flamenco
Flamenco guitarist Pedro Sierra
releases his second album ‘Nikelao’
On the album he delves into the archives,
and retrieves recordings of cantaores
such as Tomás Pavón and Antonio Mairena
Flamenco-world.com, December 2005
Pedro
Sierra presents his new recording project ‘Nikelao’.
The flamenco guitarist gives us a lesson in the three facets
he has a firm grasp of: solo guitar performance, playing
accompaniment for vocalists and playing accompaniment to
dance. The compositions created by the musician respect
the classical flamenco tradition but, at the same time,
seek to offer a new angle on the guitar scene as it stands.
The album recovers vintage cantes by Tomás Pavón,
Antonio Mairena and Enrique Morente. In addition, it features
bailaor Israel Galván, winner of the 2005 Premio
Nacional de Danza, who provides an original zapateado to
the seguiriya ‘Duquelas del tiempo’.
Pedro Sierra
On ‘Nikelao’ Pedro Sierra has
aimed to demonstrate his grasp of the three disciplines
that concern flamenco guitarists: solo guitar performance,
accompanying cantaores and the playing accompaniment to
baile. As a solo guitarist he shows the true breadth of
his talent on the first seven tracks, grouped under the
heading ‘Opening’. The bulería ‘Nikelao’,
the soleá ‘Los caudales’, the farruca
‘Cadencioso’, the bulería ‘Tarsis’,
the granaína ‘Corral del Carbón’
and the rumba ‘Río de esperanza’ make
up this section.
His accompaniment of vocalists features
some extraordinary guest artists. The strange thing about
the cante that can be heard on this album, four years after
the release of ‘Decisión’, is that it
comes out of the past. Pedro Sierra has used his guitar
to accompany Antonio Mairena on ‘Quebranto’,
Juan Valderrama on ‘Viejo cante minero’, Pepe
Marchena on ‘El llanto’ and Enrique Morente
on ‘En mi vida’.
To round off the album, he also tackles
accompaniment to baile. And it isn't just any old baile,
but that of Israel Galván, brilliant winner
of the Spanish National Dance Award in 2005. The bailaor
contributes the sound of his feet, walking a line between
classical and cutting edge, to the seguiriya ‘Duquelas
del tiempo’, which recovers the voice of Tomás
Pavón.
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