“Por arte de magia” the record debut of Catalonian Manuel Fernández

Released by Kasba Music, the record was presented at the Festival Calalunya Arte Flamenco on February 1st at the Teatro Zorrilla in Badalona.

This recording made in Seville and Barcelona includes poetry of Federico García Lorca, as well as well-known themes by Juan Peña El Lebrijano, Enrique Morente and the trio of Spanish composers Quintero, León and Quiroga, among others.

Manuel Fernández began to sing at the age of six in a festival in Pueblo Nuevo where Los Chichos, La Marelu and Bordón 4 had previously performed.  He sang a song of Las Grecas of whom he still considers himself fan number one.  After a time he became a diehard defender of Spanish lyrical song, and Isabel Pantoja continues to be one of his greatest sources of inspiration, way back from the television program Cantares.  Over the years he has been fortunate enough to juggle singing and dancing, and has been able to perform with the biggest flamenco stars.  He worked under the direction of the maestro Lebrijano in the work “Tierra”, but also had a great deal of experience in tablaos such as El Sacromonte, Tarantos and the Palacio del Flamenco.  He also appeared for a time in the legendary Scala of Barcelona.  He participated in various recordings providing the chorus, and since 2001 has been collaborating with the company of José de la Vega.

He is currently the director of the Badalona association Rincón del Arte de la Música, as well as an association devoted to helping the people of the Sahara, “Esabar Saharaui Badalona Cooperación”, where he met a group of young Saharans who inspired him to fuse their music with flamenco.  In addition to his work as singer, dancer and collaborator, Manuel also devotes part of his time to communication: he presented the television program Flamenco y Copla in which he interviewed top stars of the genre.

In 2013, thanks to the intervention of sculptor Lluis Ventós, Manuel came into contact with the avant-garde group The Pinker Tones to produce his first recording.  Part of the record was made in Sevilla under the direction of José Carlos Seco, a brilliant flamenco pianist and producer.  Following this, the sessions were moved to Barcelona.  In the studio of The Pinker Tones the arrangements for string and wind instruments were written and recorded, as well as the Saharan chorus.  The mixing was also done by The Pinker Tomes and masterizing was handled by the veteran Dennis Blackham.