Vicente Amigo takes part in 'Sacred Love',
the new album by English singer Sting

Dorantes collaborates with Indian singer Susheela Raman and Paco de Lucía
plays on the new album by Alejandro Sanz

Flamenco-world.com

Flamencos are more and more sought-after by musicians of all genres to give their record projects a jondo touch. Sting, the pop rock singer and bass player, former leader of the group The Police, displays his enthusiasm for the Andalusian art upon enjoying the collaboration of Vicente Amigo on his new album, which is entitled 'Sacred Love'. Along the same lines is the collaboration by Lebrija-born pianist Dorantes with English singer of Indian origin Susheela Raman on her new album 'Love Trap'. Moreover, Paco de Lucía and José Antonio Rodríguez take part in the latest album by Spanish pop singer Alejandro Sanz.

Sting (Photo: Malibu Rehearsals. Inside DVD)
Dorantes (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
Susheela Raman (Photo: Susheelaraman.tv)

Finding flamenco names in the credits of pop, jazz, rock or world music albums is becoming something more than usual. And fall 2003 is proving to be a fruitful season for this type of collaboration. Sting, who has already stated in more than one medium that flamenco is one of his favorite genres, has enjoyed the presence of Vicente Amigo on his new album, 'Sacred Love'. The Córdoba-born guitarist plays in the song chosen as a single from the record, a remix of the tunes 'Moon Over Bourbon Street' and 'Send Your Love'. According to his statement to the media at the album's presentation in Madrid, "my good friend Antonio Banderas introduced Vicente Amigo to me in Los Angeles and from the first moment his way of playing guitar impressed me; that feeling really touched me deep down".

Susheela Raman, the London-born singer of Indian origin, enjoys the collaboration of Dorantes on her second album, 'Love Trap', which appears two years after her début, 'Salt Rain'. The Lebrija-born pianist collaborates on 'Bliss' and 'Dhamavati', two of the album's eleven cuts, recorded at the prestigious El Cortijo studios in the mountains near Málaga. And the singer dedicates a few words to him in the libretto: "Flamenco pianist David Dorantes made us feel at home in Andalusia". It adds, including all the guest artists, that "it was pure pleasure to witness the versatility of all the musicians bringing their energy and inspiration to these songs".

Paco de Lucía with Alejandro Sanz

	Alejandro Sanz (Photo: alejandrosanz.com)

Nor does Paco de Lucía decline invitations to participate in projects outside flamenco, as he already showed when he did the famous ballad 'Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?' with Canadian singer Bryan Adams. The guitar maestro now makes his contribution to 'No es lo mismo', the new album by pop singer Alejandro Sanz. The guitarist's toque is present in the song 'Regálame la silla donde te esperé'. And that is a dream come true for the number one selling singer in Spain since, as he confesses in the interview by Jesús Rodríguez published in El País' Sunday magazine, "he stirred the restlessness of art in me. I'm in this because of him". On the rest of the album, although Sanz reveals his true self as a 'tocaor' in some song or another, the one carrying the flamenco weight is José Antonio Rodríguez, used to diverse collaborations, as is shown by his participation in 'Alif' by Turkish musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek. The Córdoba-born guitarist plays in the songs 'Hoy llueve, hoy duele', a rumba; '12 por 8', bulerías where the choruses are sung by a group of children from Jerez with surnames so flamenco as 'Soto', 'Méndez' and 'Carrasco'; 'He sido tan feliz contigo', 'Eso', 'Labana' and 'Regálame la silla donde te esperé'. Flamenco even oozes in the lyrics of this eighth album by the pop artist. There's that "por qué no apagas la tele un ratito y escuchamos a Camarón" ("why don't you turn off the TV a while and we can listen to Camarón").