Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla 2006. Tomás de Perrate, 'Perraterías'. Review, photos and online videos

‘Perraterías’. Tomás de Perrate: cante. Antonio Moya: guitar. Pepe Torres: baile. Ricardo Moreno: electric guitar. Javier Vargas: electric bass. Ricardo Pachón Jr.: drums. Vicente Peña, Gaspar Fernández: clapping. Ricardo Pachón: director. Seville’s 14th Bienal de Flamenco 2006. Teatro Central. Seville, October 1st, 2006

Flamenco has never covered its ears to the influences of the outside world of music. And thirty or forty years ago, flamenco discovered rock. And nearly a genre of its own arose from that encounter which was cultivated by from Smash to Pata Negra, with Veneno and even Camarón in between. Coming from that wave is Tomás de Perrate, but also from a jondo household inhabited by the echoes of Perrate de Utrera and Manuel Torre. With the backing of producer Ricardo Pachón, he takes a look at those deep-roots rockers whose music he grew up with, but also at his own ancestors on the album ‘Perraterías’. And without leaving the musical structures of cante, the idiosyncrasy of each style, he goes with the flow of the accompanying drums, electric guitar and electric bass. A clear example of his offer are the tangos del Piyayo, which his band embellishes for him with reggae sound. As simple as singing on top of the rhythm most common to most of the world’s popular music. Moreover, the Utrera-born cantaor gives up the classical position seated next to the guitarist and, except in the solemn cante por soleá, he sings standing, setting free his diaphragm and his body, like the rockers he admires.

To the beat marked by knuckles and drums, he kicks off por tonás y martinetes. The echo of his voice is rusty, as if from centuries ago... or millenniums. Now situated at the center of the stage, standing, he welcomes bailaor Pepe Torres, in tune with the cante’s old gruffness. Three clappers and Antonio Moya on guitar. Bulerías. A varied string of coplas reeled off to the sound of an austere guitar. He paid “tribute” to cantes por soleá, as is usual in Utrera. And from there, now with the entire electric band, he skipped to Piyayo reggae, which he upholds with astounding naturalness, looser and looser on stage, placing the ayeos in unusual places. As is also usual in his native land, he opts for the cuplé in the song por bulerías ‘Olvidarte’, with which he manages to win over an audience cautious with applause until then. Original were the ‘Infundios’, those half-spoken, half-sung made-up tales he takes from his uncle Curro el Vereó and which the guitars adorn with falsetas by Diego del Gastor. He gets across slyness here, street flamencura, now relaxed around stage and wittily introducing his colleagues. Perhaps in time, they’ll form a band and the music will flow between them with communication and complicity. For the time being, they limit themselves to working things out by going through the motions, with a too retro style for nowadays and perhaps a too basic level.

Alone with the drums, clapping and guitar, he performs ‘Seguiriyas didácticas’, so-called because he tries to prove that this style is to compás, not free. And he reaffirms this theory with a touch of percussion baile which, far from dominating the cante, complements it. Tomás de Perrate remains alone on stage, serves himself some water and says: “The best tribute that can be paid to Fernanda de Utrera, Turronero, Manuel de Angustias, my Aunt María la Perrata was ‘Ahora Utrera’. This one’s for you”. And the cantaor invites to his grand finale at least fourteen ‘neighbors’ willing to feed faltering flamenco, home flamenco, that of the family, that which doesn’t need technique and brims over with art. The round of cante and baile, adorned with slides of the ‘queen of the soleá’, is closed amidst the crowd’s ovation by Tomás de Perrate himself, a cantaor who courageously recognizes that “I belong to one of the greatest cantaor families, but I can’t deny myself and the musical influences I’ve had”. And that’s ‘Perraterías’.

And tomorrow...

Fernando Terremoto
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Fernando Terremoto, ‘Calendario’. Teatro Central, 9 p.m. Cante continues to steal the spotlight halfway through Seville’s Bienal. Fernando Terremoto premieres ‘Calendario’, a show in which he seeks to knock his career up a notch: “I think I’ve worked out my career as a classical cantaor halfway decently and I feel the need to tackle new challenges”. The Jerez-born cantaor admitted that “it’s meant a lot to my career to get in touch with other artists, who’ve opened up my mind, since I was a real ‘flamencolic’. I’ve been heavily influenced by that crazy Israel Galván, who’s a genius”. In the show, besides creator Pedro G. Romero in the concept, collaborating live are guitarists Alfredo Lagos and Antonio Higuero, Luis Amador on percussion, Miguel Vargas on contrabass and Rafael Fernández on viola, who are joined by Moraíto Chico as guest artist. The repertoire will be classical, according to the cantaor from Jerez, with styles such as the “bulería por soleá, serranas, tientos, bulerías, a song-soleá which I sing and play to myself, and a version of ‘Canastera’ by Camarón which I’ve loved since I was a kid; it was like my anthem”

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- CD: Fernando Terremoto. Cosa natural