SOUNDTRACK: DIEGO EL CIGALA-Tiny Desk Concert #437 (May 1, 2015).
Diego El Cigala has a beautiful voice which sounds to my ear like the strained/aching style of the Gipsy Kings’ singer. It is just him and his accompanist (Jaime Calabuch) on piano–which sounds very clear and pretty.
It amuses me that through the whole show he keeps playing with his long beard—an almost nonchalant reaction for someone who seems to be singing so passionately.
In the write up Felix Contreras says that El Cigala (Spanish for ‘Norway Lobster’), is a game changer in the world of flamenco music. I have literally no experience with this and can’t comment on it. But Contreras says that he uses his voice for boleros, copla, tangos, jazz and combinations of the above. I can hear all that in the music he has chosen, I just can’t comment on why it’s a game changer.
The three songs he sings are “Soledad,” “Vete de Mi” and ”Voda Loca.” And they all sound really beautiful.
[READ: April 15, 2015] “They Were Awake”
This brief story is an interesting one. Nothing actually happens in it–a group of ladies eat a potluk and share their dreams (actual dreams, not pie in the sky dreams). Then they head home.
Nothing’s worse than hearing someone else’s dreams, but since this is a story, the dreams are interesting. And indeed, they are quite telling.
They each talk about how their dreams have been anxious as of late.
Becca says she dreamed she owed money to the gas company.
Emma says she dreamed her ex-lover demanded that she appraise his art and he locked her in his flat until she did so. When they ask if she was raped, she says, “Of course not.” (more…)
I Just Read About That... 