Interview with Pedro Sierra. Flamenco guitarist

Pedro Sierra Marín (Hospitalet de Llobregat,
1967) belongs to the new generation of guitarists. Young,
intellectual, determined, with a high technical level and
musical knowledge. Winner in 1983, at the age of 16, of the
first prize of the Barcelona Certamen de Guitarra, he also
doubles as producer and composer and has just released his
second solo album.

Pedro, in the most recent edition
of the Flamenco Hoy critics’ choice prizes, you were
a finalist in two categories. What do you think about that?
It’s very rewarding for me just to have been nominated,
especially in two categories. I think these prizes ought to
have much more support. When they hold the music prizes organized
by the SGAE (Spanish society of authors), the flamenco category
is always muddled and they mix in things that don’ t
really belong. The Flamenco Hoy prizes ought to at least invite
all the finalists (expense-paid for those outside Madrid)
and the winners should be announced at the actual celebration.
This would lend greater prestige and credibility, and would
be much more interesting for the general public.

Your
playing style is completely current, but unlike others you’ve
managed to conserve a very flamenco sound. What’s the
secret?
There’s no secret, you just have to be honest with yourself
and above all, play what you like, I don’t think there’s
any magic formula.

How does Pedro Sierra define that
borderline between what is and is not flamenco?
What’s very clear is that flamenco is a way of life
and an art you never stop learning, so you have to think flamenco
in order to be flamenco, it’s no use resorting to other
kinds of music and forgetting about flamenco.

What guitarists, past or present,
do you most admire?
Sabicas, Borrul, Ricardo, Montoya, and current ones, Paco
de Lucía, Cepero, Tomate, Gerardo, Riqueni, etc.

How did you begin playing flamenco
guitar? Was there flamenco at home?
They gave me a guitar when I was 8 years old and at 9 I was
on a stage playing. At home there was an appreciation of flamenco
but nothing more, no history of artists of any kind in the
family, but I do owe my parents the tremendous patience in
educating me to study flamenco guitar, because when you’re
8 all you want to do is play, but they prepared a good future
for me.

On the record, the mix with voices
from the past came out extraordinarily well. You’d think
Antonio Mairena, Pavón or Valderrama had come back
to life to sing to us. Was it very difficult to achieve that?
In actual fact it was not easy, and I want to point out that
at no point did I mean any offense to the wonderful guitarrists
who play on the original versions, it’s thanks to them
today we have the character of each style for accompanying
cante.

Morente did something similar with
the Pequeño Reloj where he sang to the accompaniment
of guitarists who died years ago. Is that what gave you the
idea?
Not exactly, but Morente is partly to blame. The truth is,
Morente is a singer and an artist who never stops, always
trying out new things, always opening up new paths for the
younger generation. I’m extremely grateful for his invaluable
collaboration encouragement on the record.

Did the growing shortage of traditional
singers lead to bringing back voices from the past?
That wasn’t the idea, but we all know the new singers
learn from the old and I wanted to accompany the authentic
source, but there’s a very promising group of new voices.

Do you see this as virgin territory
full of potential, or just a one-shot oddity?
For me it’s just something different, the next recording
I do has to be completely different, we have to be thinking
up new ideas all the time, we all know everything’s
been recorded already.

“We guitarists are the immigrants
of flamenco, always having to give concerts outside Spain”

It’s become fashionable to
use a singer’s voice to accompany the guitar, which
is the reverse of the usual set-up…do you think this could
change something basic in the structure of cante?
It ought to be that cante, guitar and dance complement each
other, no one element taking precedence over another, each
one has something to say.

You’re a mix of classical
and avant-garde flamenco. Which do you think predominates
in your playing?
That’s a hard question to answer, I love traditional
flamenco but I’m always surrounded by the avant-garde,
I don’t really know how to define myself.

Gerardo Núñez has
complained of the lack of interest in flamenco guitar in Spain
compared to abroad. Have you noticed this, and if so, what
is it due to and how can it be remedied?
Yes, it’s true what our friend Gerardo says, we guitarists
are the immigrants of flamenco, always having to give concerts
outside Spain. In this country there’s no support at
all for flamenco guitar and when you travel abroad Spain is
known for this instrument, who can make sense of that?

How’s the producing angle
going? Yeye’s record sounds very good, and it’s
worthwhile to record an experienced veteran like him. What
other singers would you like to record?
I love working as a producer because you have a great time
in the studio, you make real friends and besides recording
Yeyé, I’d like to help other good singers who
are out there but have no chance to record, in fact we plan
on recording Manuel de Paula, Antonio Villar, Jose Carmona,
David Palomar and several others.

Is the new technology good for
flamenco, do you use it a lot?
Thanks to technical advances you can have whole anthologies
of guitar and cante on a portable disc to be listened to when
and where you please, for young people these tools are of
great help. Also, you can make use of technical means to repeat
things over and over. I’m of the opinion that technology
should be a resource you only turn to when there’s no
other choice. What I mean is, I like to record the pieces
nearly beginning to end and then correct small mistakes, but
not leave it completely perfect, you lose a lot of spontaneity
and then something else you have to take into consideration
is live performance. If you depend on technology to make everything
perfect, in a live show you won’t be able to pull it
off, this has to be taken into account. Before making a recording
the musicians have to at least meet each other, and in the
case of flamenco, the guitarist and singer should rehearse
before going into the studio, I don’t believe in improvising
everything.

“We must never forget the
essence or character of the styles, it’s of vital importance
that each one be clearly identifiable”

Do you prefer concert guitar or
accompanying?
Both, even when you’re playing in concert you have the
cante in your head.

Do you like playing for dance?
I love creating for dance and I enjoy setting shows. Right
now I’m involved in a a project for Cristina Hoyos and
el Junco which I’m enjoying immensely.

Flamenco guitar is evolving very
rapidly…is the same thing happening, or should it even happen
with cante?
They’re two completely different concepts. The guitar
seems to have the obligation to create while cante interprets
that which has already been created, but like I said, there
are some wonderful new singers. As far as guitar, we must
never forget the essence or character of the styles, it’s
of vital importance that each one be clearly identifiable.

There have always been eras: the
era of Ramón Montoya, of Ricardo… Is this the era
of Paco de Lucía, or have we begun another journey?
That’s very dificult to define, I think we’re
still in the era of Paco de Lucía, although there are
contemporary tendencies.

What plans have you regarding this
new record?
Naturally I’ll be presenting it, and we’re preparing
the technology to reproduce the voices of Mairena, Morente,
Valderrama and Marchena in live performance.

We’ve noticed that although
you’ve been living in Seville for a long time, you were
born in Barcelona and yet when they talk about Catalonian
flamenco artists you’re never mentioned. Why do you
think this is?
I’m glad you asked, I’ve always wondered about
that myself. Look, nearly all my learning about guitar took
place in Barcelona and I played for Maite, Faraón,
La Chana, La Tani and Montse among others and I was great
friends for example with Cañizares, Castilla, Califa,
Miguel de Badajoz, Chicuelo and others. I never understood
why at the institutional level I’m never included, it’s
painful for me that up there they claim to defend Catalonian
flamenco artists but I’m not included in the package
so to speak. Each year I see how they celebrate the Grec,
the Barcelona guitar festival, etc…and I’m never called.
Maybe someone reading this who sticks up for flamencos born
in Catalonia will remember that Pedro Sierra was born in Hospitalet
(Barcelona). I’m very happy where I live, but there
are these formulas that should be applied equally for everyone
and not just for a select few.

I’d very much like to give my regards to all the flamenco
internauts and thank them for their support…every day I
receive email from fans asking questions, showing their appreciation,
etc. Here’s my address for anyone wishing to write:
pedrosierra(at)lycos.es

[Nikelao – CODA]