The flamenco hip hop group releases the remixes of their latest album

S.C.O., December 2003
Photos: Daniel Muñoz

Before concentrating on the creation of their third album, Ojos de Brujo wants to bid farewell in grand fashion. In December and January, the flamenco hip hop group is going on the 'Karakaseketé Tour', a festival which will stop in eight cities in Spain. With the aim of showing that "doing it by yourself you can make it big", the group offers its stage to other projects "that we consider to have quality and which go along an alternative line" such as Clotaire K, Fundamental, La Excepción, Taller de Almanjáyar... Moreover, this month the group releases the remix maxi of 'Barí', a double vinyl record and the first installment of the international remix collection on vinyl, made by London-based Cuica.

The close of the Barí Tour promises to be laden with fireworks. Ojos de Brujo has planned a festival with guest groups and DJs, whose name is the flamenco onomatopoeia 'Karakaseketé Tour', "a way to make fun like any other". And they offer their stage to "other close groups, which we think have quality and an alternative proposal", since the idea is to vindicate that "you don't have to depend on anyone or lose artistic sincerity to make it big".

To be at all the concerts are the French oriental hip hop group Clotaire K; the sound system of Fundamental, since "their live performance is very impressive and is of a social and vindicatory nature"; and Turkish Dj Ipek. In each city, they will also call on a local group with projects they deem interesting such as Taller de Almanjáyar in Granada, La Excepción in Madrid, Palo Flamenco in Euskadi (the Basque Country), Non Residentz in Santiago de Compostela... They also have the DJs from Radio 3 Diego A. Manrique, Lara López, Rodolfo Poveda, Charly Faber and Teo Sánchez, since it is a radio station that is "alternative, but not marginal, which, like us, shuns what is standard".

Once this latest tour is finished, the group will concentrate on their next record with which, live, they will only meet "certain commitments in foreign festivals". Ramón Giménez, guitarist, explains that "we need time to create, since we have a lot of ideas and we do everything ourselves". Marina la Canillas, vocalist, adds that "we have twenty-four tunes in the bag and it's getting heavy". The line of these compositions will be, like everything in them, as natural as can be: "We never design where to go towards. Each of us tells what they know and puts it into a common pool with the rest. The electronic orientation comes out of us naturally and we start, as always, from our flamenco base. From there forward we plan. Specifically, we already have three or four rumbas, several directions to take in hip hop and flamenco styles with our touch such as tanguillos, among many other ideas".

Special editions

You won't have to wait a year to increase Ojos de Brujo's discography. In December the group is going to release several special editions. On the one hand, the maxi CD 'Remezclas de la casa', a collection of six remixes of tunes from 'Barí', created by Dj Panko and Ramón Giménez. On the other hand, the group resorts to the rescue of vinyl with a special double edition of 'Barí', with an extra record of loops for DJs and remixes. Marina comments that "it was exciting when we listened to the master copy on vinyl; it sounded like from the eighties, like space and music... incredible".

Moreover, also coming out is the first installment of the international remix collection on vinyl, with the rumba 'Ventilador R-80' revisited by London-based Cuica. Already in the balance are names such as those of Asian Dub Foundation and Mad Professor for the future. At the audiovisual level, there is also news. Following 'Tahitá' and 'Ley de gravedad', the group has finished the video for 'Tiempo de soleá', a work of "very vindicatory" animation. They're now putting together, "with very few resources", the fourth, the video for 'Quien engaña no gana'. All of this multidisciplinary work is focused on "trying to build a little bonfire in this world which is warming, while hearts are freezing".

magazine@flamenco-world.com