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 Flamenco Guitarist CARLOS LOMAS October / November 1999 By Michael Koster
Tell us about Adelante, your new CD. I had this idea in the middle '70s because the scene I was in, in New York and Spain, got me involved with other musicians who were interested in trying to do things beyond our individual abilities and knowledge and traditions. They were from Pakistan, India, North America, Spain, and the Middle East. And we were finding that we could play together. There was some sort of feeling in the air ... and I got it down on tape. It was very unusual and very different. I had to learn a lot about different cultural attitudes to get [the musicians] together. The Arabs would always show up two hours late, so I lied to them about the times. The Pakistanis were always on time, so I told them the truth. The Spanish were always an hour late, so I lied to them too. All these little things were crucial in getting them all together. I kind of set it up like a jazz musician thinks. Here's the chart. Here's the melody. It's my melody. But after that you take a solo and play what you want. I love it more and more each time I listen to it. I'm so excited about it. It's music from the heart and the soul. There's no commercialization. It's about feelings. Those who have the technical ability and can blend it with feeling—that's a wonderful thing. This album is the best recording I've ever done. I've made at least seven or eight solo albums. Most are out of print, or unavailable in this country, or recorded in Spain and I don't have the rights to them. That's the nature of the recording industry. If one listened to Adelante from beginning to end with no distractions—and that's the way to listen to this album—you would have to set aside 40 minutes and you'll realize you're listening to a work of art, not just another album. There's an intent, a variation, a theme, a climax. And you want to go back and listen again because it's fascinating. If you listen to just pieces you're not going to get anything out of it; it becomes background music. There was no world music category at the time you recorded it? There was no such category. I'm one of the first to do it. Who else was mixing up cultures musically at the time? Well, Chris Carnes was the first one to record the 'ud on a flamenco album. I had been studying the 'ud for a few years and felt the influence of the Middle East and Indian traditions through it, and in 1978 I recorded an album [Chocolate] in Spain where I played the 'ud with my group. No one had heard anything like this, but a few months after the album was released, Paco de Lucia released his album, Almoraima, where he did something similar. But Chris Carnes was the first to record the 'ud on the flamenco album Nuevo Dia. All of this happened within a year or two. What's the flavor of Adelante? It's a world orchestra. A classical Arabic orchestra fits into the terminology because of the number of instruments involved. It's not a band. That's more of an American concept. What sorts of instruments? Well, the 'ud. The 'ud is a fascinating instrument. I've been told by a great virtuoso that it's 2,500 years old and developed in Egypt. The mandolin, the bouzouki, the saz from Turkey—all descended from the 'ud. But the 'ud is fretless. You have to find the sound with your own ear and not rely on frets... Also [decended from the 'ud] the flamenco guitar, five-string banjo, darbakah, violin, the sitar. You recorded over a number of years in Spain, New York, and Santa Fe. Was there a lot of editing? Yes, a lot of editing. Overdubbing. That's not a bad thing. Why did it take so long to release? No money. No support. Years of frustration and despondency. It happened when it needed to happen. I guess it's right that it took all these years for it to come out. It's easier now to release quality material cheaply? It's amazing what you can do with computer technology. [The album] has been remastered and glitches that have bothered me for years have been taken out. You mentioned theme. The theme is a vibrant feeling of being alive and wanting to go forward with oneself. You're not sitting there waiting to be placated or relaxed. There's something about this album that's dynamic and vibrant, and it excites you. Makes your blood start to go. And you want to sing and dance and participate in some way. You can't just sit still. I'm very happy. I don't need anybody's praise or criticism because I just know that I did it. You didn't sound this excited about your last album [the self-produced Flamenco Guitar], which I and many others thought was excellent. The last album wasn't even my idea. People hadn't heard a recording of mine in a long time. So they convinced me to do the recording.... It came out honest. But Adelante is flawless. None of my other albums are flawless. I love it. My eyes well up and I get this wonderful feeling inside. And it feeds my ego. My ego needs filling, but in a good way. How can people get it? I'm sending it to Flamenco Connection. The other way is to get it directly from me. Those are the only ways. I'm not going to let a record company touch this. [It is also available at select record stores.] You've said many times that America doesn't understand flamenco. The best flamenco artists are always going to be from Spain. It's not possible for someone who has not been in that culture to be great. I'm a competent flamenco guitarist. I was accepted and supported in Spain and I'm grateful. In America they don't even know what flamenco is. The bottom line is that I love and respect flamenco. Adelante is my ticket to being unique and individual in the world of flamenco, but it's beyond the world of flamenco because there's bluegrass in there, there are other things in there. Maybe it's blasphemous. I just love to play the guitar. Anything that I've done I've done with love and respect for the tradition. I wouldn't do something like Ottmar Liebert did. |
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