I came back to Seville. Next we did Montoya, some very flamenco music. Camarón and Tomatito attended the recording of 'Triana' by Montoya.

You also retrieve 'Los managers' again...

Of course, with my friend Kiko Veneno. The voice is recorded at my house, in Isla Menor. There are a lot of things from Seville which have stuck. It breathes the air from there; you can feel it. There's less tension. Once you've taken that step it's more relaxed than starting from scratch at the studio (his cell phone rings, and it happens to be his manager). It's a true story which happened to us (from the group) Veneno. We've changed it a little bit: one soleá on the guitar, a rueda with swing, like with a charleston. Kiko changes it. And I've given myself the chance to sing it for the first time, after having played it tons of times. At first I didn't like it so much, but I dig the result. And four versions have already been made.

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