25.01.2007

CHAMBAOS TRIUMPH!

Chambao gelten als die Großen des "Flamenco chill". Wir zeichnen die Erfolgsstrecke der Gruppe aus Barbate nach (Artikel in Englisch!)

Among the groups dabbling in flamenco fusion, Chambao has achieved wide success both in Spain and on the international scene. It has famously coined its own sound, flamenco chill, and continues to celebrate our beloved beach life the way no other band does.

Text: JF Vernet

Chambao was created back in 2001 on the Noche de San Juan, night of the summer solstice, and adopted the name given to permanent or temporary structures erected on the beach to shield one from the sun. The next year the band released its first album, a compilation of versions and original tunes in which flamenco textures were spread over slow electronic beats.

The music on the album, Flamenco Chill was received as a breakthrough, and to this day ‘flamenco chill’ is understood to be a genre created by Chambao. Although electronica is heard somewhat more subtly in the subsequent recordings Endorfinas en la Mente (‘Endorphins in the Mind’, 2003) and Pokito a Poko (‘Little by Little’, 2005), many of the songs are still carried by chill out beats with typical echoes of trip hop and drum & bass.

The group’s labeling of its own music was not only bold and original; it helped distinguish it among other bands of the same generation also fusing flamenco with other styles, such as Ojos de Brujo, whose own songs draw on dub and hip hop rather than electronica.

The significance of these elements to the general feeling is perhaps best conveyed on the band’s Web site: “this labeling of their own music doesn’t enter in contradiction with their free natured spirit, and their necessity to grow and evolve their own style and musical language, which smells of salt and carries the sounds of the ocean’s shore.”

Indeed the chill in flamenco chill has another connotation: the band’s original songs persistently celebrate beach culture, combining with the accent and flamenco scales of singer La Mari to give the group a tangible Andalusian flavor. Like some other contemporary Spanish musicians including Manu Chao and Macaco, Chambao’s lyrics are often about the sea. As for covers, imaginative and daring versions of songs by other flamenco greats are a feature of every record, such as the group’s unforgettable take on Volando Voy, once sung by the late great Camaron.

And it seems everyone can relate. Proof of the reach of Chambao’s music is that it is heard on the Junta de Andalucía’s television spots promoting the region on channels like Canal Sur Andalucía. The band success in Spain is exemplary: they sold out concerts throughout their winter tour, and by January there were over 100,000 copies sold of Pokito a Poko, an album that had at that point remained in the list of Spain’s top selling records for almost a year. Although receiving plenty of high praise in their own rights, bands like Ojos de Brujo or Macaco are by comparison remaining on the alternative sidelines.

For all the talk of ‘flamenco chill’, the presence of electronica in the music seems to be of lessening importance. An example of a tune on Pokito a Poko having no trace of electronica is Sueño y Muero, performed with Miguel Campello of El Bicho. In an interview published in Canarias7, La Mari sheds some light on this evolution: “I insist, we don’t make music to sell records. As far as I’m concerned what really interests me is to make beautiful songs. What I do believe is that it is clearer now that the hallmark of Chambao’s sound is my voice. When we write the themes, I hear some of them without any sequencing while others clearly require it.”

Chambao has gone through quite a few line-up changes, with Dany, one of the founding members departing for what La Mari described as “typical differences occurring in the world of music.” The singer seems to be asserting herself as the band’s leader and there is even speculation that she may be the sole artistic voice of Chambao in the future.

With record sales and/or tours behind them in Latin America, Asia, and the rest of Europe including England, the word on Chambao has clearly spread outside of Spain. They are also a band that enjoys working with others. Cesaria Evora, Macaco, Howie B, and El Bicho are among the well-established artists famous for their own propensity to collaborate who have recorded or otherwise performed with Chambao.

The group’s connection to the sea and the Andalusian coastline was demonstrated once again on Pokito a Poko, which was recorded and mixed in two locations, Milan and our very own Punta Paloma. The band playing on the new record and touring is composed of Toni Cantero, Roberto Cantero, Coki Giménez, Juan Heredia, and Daniel Batalla. Chambao will play at Tarifa’s bullring on 10th August as part of the Musicas del Norte y del Sur concerts. Further information, including a complete list of upcoming concerts with dates on the Costa del Sol and in England, is available on www.chambao.es