Ojos de Brujo was a nine-piece band from

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

who described their style as "jipjop flamenkillo" (

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

with a little

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

). The band sold over 100,000 copies of their self-produced ''Barí'' album and received several awards, among these the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

World Music Award for Europe in 2004, having also been nominated in 2003. Their success is also notable for being achieved without the aid of label backing. They set up their own label, La Fábrica de Colores, to get complete artistic freedom for ''Barí'', away from the pressure they perceived from their record company Edel Records for their debut, ''Vengue''.c h i c a g o I N N E R V I E W

Music

Flamenco is clearly central to their sound; Ramón Giménez observed "the magic lies in the flamenco... that is the heartbeat of Ojos de Brujo's songs." However, they are definitely not pure flamenco. Xavi Turull said: "...we aren't trying to do flamenco. What we are doing is using the richness of flamenco and the richness of other music to build up something different. Maybe sometimes I would say that flamenco is the strongest ingredient, but we aren't trying to do flamenco." Upon the release of their first album, Vengue (1999), the flamenco fusion group did receive a lot of skepticism and criticism from the flamenco purists. Many of them refused to acknowledge that the music was true flamenco and that it strayed from its foundation, style and structure. However, according to the group, their music reflects the past of flamenco and its multicultural roots. The gypsies themselves are diverse and multicultural, a people from the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Iberia. Ojos de Brujo takes this same theme and blends flamenco music with the diverse musical genres of today like hip hop and pop to modernize flamenco. For example Flamenco is combined in their music with other influences including Afro-Cuban,Ojos de Brujo: an interview with Barcelona's roots wizards
/ref> the rap and

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and Turntablism, turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a phonograph, turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to ...

turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more Phonograph, turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into ...

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, and

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk, rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several ...

. The music of Ojos de Brujo uses the drama of flamenco, but carries it along on a steady rhythmic foundation, making the group's music a closer relative to rumba catalana. Usually the focus of Ojos' songs are the vocals by Marina "La Canillas" Abad, which move smoothly from gritty flamenco wail to authoritative rapping. The blend of music opens up their audience base and provides more opportunity to keep creating new types of sounds.

Social Conscience

Ojos de Brujo also appeals to the youth by addressing social issues and concerns within their music. The group name, Eyes of the Sorcerer reflects this theme. According to group members, the eyes of the sorcerer look deeper into the issues and reveal the truth. Many people think that the band is named Eyes of the Witch. However, Brujo is masculine; Bruja is the Spanish for witch. Moreover, none of their songs address politics; instead many reveal current social situations in Spain. One of their songs, “Nada en la nevera” (2001), “Nothing in the Fridge,” Ojos de Brujo highlights poverty, not only in Spain but throughout the world by singing about someone who wakes up every morning to find nothing in the refrigerator. Criticizing society, in the song “Naita” the singer says, “La sangre se me rebela cuando me pongo a pensar que aquí unos tienen de tó y que otros no tienen de ná” or “My blood boils when I think that there are some who have everything and others who have nothing”. Mixing “dub, hip hop, and flamenco, just to name a few, allows Ojos de Brujo a wide range of expression. By blending flamenco and rumba, grabbing handfuls of hip hop, dub and modern-sounding drum licks and bass lines the group makes forward-looking music that could definitely have been made only in Spain and probably only in Barcelona.” Gillett, Charlie. "Ojos De Brujo." BBC World Review 06 Jan. 2003. 23 Apr. 2008 . Creating variety in beats, lyrics, and instruments only enhances their social and cultural message and reflects the modern and highly globalized society in which they perform.

Members

* Marina "la Canillas" Abad - vocals * Dani Carbonell - vocals, various instruments (primarily on ''Vengue'' (2001) and ''Barí'' (2002)) * Ramón Giménez - flamenco

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Xavi Turull -

cajón A cajón ( ; "box, crate, drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or st ...

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

, congas, percussion * DJ Panko -

* Sergio Ramos -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, cajón * Maxwell Wright - percussion, vocals * Juan Luis Leprevost Artiach - Bass (on Vengue and Barí) * Paco Lomeña - flamenco guitar * Javi Martin - bass, (after "Barí") * Carlitos Sarduy -

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

, keyboard Their CDs have also featured guest appearances by a large number of other musicians, including

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian and other ...

and Prithpal Rajput from Asian Dub Foundation as well as many Spanish artists.

Discography

*''Vengue'', 1999 *''Rumba Dub Style (EP)'', 2001 *''Barí'', 2002 *''Barí: Remezclas de la Casa'', 2003 *''Festimad 2003'', 2003 *''Techarí'', 2006 *''Techarí Live'', 2007 (CD/DVD) *''Techarí Remixes'', 2007 *''Aocaná'', 2009 *''Corriente vital 10 años'', 2010

Notes

External links