Tomas Korber has written various compositions and played improvised music since the early 90s. He has worked solo and collaborated with the likes of Günter Müller, Otomo Yoshihide and Toshimaru Nakamura. His latest record, Brackwater, was a collaboration with ErikM, Nakamura and Yoshihide and was released on the Müller owned For4Ears label. Stylus writer Ed Howard called it: “a music possessing a gorgeous muscularity, a mix of delicate beauty and dense energy that is perfectly balanced.”
Still to come this year, a 3” CD-R on Kissy Records and a collaboration with Dan Warburton on L’Innomable. For more Korber information, you can visit his website here.
Since my mother is from Andalucia (the part of Spain where flamenco originates), this music has been all around me since I was a little child. That probably helped my understanding of it, but I am convinced that even people hearing this for the very first time can be instantly turned into believers by its raw power and authenticity. I have always been most attracted by the chant. Of course the guitar playing and the rhythm sections are baffling too… but what really gets under my skin are the singers. Here are 3 of my favorites:
Antonio Mairena– Al Moro Yo Me Voy, [Cantes de Jerez]
This is a “siguiriya”, one of my favorite palos (=subgenres) in flamenco. I love how Mairena sustains and modulates his voice in this song—and if you listen to this with headphones (do it!), you’ll be suprised at the panoramic “effects”. I have no clue whether this was done on purpose—it probably was a normal stereophonic recording and the weird panning comes from Mairena moving his head around while singing.
[buy some of Mairena’s releases here]
Camaron– Potro de Rabia y Miel, [Potro de Rabia y Miel]
Camarón is one of the best selling flamenco artists of all time. He was one of the few who had the privilege of marketing on an international level. I don’t know why, but it’s probably because of his crossover experiments with rock and jazz. This song, however, was taken from the last album he made before passing away. It was a “back to the roots” thing, and one of his best albums (if you’re interested in his crossover stuff, I’d recommend Calle Real). I especially like how the music (especially the percussion) corresponds to the track title: “a colt of rage and honey”.
[buy Potro de Rabia y Miel here]
Manuel el Agujeta– Como Cosita Mia, [Grandes Cantaores del Flamenco Vol. 8]
If flamenco were hip-hop, then el Agujeta would be gangsta rap. This guy has been incarcerated several times (at least once for attempted murder, I was told) and the legend goes that they only let him out of prison because he could sing so well. And indeed: you’d pardon him too, because there are not many singers with a voice as powerful as el Agujeta’s. On this track, I particularly like the lyrics. They’re rather typical for this flamenco subgenre (again a “siguiriya”, this one consisting of 4 verses):
Como cosita mía
te he mirao yo
pero quererte como yo te queria
eso se acabó
Loosely translated:
I looked at you
As if you were mine
But to love you the way I did
That is over now
[buy some of Agujeta’s releases here]