DIEGO
CARRASCO “Flamenco's past was beautiful, the present is coming out nicely and the future's looking pretty good too”
There's no question that the songs included on Diego Carrasco's newest recording “Mi ADN Flamenco” are a result of that same genetic material. Five are newborns, four are in the family but adopted from other past records and one, “Aserejé” could be called proper clone, but the experiment isn't quite like the original thanks to the intervention of his Jerez feeling and delivery. But they all have one thing in common: they all have that genuine “made in Diego Carrasco land” flamenco sound which the musician draws from the most traditional flamenco vein and carries over to his personal domain, the liveliest and most forward-looking of the genre. And once again he's created a product worthy of his reputation.
Diego, your sixth record “Mi ADN Flamenco” just came out. Is it pure Diego Carrasco?
Now that all these words are fashionable, it's my DNA through and through. I tried to reflect that it's my authenticity, that's Diego Carrasco there.
“It's my DNA through and through”
The first song, “Libertad”, is what you might call a social protest. Do you always like to play it?
I'd say so, it was necessary to stand up and be counted somehow, but I don't really like to mix politics and flamenco, but I think I had to do something like this.
And update it…
We are updated! Even though I'm a little worn around the edges, I'm young at heart.
You've redone some songs from other records like “ Bailaores”, “Hello Dolly”, “Ratones Coloraos” and the pieces “José Monje Cruz”, dedicated to Camarón de la Isla.
I think the record is pretty varied. We thought the other songs were very nice, and to do something better was difficult, so it was a shame to leave them out, I really wanted them all on the record because I believe these numbers have the quality and prestige I was interested in to pay tribute to Camarón.
There's also a very stylized version of “Aserejé”. What led you to that?
Here we go again!…with the Aserejé, there oughtta be a law!…well I just think it's a gas, it's important for things to be fun. I really like to share things with my friends, especially if they're great musicians. This is one song I don't have to tell you anything about, and which we were very excited about doing in our own Jerez-style version, and I think it came out pretty good.
“ I think I've been very lucky because in some articles I've read, young, old, traditionalists and revolutionaries, they all treat me well ”
There are five new songs in keeping with your characteristically stylized approach.
I think they're within my customary line because I'm really surprising myself lately, when everyone talks about my “line”, but we actually do have a line. I like “ADN” a lot because I think it synthesizes all my other work but it's fresh, and for now it's been very well received.
With such a personal style as yours, how do you manage to be innovative without everything coming out the same?
Well!…change your watch, I think it's time to go! It must look easy, but it's not, there are endless hours of work behind all this. One thing is true however, when I do things for myself it's much easier than doing it for others.
Was it a struggle to get critics and audiences accustomed to your style or to respect your music?
In the beginning it was much harder, I'm talking about years ago. And I wasn't getting clear tones because my experimental nature led me to do different things. It's gone through several phases. I started out as a guitarist and then went into rock, I started choreographing and have done a little bit of everything. When you finally get established everyone's happy, especially the audience. I think I've been very lucky because in some articles I've read, young, old, traditionalists and revolutionaries, they all treat me well. I think we found a happy compromise.
“ You can't go back in time and do festivals like in the old days, with tons of performers and you're bored stiff, and only for a very limited audience ”
You've even broken several aesthetic molds. Why was it uncommon to see a flamenco artist with a beard in earlier times?
Oh yeah, you can't imagine… I remember Lola Flores, poor thing, she used to say “get rid of that beard for crying out loud!…how is anyone going to imagine you're a gypsy?!…get rid of it!”…in those times you can just imagine… And now what? I'm close to the big five-oh and that was thirty years ago, it was very unusual to see a gypsy playing guitar in a tablao or anywhere else with a beard.
In flamenco it's not common to see someone play, sing and dance professionally. They say Enrique Montoya was one of the very few who also did it.
Yes, Enrique Montoya was a great artist, he played guitar, danced and sang and did everything, and was a very good composer. I'm really happy you reminded me of him because he was a great artist.
“ My experimental nature led me to do different things …I can't stay in a rut doing just one thing”
Was he your inspiration?
Not really. I don't think I have much to do with anyone else, I wouldn't know how to label what I do. I don't know, sometimes other people get it right, they say flamenco composer and singer…sometimes they say some very flattering things.
But you must have looked up to someone…
My idols are more serious maestros, the pillars of flamenco. In my heart of hearts it's always Tía Anica la Piriñaca, Terremoto, Tío Borrico, Serna, that kind of person, those are my guiding lights
How do you keep a traditional essence at the same time you do new things, is that something that comes naturally, or from investigation…?
To tell the truth, I wouldn't know how to describe the process myself. One thing is for sure, flamenco is very dynamic, that's the most important quality it has. The passage of time is an important aspect…flamenco's past was beautiful, the present is coming out nicely and the future's looking pretty good too. It means you're right there, you're alive…I don't like to analyze things too much, I just try to keep audiences happy in the most direct fashion…they let me get away with that and I'm happy too.
There's always a lot of controversy about young people not respecting traditional flamenco. Do you think many people buy into that, that there's some truth in it?
Everyone is free to think as they please. Judges…who's to be judge in all this? If someone's a judge, let them throw the first stone. We're a lot of people and each one has his own personal taste…what you can't do is mix different things. Take Ketama for example, they have very deep roots and if you listen to them, it's really all there, but they're young and hip and they do their thing, and it's what they want to do.
Despite your tendency towards fusion, you're always more accepted in flamenco than the typical “flamenkito” or other derivative musicians.
I think it takes years of work and sharing with many musicians, you can't think it's all your own thing, you have to be open and this is reciprocal. You give me something, and I give you, you learn something from someone, and I pick up something from someone else, that's how it goes. Geniuses aren't just born doing things right off the bat.
They say you have a lot of followers…would you say it's a ‘school'?
There's a bunch of young kids out there I call “Carrasquistas”. I'm a lucky person to have so many friends, the Carrasquistas.
“I'm a lucky person to have so many friends, the Carrasquistas”
Tino Di Geraldo, Tomasito, Curro Navajita, Raimundo…
We're all in it together, because if you talk about Tino di Geraldo…or Tomasito, who's a little younger, we're one big family, they treat me like an elder. And if it's true that there are Carrasquistas, then we can say we're out there, I think the title of the record reflects this.
Obviously you firmly believe that flamenco artists should dare to explore…
That's where we're at right now, because the same elements of always can be used in many different combinations. Being able to listen to Susi do one of Sting's songs, or hear Carmen Linares sing “Se equivovó la Paloma”, or an Argentine tango in the voice of a great flamenco singer who then sits down and sings por soleá… I think it's what people need to hear. You can't go back in time and do festivals like in the old days, with tons of performers and you're bored stiff and only for a very limited audience. I think what's needed is for people to open up, and this area will keep gaining ground and capturing young people's attention.
You took a long time before recording again, you like to take it slow. Do you prefer producing and composing?
I really like working in the studio and we've been fortunate enough to have plenty of work. I was with Jesús Bola a long time and we've been producing a lot of things, lots of projects in the works, very interesting and many hours in the studio…you don't notice the time when you walk in or when you leave, you just have a good time and you do it with people who share your vision, and that keeps you away from your own stuff sometimes. Then we get into doing live performances which is also very nice, the warmth of making music in real time. Just as the studio is very cold, live performance is hot.
So do you prefer composing or performing?
Well, I do prefer the box office, that's how I am and my nature leads me down an assortment of paths. I can't stay in a rut doing just one thing, like bulerías. If I had to spend the day in front of a mirror studying technique I'd die of boredom, I have to do many different things.
What have you got going with Manuel Molina?
It's a kind of friendly face-off we'll be presenting in several places. At Nimes in France, perhaps in Madrid, but I think it's going to be very nice and I'm really looking forward to it because Manuel Molina is like a patriarch for me, I look up to him, for having broken with tradition…he declared open season and a lot of us took up the challenge.
Is that the next thing up? Anything else up your sleeve?
There are some really interesting projects. They invite me to a lot of shows, I'll be in several things for Seville's Bienal with some very interesting offerings. There's also something very special they want to do with me where I'll be a flamenco magician, you know, pulling scarves out of the hat and all, we're going to have a good time.
“Flamenco is opening up…right now it's not sufficiently appreciated, but tomorrow it will all be valued”
Is this a golden age for flamenco?
“Golden” sounds like something else, like a good restaurant where they serve “dorada” [ he laughs ]. I think flamenco is in very good hands, it's wide open, very rich, and the kids coming up are well-qualified. Flamenco has a complexity which reveals itself little by little as we go along. Right now it's not sufficiently appreciated, but tomorrow it will all be valued.
