David Palomar

http://www.myspace.com/davidpalomarI mentioned this gig recently (post 16th march). I've finally got round to downloading the film from my phone, then uploading it to YouTube, then embedding it here. Not sure it was worth. it was a great gig but an iphone does it now justice whatsoever. trust me it was magical.

Review: hidden gem or gold dust, whichever is better

I was in Sevilla for the flamenco festival 2008 and desperate to soak up any flamenco, wandered into the flamenco specialist shop. He was playing this for some local aficionados. I had no idea what they were saying but I knew straight away that I loved it. It's raw, simple and dramatic. It's really well recorded, and I'm not sure all flamenco is. The opening bulerias is blow your bollocks off. If your not English, that just means it's very good indeed.
It's mainly singer plus guitar, with some percussion, lots of palmas but some other stuff too. My understanding is that it's not an act as such, rather it's a collective, so there's all sorts of singers and presumably players. For what it's worth, I listen to it more than any other flamenco.
Then the strangest thing happened: I went to Jerez for a long week-end not so long ago, ate, drink and staggered around trying to find some flamenco. Found a pena and saw a short but pretty good show. In front of an audience of about 7. Got home and realised it was the dudes from this CD. There's not famous, they didn't seem very flash, they play to rooms of about 7 but by jingo they're good.Nueva Frontera Del Cante De Jerez 2008

The sheer buzz of live music

I went to see some flamenco on Friday, took a mate who is slowly getting into it. he doesn't play anything but he's beginning to get it. And man, we were blown away. A group led by a young-ish chap from Jerez called David Palomar. I think too many of the performances we see in this part of the world are too, well, polite. For a theatre. I know lots of people love that, even in Seville. I've seen it: big theatres full, with tiny specs, flamenco as contemporary dance. But I'm a simple man, I love football, I love flamenco, I love chips. I want it to kick me in the bollocks. Metaphorically. Friday did that.

Paco at his best

Watch it first.


It was late. We'd been drinking. I was with my muso, tabla playing mate. I mention that because he knows what he's doing.

We were surfing flamenco on YouTube and clicked on this. And for about 30 seconds, we couldn't figure out what was going on. We started with 'Oh, Paco is so great' to 'wow, this is out there' to 'this sounds wrong'. Then we got it. It took us that long. And then we pissed ourselves for 5 minutes. It's done so well. As I said we were drunk, and it was late. So we spent the next hour watching all the other shreds. Clapton is great.

By the way, this, of course, is how I think I sound on those bad days.

This is the real deal of course, and to my probably ignorant ears, Paco starting nuevo flamenco.

if you want the track, it's on this great CD.

Fuente y caudal

If you want to know a little more about the man, check this out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paco_de_Luc%C3%ADa#Discography

Siguriyas

I've been away. But not from my guitar. Now I'm on to Siguiriyas. I love it. I'd sum it up as: strong, driven, beautiful, bittersweet.
The count is like soleares but starts in a different place. You begin with the 2 beats then go to 3s.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 rest.

But I actually count it to 5, which for some bizarre and unfathomable reasons I can do easily with this but not with soleares or bularias.
1 and 2 and 3 and-a four-and-a five. Pause. One...

Equally strangely: counting this way to 5 rather than 12 makes me feel uber flamenco.

Here is someone doing it better than me. (Although I'm not bad at it, so feeling good about my playing. Watch our compadres.)

Two's company

No time to talk. Busy, busy, busy. But this is so cool. OK it's not flamenco. But it is genius. Anyone who plays guitar will marvel. Or laugh. I've never tried playing one guitar with another person but I would imagine it is - at least at the start - enormously difficult, especially playing one bit with one hand, and another with the other. You'll see what I mean when you watch this - half way through.

Little Tip

Man, I'm busy. Not time for playing hardly. Back down to 20 minutes a day. That's not going to get me to Duende. So I'm going to start a series of Little Tips. Or it might not be a series, it might be the only one. We'll see. It's dependent on a) global economy & how busy it keeps me 2) me knowing enough about flamenco guitar to create a series.
Like your body and the way you sit or walk, think of your hand having posture. Keep standing your hand upright when you're playing a picado. Don't slouch. But not so much you look like an stuck up type. Your trying to balance strength and speed. It needs to have some roundness to create force.
Well that's what I've learnt so far. But hey I'm no Paco.