"Gypsy Kings" - kings of flamenco

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

For over 35 years, a French gypsy group singing in Andalusian Spanish has been captivating the hearts and minds of flamenco fans.

They call themselves gypsy kings or barons - "Gypsy Kings". In this way, musicians emphasize the nobility of both their own and the creativity to which they have dedicated their lives.

Song language

Spanish speakers may find the sound of Gypsy Kings songs strange. They are written not in the classical version, but in the Andalusian dialect.

It differs, firstly, in the presence of an original lexicon, characteristic only for this dialect, and secondly, in pronunciation. For example, it does not have that interdental muffled "s" that is characteristic of classical phonetics.

Discography

Gypsy Kings have recorded 9 albums. The last of them was released in 2012 and was awarded the Grammy Award. This work is distinguished by the fact that for the first time in their long history, the "barons" themselveswrote all the song material. In addition, they worked on this record without the participation of the producer.

According to Gypsy Kings lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo, music has always been their passion and remains so even after so many years of touring and in the studio. They have matured, developed creatively.

Biography

All musicians of this ensemble come from two families that lived in the south of France for centuries, but spoke Spanish and inherited the flamenco culture from their ancestors who once moved here.

All men in this band are hereditary musicians.

Gypsy Kings was formed in the city of Arles, in the south of France. It happened in the seventies of the 20th century. Then the Reyes brothers, the sons of the famous flamenco guitarist Jose Reyes, with their relatives Paco, Maurice and Tony Ballardo, joined the new group. José once accompanied the famous singer Matthias de Plata on the guitar. The duo contributed to a new surge of interest in flamenco music, or rather, in its Latin American version, which is called flamenco rumba, or gypsy rumba.

At one point, the guitarist left Matias de Plata and, together with his sons, organized his own ensemble, which he called Los Reyes. The team was a true gypsy group. They traveled all over France, playing at weddings and other celebrations. They also often performed on the streets. Later, the musicians changed the name to "Gypsy Kings", emphasizing thisbelonging to the gypsy nobility and denoting their way of life. In addition, the name Reyes can also be translated as "king".

The path to success

They were invited to lavish parties hosted by representatives of the upper classes of society. They were frequent visitors to places like Saint Tropez and the like. Despite this, the group's first two albums did not receive much attention from the public. At that time, the Gypsy Kings were playing traditional flamenco. Nicholas usually sang, and Tony Ballardo played lead guitar.

The group's line-up has hardly changed since then.

The most difficult solo parts are usually entrusted to Tony, whose working hand is right, while some other members of the team are left-handed.

Album of the same name

They woke up famous after the release of their third album. This disc bears the name "Gypsy Kings" of the same name with the group.

It was then that the world first heard such hits as Djobi djoba, Bamboleo, the romantic ballad Un amor. The group instantly achieved great success in Europe and Africa, as well as in Eastern countries.

The Gypsy Kings made a major tour of the United States in 1990. By that time, their self- titled album had been on the charts in that country for 40 weeks. In the entire history of recording, only a few Spanish-language records have managed to achieve such a result. The Gypsy Kings concert filmed during that trip has been releasedlater on DVD.