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Vicente Amigo challenges
himself to “sing with the guitar” on his new
album ‘Paseo de Gracia’
The album, which includes the collaboration of Enrique
Morente and Niña Pastori, is to be released on May
5th
Flamenco-world.com, April 2009
Vicente
Amigo delves deeper into the art of melody. On ‘Paseo
de Gracia’, his sixth studio album, the Córdoba-born
guitarist sets himself the “challenge of singing with
the guitar”. As he himself explains, “half of
the album is like songs seen with the regard of a flamenco,
which is what I’ve grown up with, and I develop them
differently”. The musician also considers this record
to be “an album of collaborations”. And they
star Enrique, Estrella and Soleá Morente, Niña
Pastori and singer Alejandro Sanz, among others. Highlighting
the contents of the album, which comes out on May 5th, 2009,
are pieces such as ‘Bolero del amigo’ (where
he plays the electric guitar), the rumba ‘Amor de
nadie’ and the tangos ‘La Estrella’.
Vicente Amigo
(Photo vicente-amigo.com) |
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Four years after ‘Un momento en el
sonido’, Vicente Amigo offers a new album. ‘Paseo
de Gracia’ is the title of this record, which comes
out on May 5th, 2009. Delving deeper into the possibilities
of flamenco guitar’s melodic side is his leitmotiv.
According to the musician’s own words, “there’s
a lot of melody and it’s a risk because I sometimes
get a little away from flamenco”. And he informs that
therefore, “half of the album is like songs seen with
the regard of a flamenco, because it’s what I’ve
grown up with. I develop them differently, like a challenge
of singing with the guitar and with harmonies I think are
interesting”.
He also maintains that this is “an
album of collaborations”. Taking part in the recording
are guests as special as the entire Morente Family, led
by Enrique together with Estrella, Soleá and Enrique
Jr. Cádiz-born cantaora Niña
Pastori and famous singer Alejandro Sanz star in other
special collaborations. This lineup is joined by cantaores
Rafael de Utrera and Miguel
Ortega, as well as instrumentalists Tino di Geraldo
and Paquito González on percussions, Antonio Ramos
‘Maca’ on bass and Alexis Lefèvre on
violin.
Vicente Amigo
(Photo vicente-amigo.com) |
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With regards to the contents of the album,
Vicente Amigo assures that “I had the lyrics and I
wanted to use them because they have a lot to do with me.
Everybody who’s sung on the album has left his heart
there and I’m happy”. And he thinks the result
is going to reach a broad audience: “I think we’ve
achieved that when you listen to it, it reaches deep inside,
it becomes a part of your life. Some songs are intended
to offer my music to a different audience, but even though
sometimes certain rhythms smack of pop, I’m the one
who’s back there; a flamenco. And flamenco is a form
of expression, a feeling, not just playing por soleá
or por bulerías”.
As soon as it is released, Vicente Amigo
kicks off the international tour
of ‘Paseo de Gracia’. The concert will be seen
at festivals as emblematic as Madrid’s Suma Flamenca
2009 and La Unión’s 2009 Cante de las Minas
Festival, at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona,
and in countries like France, Tunisia and Poland.
‘Paseo
de Gracia’, track by track
by Sony
BMG & Vicente Amigo
• ‘Amor
de nadie’ moves to the rumba-tango
beat, with the voice of Niña Pastori
and the magnificent balance we’re used
to from Tino di Geraldo on drums and Antonio
Ramos ‘Maca’ on bass.
• ‘Autorretrato’,
with the voice of Enrique Morente and Vicente
Amigo on guitar as the backbones of a long,
deep, serious, vertical track. There are nearly
nine minutes of precious music, where the guitarist
displays the imagination and inventiveness in
the instrumental developments which have been
his trademark since the early days. “I’d
had the roots of ‘Autorretrato’
for a long time but I hadn’t developed
them and it’s a reflection of what I’ve
lived”, says the guitarist.
•
‘Bolero del amigo’ is a
serene song, with Vicente Amigo revealing himself
with details on electric guitar, with just the
right ambience and very well-orchestrated with
violins and mandolins. “The melody of
the bolero, well, that’s what I call it,
is very interesting. It has a very natural development
but then it isn’t so easy to get the form
right. You have to find the harmony; it’s
like the musician’s mathematics, the way
to put the notes in order”, says the guitarist.
“I grabbed the electric guitar to give
it a go; musicians’ stuff. I liked the
experience, acting like a chameleon in a place
which isn’t yours, with that muffled Metheny-
or Benson-style sound”.
• ‘Azules
y corinto’ is dedicated to bullfighter
Manzanares Jr. The voices of Rafael de Utrera
and Nani Cortés mark bulería airs
with Vicente Amigo once again displaying his
exceptional sense of rhythm.
• ‘Y
será verdad’, which includes
the collaborations of Enrique Morente, Alejandro
Sanz -“He sings more flamenco than ever,
Enrique told me”, the guitarist explains,
smiling - and Pedro Heredia on vocals. An exquisite,
rippling, winding track, a rumba in half time
which is given a bright, southern pop air by
Tino di Geraldo’s drums, accompanied by
the percussions of another great, Paquito González,
which also appear throughout the album.
Vicente Amigo
(Photo vicente-amigo.com) |
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• ‘Luz
de la sombra’ takes up the bulería
sifted through Vicente Amigo’s particular
vision and with cantaores Miguel Ortega and
José Parra providing character. An essential,
bare, complex track, with Vicente Amigo at his
prime.
•
‘Paseo de Gracia’ is the
album’s title cut which offers another
magnificent example of balance between high-caliber
flamenco and a rhythm close to pop in an instrumental
tango-rumba which is pure filigree. A demonstration
of how a simple melody can be developed and
branch out with imagination, always sounding
new and original.
•
‘Pan caliente’ is the most
dizzying part of the album. Agile, dynamic and
rumba-style, Vicente Amigo once again displays
his novel expertise on the electric guitar Pat
Metheny-style, while the violin points more
at Grappelli in order to provide a sense as
contemporary as it is old-time.
•
‘La estrella’.
To close the album, Estrella Morente appears
to take over ‘La estrella’, a long
track por tangos with luxurious delicacy and
elegance. “Estrella’s song was going
to be a different one, but it didn’t suit
her tessitura. I started showing some ideas
I had and when Enrique Morente heard these tangos
he immediately said: that’s phenomenal
for Estrella”, Vicente Amigo says. Real
icing on the cake for an outstanding, open,
subtle album with huge scope.
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Vicente
Amigo. 2009 ‘Paseo de Gracia’ Tour
May 8th
Palais des Beaux-Arts. Charleroi, Belgium
May 16th
Social Antzokia Basauri. Bilbao
May 18th
Teatros del Canal. Festival Suma Flamenca 2009.
Madrid
June 18th
Palau de la Música. Barcelona
July 9th
Jazz à Sète. Sète, France
July 11th
Badajoz
Vicente Amigo
(Photo vicente-amigo.com) |
July 21st
Les Nuites de la Guitare. Patrimonio, Corsica
August
3rd
Coria
August
8th
Festival del Cante de las Minas 2009. La Unión,
Murcia
August
15th
Hammamet Festival. Tunisia
October
2nd and 3rd
Córdoba
October
11th
Cracovia, Poland
November
5th, 6th and 7th
Île de la Réunion
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CD. Vicente Amigo, 'Paseo de
Gracia'
More
information, audio clips, orders |
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CD. Vicente Amigo, 'Un momento
en el sonido'
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information, audio clips, orders |
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DVD. Vicente Amigo, 'En concierto
desde Córdoba'
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information, audio clips, orders |
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Vicente
Amigo
Biography, discography, audio and readers'
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