A track-by-track run-through of ‘Confí
de fuá’
by José Mercé
‘Confí de fuá’ “is
kind of an elegant album. You never hear anything grating
on the album, it's not an album you should hear, it's an album
you should listen to - that's different. I think it's really
varied: there's a soleá, there are tangos, alegrías,
fandangos, a rock number, a rumba with a marvelous Cuban feel,
martinetes... And, in general, I'd say this is the most fully-rounded
of the last four releases of mine.”
José Mercé.
Frame from DVD 'Confí
de fuá'
 |
‘Confí
de fuá’ |
“This track -
its title being confit de foie given an 'Andaluz'
makeover - talks about woman being wonderful, the best
thing in the world.” |
|
‘Líbreme
el hombre’ |
“This song says
we're sick of power, we're sick of conquering. And let's
see if life can be a little more humane, and we can
cast aside all the violence.” |
|
‘Juana’ |
“This track is
'por tangos'. About how we can't just tell women to
“move over”. Let's just say I once told
her not to talk so loud, and I ended up having to get
my things and go to another room.” |
|
‘Saliva
curativa’ |
“It's a rumba
with a Cuban flavor - we had a great time making it.
My cousin Diego Carrasco worked with me on this one.
It adds a taste of the Spanish-American blending of
styles - the 'cantes de ida y vuelta'. The rumba sometimes
even reminds you a little of Machín, unintentionally,
it has that sweet kind of sound. And there's that 'son
Cubano' with these guys live in the studio - I had a
lot of fun. I'm not a fan of pre-rehearsed music that's
pieced together in the studio - I'd rather take longer
to record something but feel the warmth of the people
right then and there. I don't like it when they send
the music pre-recorded along with a note - I like them
to be there. It's more expensive, it takes us longer,
but it's better.” |
José Mercé
and Moraíto. Frame from DVD 'Confí
de fuá'
|
‘Clandestino’ |
“We took this
tune by famous Spanish singer-songwriter Manu Chao,
and set it to a bulería, flamencoed it up a little.
Unfortunately it's a very current topic. For those of
us who live in the province of Cadiz and see the launches
of immigrants arriving from Morocco every day, it's
more pertinent than ever.” |
|
‘Oxígeno’ |
“A rock song,
where José Mercé, a flamenco cantaor,
opts for another musical genre and tries to adapt it
to his own style. Music is a language everyone in the
world can use to communicate with. And I want flamenco
to be universal too. This thing about flamenco being
for minorities, being regionalist, locally-orientated...
no, no. These days we can really say flamenco is universal.”
|
|
‘Tirititrán’ |
“A wonderful
'alegrías' with popular lyrics. And then there's
an added lyric about a cat who's got 'one in the oven'.
Well, I think it's a well-known age-old alegría,
but given a new, fresh twist.” |
|
‘No
me digas ’ |
“A bulería
de Jerez, that really IS de Jerez, from the barrio de
Santiago, saying that the gypsy woman went back to her
vegetarian gitano husband. It's a 100% flamenco classical
bulería, it's just that we've spruced it up a
little with these up-to-date lyrics.” |
José Mercé. Frame
del DVD de 'Confí
de fuá'
|
‘De
tu olvido me curé’ |
“A touch of true
traditional soleá. It sounds like we aren't even
in the recording studio, it feels more like we're in
a room at home with Morao playing and me singing. It's
a time-honored cante, as natural as they come, it just
came out while I was singing. We didn't think the tape
was even running, but that's the way Isidro is - he
was recording. A magical moment, there you have it.” |
|
‘Cuenta
que tiene un amante’ |
“Two amazing
fandangos with really striking lyrics, she says she
has a lover and it turns out she's a nun... that's Sister
Juana”. |
|
‘Debla,
martinete y toná’ |
“I recommend
you buy the limited edition with a DVD, that's where
you can find the debla, the martinete and the toná.
This is grass roots José Mercé. And I
think it's important for you to have that, for you to
listen to it.” |
magazine@flamenco-world.com
|
