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Even though arriving at his house he clarifies that he hasn’t made a flamenco record, it’s very hard to resist the temptation to pursue precisely that path at the beginning of the interview. Names come up unintentionally…Chaboli, Piraña, Tomatito…and his main anchor in this recording “Las Pequeñas Cosas”, Paco de Lucía.
Josemi Carmona opened the doors of his Madrid studio to give us the insider information on his upcoming record which is scheduled to be released April 26th, and also talk about future projects now in the planning stage with other flamenco artists.
What have you been doing all these years?
In actual fact, quite a bit. And I really wanted this record to come out, it’s the first one on my own. It took a long time, there was always something to polish, or to take out or add…recordings take longer to make these days, everything is so uncertain, we took our time.
And now?
Now I’m involved in Estrella’s record, which is also going slowly because of the reasons we all know. It’s only natural. The late Enrique called us to do something with her. Then everything came down, and the work stopped. We got together, me and my cousins, Ketama, to do something with her. We’re going to do a piece I don’t want to reveal, it’s for her to talk about, and some tangos.
I’m also beginning to produce the first record of Tomatito’s daughter, looking for songs, I’ve spoken to Farruquito to have him write something for us… Then, I’m also doing a few songs for Tomate’s record, as you can see, we share a lot of things. I’ve always admired that man, he’s incredible on guitar. It’s also a record that’s progressing slowly, and at the rate things are going, we ought to have it out by 2040 (laughter).
A year and a half ago you already had the record well underway. Is it just laziness? With all the technology at your disposal, how is it possible musicians now take so long to decide where to put something in or take something out?
It’s a never-ending story, we have such tremendous technology like you say, and yet you always want more. The recording process takes forever, and then to get it released…and I’m one of the ones who can’t complain that much. I guess making a record is done with a different approach now.
It’s not like it used to be. I’m lucky to be with this record company, they’re very supportive. But I know people who just give their records away. They make a record to get their name on the map, so people can know what they do, and they have a presence in the media and among the general audience…
What’s behind the title “Las Pequeñas Cosas” [the little things]?
They’re small, independent minimalist compositions. That’s how I conceived everything. I want to make absolutely clear that it’s not a flamenco record. And the title came up along the way, I began to see it little by little. It’s a record of ambiences.
“It’s not like it used to be. I’m lucky to be with this record company, they’re very supportive. But I know people who just give their records away.”
You insist it’s not flamenco, but there’s Paco de Lucía for example.
And it’s a tremendous honor for me. He plays one solo…but what a solo! What happened was, Javier Limón called me one day from his studio, he told me the maestro was around. There was Chaboli, Farru, Piraña…even Sergio Ramos, just imagine. It was summertime, August I think, they were passing through on tour. And the maestro says to me “Where to you want me to play”? And I was like in shock. The following day I called and he was in Croatia, he called back and told me to send him whatever. So I sent him a bulería, some tangos and some fandangos. He told me he liked everything and that I should choose…imagine!…I was doing flip-flops of joy. So I gave him the fandangos.
I was really uptight at the beginning. It took a whole day just to digest the offer. Then I called him with great decision. Just think, Paco de Lucía, all the people who would give anything to play guitar with him… He sent me a solo, and then we played together at the end of the piece. I was super-relaxed, he seemed very calm, full of laughter, no problem at all.
But I insist, it’s not a flamenco record, because it’s sketches of bulerías and fandangos, which is where the maestro comes in, in the tangos…but it’s not pure flamenco, it just has that aroma.
Paco de Lucía is there, with most of his group.
Yes, because it’s Piraña, Alaín Pérez, Maca, Juan, my cousin’s son, Bandolero, Borja Barrueta, who plays drums with Jorge Drexler, Alfonso Pérez does the keyboard work…
Who else do you work with here?
Lots of people, there are twelve pieces. Niña Pastori was going to participate, but something about permission from the record companies that didn’t arrive on time…pity, bureaucratic issues drive me crazy. Jorge Drexler is also there, who is a musician I’ve had a good relationship with for a long time. He called me for his record, and we traded his participation for mine. He wrote some lyrics, and sang the song for me. Manuel Carrasco is also there. That was a surprise, because I had a bad image of him from Operación Triunfo, but when I heard him I was really surprised, I watched him progress with his work, got in touch with him because he has the same manager as Jorge Drexler. So I showed him my music, he improvised over that and that’s the story behind “Cuenta Conmigo”, the piece he’s in.
There is a collaboration with Bugge Wesseltoft, a nordic jazzman. He was going to do more on the record, but anyhow, he did some string arrangements and a little solo.
There’s a rapper, Oxmo Puccino, the record company introduced me to and whom I liked very much, so we took him on.
I also put things from Puccini’s “Tosca”, improvising freely on that. It’s an introduction I also use for another piece. A prelude of a minute and a half, one on “Tosca”, and another on “Dos Puñales”, the piece with Paco. Alex Cuba, a singer who composes for Nelly Furtado and other important people, is also on the record. I needed a singer for one piece, and I found him, he lives in Canada, just think, a long ways from home! I think that if Spain pays attention to him, he’s going to become quite the thing.
It all sounds very heterogeneous.
A little like me. It’s more of a jazz record than pop, in feeling and ambience. Difficult to categorize or say it’s a certain kind of style. It’s different. I was tired of so much live recording, so I’ve got these twelve mood pieces. Intimacy.
And the good thing about it is that all the musicians were very committed to the whole thing, they gave their all for me.
“It’s more of a jazz record than pop, in feeling and ambience. Difficult to categorize or say it’s a certain kind of style. It’s different. I was tired of so much live recording, so I’ve got these twelve mood pieces. Intimacy…”
How do you choose the numbers?
I don’t choose them….they choose me, and if you play them and they feel good, that’s it, no doubt about it. You put it on the record and that’s that.
What did your father say?
(He thinks for a while). Hmmm….well, in the beginning he said that what he heard was something strange, it’s only logical. It was a little “heavy” for him, because it’s not flamenco, but in the last few days he called to say he’s warming up to it.
Are you still with Dave Holland?
We picked up the tour again after Dave’s wife’s health problems. Dave is some terrific musician, we’ll be back with him at the end of the year. That’s another story. It gives us a lot of leeway on the jazz level and, believe it or not, we meet fantastic musicians in this way.
Working more on the outside than the inside, as tends to happen.
Yes, we’re doing some amazing festivals. Fabulous venues, you share the bill with people like Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder…the respect for the music is something else completely. There are powerful sponsors, you feel like another person. I’d like to get into that circle somehow. And flamenco has a place there, believe me, it’s not as crazy as it sounds.
In this house you must have had some good times.
Yes, of course, the place for the famous people is more my cousin Antonio’s, here is where I have my studio, it’s more intimate. Tomatito, Paquete, Jorge Drexler have all played here. I use this studio for everything except the drums, for which I use another studio. For example Boadilla, with Boris Alarcón, in Montepríncipe, who as a technician is right up to the level of the best in the world, he’s a complete genius.
“There are people now who aren’t just looking for technique, like Diego del Morao who does things that aren’t aimed at virtuosity. Paquete is in the same line, he’s one terrific musician, if he made a guitar record, a lot of people would be in for a surprise.”
Wouldn’t you ever feel like making a guitar record?
Well, I can’t say no, but it wouldn’t be such a high level of technique as they play now. The level is just unbelievable right now. In Spain we’re at the highest rung of difficulty, at the forefront of the international panorama, without any doubt.
Minimalism isn’t fashionable…you would certainly be a change of pace…
Yes, in that sense the truth is I wouldn’t do that. In any case, there are people now who aren’t just looking for technique, like Diego del Morao who does things that aren’t aimed at virtuosity. Paquete is in the same line, he’s one terrific musician, if he made a guitar record, a lot of people would be in for a surprise.
And then, the new generation, the one that follows mine, I see them and they lack personality, they can’t seem to get away from the influence of Paco and Camarón, something which is understandable considering how those two left their mark so strongly on this era…it must be comparable to Austrians breaking away from Mozart…impossible. It’s the same thing, don’t you think?
What about your kids, are they interested in this?
They like it and all that, but the oldest one for example, is into studying. Next year he has his important exams and is debating between journalism and law. Just think, it would be amazing… He enjoys his fiestas, but then in the morning he gets up and practices sports, he gets up at the crack of dawn to study and doesn’t want to know anything about the kind of weird stuff that gave flamenco so much bad press. They’re not as lax as other young people, and I like that. They like to be dependable and keep their word. The lack of discipline and seriousness that flamenco sometimes has is off-putting for them.
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