Interview with Tomás de Perrate, cantaor de Utrera

Tomás Fernández Soto was born in Utrera (Seville) into a gypsy family of flamenco singers.  He is the son of José Fernández Granados (Perrate de Utrera) and Tomasa Soto Loreto (daughter of the legendary singer Manuel Torre).  Tomás won the Giraldillo for Best Newcomer in the Bienal of 2002, and come September, he’ll be singing in the Bienal once again.  He recently made a record, “Infundio”, and Saturday June 23rd it’s being presented within the series Noches Brujas de Flamenco at Madrid’s Corral de la Morería.  He also talks about his participation in Israel Galván’s upcoming show to be presented at Madrid’s Teatro Real on December 12th of this year.

How’s your new record “Infundio” doing?  Considering the state of the recording industry, and people still make records…

If you mean sales, “Infundio” is no different from most records nowadays in this country, in other words, very few sales, but fortunately a record no longer needs to sell in order to be heard and become popular in the media, especially internet, the social networks, Spotify, Youtube…and in that sense, it seems to be more popular every day, people like it and are telling me so.

The need to keep making records is obvious, it’s your calling card, and in my case, the motif of a show.  Personally, I understand the recording industry is in crisis, but we have to redesign the methods of distribution and lower the profit margin to cover demand…there’s a need to hear new artists.

Not long ago we saw you do a concert called “Entre Tejas” on a Seville roof-top.  What was that like?

It was on the roof of a cultural center in Seville, in the early evening with the fragrance of spring in the air, an ideal setting in the heart of the city with the Giralda for a backdrop, a wonderful experience, very inspiring.  This weekend, the 23rd or 24th, Teo Sánchez is going to put some of that recital on his program “Duendeando”.

And now you’re featured in the series Noches Brujas at Corral de la Morería within the Suma Flamenca festival.  What guitarist are you bringing?

I have great expectations for Madrid, anxious to know and be known by the Madrid audience.  Although I’ve been here many times, I’m still unknown, only a few hardcore flamenco fans know me.  I’m going to be accompanied by my good friend, guitarist Antonio Moya, and we’re determined to give our all.

These are not good times for concerts, festivals and such…

That’s right…the recession is terrible for cultural activities, although personally, I can’t complain…it seems like finally all the years of struggle are finally paying off.

You’re in the Bienal de Sevilla this year, an important event.

Yes, thank god for the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla, they’ve been counting on me ever since the 2002 edition when I won the Giraldillo for best newcomer, and it’s an honor for me to participate in this international flamenco showcase.

What’s the state of flamenco in Utrera now that the great stars are no longer with us.  The weight of responsibility to represent the cante of Utrera falls upon you for the most part…are there young singers in town?

Although you wouldn’t think so, there is a wonderful crop of young singers with a great love for flamenco, and sooner or later they’ll be part of the current panorama.  I feel like a worthy representative of Utrera cante because I love my hometown and defend flamenco the way we do it in Utrera.

Did your illustrious father ever hear you sing?  Did he actually teach you, or did you learn on your own along the way?

I was lucky enough to share a lot of cante with my father, listening and learning to play the guitar with him, caring for him because he was an invalid throughout my childhood, confined to a wheelchair.  Buy it wasn’t until after his death that I felt the need and felt capable of singing.  He never heard me, my background and learning came about after he was gone, but you can be sure that from the very first moment I opened my mouth I felt him with me, encouraging and advising me.

«Without a doubt there is a distinct Utrera sound”.

Utrera singers don’t sound like one another, each one has a personal repertoire and personality…and yet, there is an “Utrera sound”.  How can you define it?

Without a doubt there is a distinct Utrera sound.

The main characteristic of that sound is that it gravitates toward more rhythmic musical forms as opposed to free-form cante.

In bulerías, it seems everyone elsewhere wants it to be a fiesta, speeding up the tempo, but in Utrera the rhythm of bulerías is more solemn, it resists the vertigo of other places and languishes in gentle acceleration.

In soleá, the opposite happens, although it is by nature a solemn form with a great deal of spiritual baggage, it’s interpreted with a more upbeat tempo than in other parts of the flamenco geography.

And this kind of subtlety is what goes into the magic of Utrera compás, which is nothing more than a differentiating of flavors, something not easily explainable, but more than obvious to flamenco followers.

You are the grandson of the mythical Manuel Torre.  How does that sit with you?  Does it weigh you down or inspire you?

I never knew my grandfather, but his daughter was my mother, and through her I received a very personal impression of him.  I love being his grandson, and I’m trying to learn his cante.

Do you feel appreciated in Madrid?  How is the Madrid audience for flamenco singing, is it a different taste?

I think people in Madrid don’t appreciate what’s unfamiliar to them, and the flamenco from around the Guadalquivir, Alcalá, Morón, Lebrija and Utrera is relatively little-known, even being the seat of the oldest flamenco.  I’d like to transmit some of that to Madrid flamenco fans.

«I don’t distinguish between singing for dance and singing solo, singing is singing, it’s a quest for beauty«

You always hear that singing for dance is an obligatory part of any flamenco singer’s experience.  In Utrera there isn’t a lot of dance, have you sung for dancers, or do you prefer solo singing?

Although I love flamenco dance, I believe the singing must not be subordinate to it…having to divide the verses at the expense of the cante the way many of today’s dancers demand.  However, I’ve sung for Pepe Torres, Carmen Ledesma and Israel Galván (with whom I’m rehearsing for a show that’s going to debut on December 12th at the Teatro Real), and all three told me to sing in my own way.  The fact is, it’s a great pleasure to feel the dynamics of that kind of artistic cooperation.

I don’t distinguish between singing for dance and singing solo, singing is singing, it’s a quest for beauty…between two people if there’s a guitarist, between four if there are two people doing palmas, or five if there is a dancer.  The energy sent out from the stage is always shared, even with the listener or observer, it’s never something you do alone.

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