Ojos de Brujo - Techarí (2006)

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Ojos de Brujo - Techarí (2006)

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This album is fantastic and showcases the type of innovative flamenco-infused music coming out of Spain today. Some people have criticized these 'nuevo flamenco' groups for commercializing flamenco, but I think that's off the mark. Groups like Ojos de Brujo do a service to flamenco by taking it to new stages in its evolution. In that sense, Ojos de Brujo help preserve a very traditional form of music by doing it in a way relevant to today's world.
~ Mr. XY, another excited random amazon reviewer after hearing Techari

Ojos de Brujo is back with a entertaining, anarchistic yet wildly danceable amalgam. The rousing guitar of Ramón Giménez and sinuous, Moorish-tinged vocals of Marina "la Canillas" Abad are wreathed in handclaps and percussion, plus scathing brass charts, remarkably creative scratching, beats and other electronic embellishments. There are also flurries of quotes from a far-flung array of traditions outside their own, such as reggae and rap, but the band's antic inclusiveness never derails their individuality or adulterates the heritages of their collaborators. Guest stars this time out include Faada Freddy from the Senegalese hip-hop collective Daara J, Indian fusioneers Prithpal Rajput and Nitin Sawhney, and Cuban pianist Roberto Carcàsses. From nearer home, Flamenco guitar legend Pepe Habichuela and Spanish singing star Martirio sit in, along with tres and guitar master Raúl Rodrígues of Son de la Frontera, another band with fervent global leanings, this time toward Cuba.
~ Christina Roden, after having great sex while listening to Techari

Some may complain that Ojos De Brujo is simply the latest group to pillage flamenco music, but they'd be missing the point. This Barcelona band grew up with the flamenco tradition while also devouring a steady diet of hip-hop, punk, funk, gypsy and Middle Eastern music, so the inclusion of rapping, turntables and funk grooves is a logical one for these upstarts. Marina "La Canillas" Abad doesn't have the range that a conservatory-trained singer might have, but she makes up for it with her vivid, socially conscious lyrics and staccato delivery, which can skitter into rapid-fire rapping that resonates surprisingly well with flamenco's chattering rhythms. Indeed, the group is unafraid to mix anything, meshing flamenco, turntables and even swing in jazz.
~ Tad Hendrickson, trying to understand quantum physics by listening to Techari

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Ojos de Brujo - Techarí (2006)

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