NOCHES DEL ESPAÑOL 2007. OJOS
DE BRUJO, ‘TECHARÍ’
Revolution
Silvia Calado. Madrid, May 13th, 2007
Photo gallery. Ojos
de Brujo at the Teatro Español
‘Techarí’.
Ojos de Brujo. Marina la Canillas: vocals. Ramón
Jiménez: flamenco guitar. Xavi Turull: percussions.
DJ Panko: keyboards, scratch. Sergio Ramos: drums, box
drum. Maxwell Wright: percussion, vocals. Paco Lomeña:
flamenco guitar. Javi Martín: bass. Carlos Sarduy:
trumpet, piano. Sonia Poveda, Toni Moñiz: baile.
Noches del Español 2007. Teatro Español.
Madrid, May 13th, 2007. 8:30 p.m.
Ojos de Brujo at Teatro Español de Madrid (Foto
Daniel Muñoz)
The ushers couldn’t believe their
eyes. The aisles filled by dozens of young people dancing,
the crowd on its feet, clapping, the shouts, the leaps,
the whistles, the cantes in a chorus. Ojos
de Brujo was a smash hit at the Teatro Español.
A real revolution... with permission of the red velvet,
the golden plasterwork, the glass lamps and the centuries
of classicism oozing from the walls. “Marina!”,
someone shouted. “Who’s calling me?”,
the singer answered. “We want to dance!”,
a fan begged. And La Canillas let loose, making the historic
venue live what might very well have been one of the most
vibrant days in its history. And otherwise, one of the
most peculiar ones.
To begin with, the jam-packed crowd full
of young people marked a difference compared to a ‘normal’
day. In passing, it relieved the statistics... and the
stuffiness. And opposite, standing out in full view was
the stage crammed with instruments – including the
DJ’s table -, ready to be taken over by the eleven
members of the band. And they did so as such, as they
appear at the macro-festivals, without toning down their
show or their attitude, or their decibel level. Now then,
nothing could be further from the typical acoustics of
these special occasions. Imagine how special it was that,
as Panko recalled, they premiered a few years ago in Madrid
at a small concert hall. No less than three albums, a
solid connection with the public, a ton of concerts and
this luxurious theater stood between them and that first
time. And a compact, polished, energetic live show came
out of that evolution in space and time which entertained
the audience and questioned many preconceived ideas about
the theater and about music. Especially as far as flamenco
is concerned.
Marina and Ramón from
Ojos de Brujo (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
Though they still aren’t recognized
within the trade, perhaps because they don’t have
pedigree or because these things take time, Ojos de Brujo
has managed to open up a different way for new flamenco,
worrisomely stagnant for some years now. And the thing
is, without hardly realizing it, song by song at the group’s
concert, you end up hearing bulerías, alegrías,
tanguillos, zambra, tangos... and of course, rumbas. Moreover,
providing the straightforward touch of baile on this occasion
is Sonia Poveda –currently in Eva Yerbabuena’s
dance corps - and Toni Moñiz. Both of them lifted
up the theater in each of their appearances, especially
in the impressive dialogue marked by the bailaora striking
with her feet and Maxwell Wright doing ‘beatboxing’.
By then, the ambience was at the boiling
point, following the staging of much of the repertoire
off their latest album ‘Techarí’
and a healthy selection of tunes off ‘Barí’
and even ‘Vengue’. The charismatic Marina
la Canillas holds the reins, but is perfectly accompanied
by the explosive combination of instruments – flamenco
guitars, bass, clapping, percussions and machines –
and by audiovisuals, which give the band’s project
an even broader dimension, making it multi-disciplinary.
By the way, in the images a tribute can be found to the
history of flamenco, recalling anonymous artists as well
as figures of the likes of Antonio Gades, La Chunga, Vicente
Escudero. They gave extra inspiration to songs like
‘Respira’, ‘Color’, ‘Sultanas
de merkaíllo’, ‘Naíta’,
‘Calé Barí’, ‘Piedras
vs. tanques’... But there’s still more. Within
their vindicatory, social spirit, they premiered an experiment
“which will be repeated”: Ángela, a
sign language interpreter, translated ‘Corre Lola’
at the same time as Marina was singing it, turning body
language into a beautiful dance that stood the audience’s
hair on end. The right to housing, the recovery of historical
memory, respect for the environment... also had a say-so
in the concert which finished, following several encores,
where flamenco begins: in the voice, the message... and
some muffled clapping.
Click
the images to enlarge |
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| Carlos
Sarduy and Ramón Jiménez (Photo Daniel
Muñoz)
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Marina
and Ojos de Brujo's bassist (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Ojos
de Brujo at Teatro Español (Photo Daniel
Muñoz) |
Marina
and Ramón. Ojos de Brujo (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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| Sonia
Poveda with Ojos de Brujo (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
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Marina
and Ramón. Ojos de Brujo (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Panko
by Ojos de Brujo (Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
Marina
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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