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Martín Guijarro, February 2009 Enrique Morente reasserts his attachment to sketches. And just as nobody would deny the value of the preliminary drawings of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, nor will there be many who deny the Granada-born cantaor that of his own. ‘Pablo de Málaga’ has that air of an ensemble of sketches of unfinished (art) work. But at the same time, the tickling sensation emanates of something big happening... or about to happen. The idiosyncrasy of Pablo Picasso’s texts - a free, unconventional, Cubist pen - largely determines the construction of the songs on the album. In fact, they seem to provoke those new ways of facing cantes. And in the matter of inserting verses of any morphology into traditional structures, this artist is the master. His melodies and vocal drawings are amazing here; more than ever. Take note of the bare pieces ‘Compases y silencios’ - with bells by Llorenç Barber and toque by Riqueni - and the soleá ‘Autorretrato’, nearly with a metronome. But the album’s masterpiece is undoubtedly ‘Guernirak’. Perhaps the equivalent of ‘Omega’ on the mythical album of the same name. Echoes providing ambience, the guitar feeding the transgressive climate, drums, electronic sounds, samples, coarseness, shuddering. And as the background, the Iraq War... and the Spanish Civil War. Impact, grief and commitment. The opposite to this direct crudeness are the songs with the sweetness of ‘Tientos griegos’ with lutes and mandolins from Albaicín, the malagueña ‘Montes de Málaga’ with a verdiales group and Estrella on vocals, and ‘Soneto X’ by Luis de Góngora accompanied Moorish-style by the Chekara Orchestra, with enveloping emotionality. The experimentation grows on the bonus tracks,
with help from Maxi de Primavera Sound, where there are interesting,
playful discoveries that unite - down the right road, finally
- flamenco and electronic music. One of them is the beautiful
‘Adiós, Málaga’ which closes the album
by giving nostalgia of itself. The other, the surprising ‘Angustia
de mensaje’ which leaves verses on the answering machine
like this: “I’m not at home, I can’t find myself,
I’m not what I used to be at the moment”. As long
as Morente keeps on playing, the musical evolution of flamenco
cante is safe and sound. And although many people might have ignored
this record, from here we now foretell its repercussions... even
if they’re silent. Further information Special Feature. Loose impressions by Enrique Morente about ‘Pablo de Málaga’ |
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CD. Enrique Morente, 'Pablo
de Málaga'
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"‘Pablo de Málaga’ has that air of an ensemble of sketches of unfinished (art) work. But at the same time, the tickling sensation emanates of something big happening... or about to happen" |
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