Ojos de Brujo
Encyclopedia
Ojos de Brujo is a nine-piece band from Barcelona
, Spain
, who describe their style as "jipjop flamenkillo" (hip-hop
with a little flamenco
). The band sold over 100,000 copies of their self-produced Barí album, and has received several awards, among these the BBC Radio 3
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.
and scratching
/turntablism
of Hip Hop
, and Indian music
. 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 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.
Their CDs have also featured guest appearances by a large number of other musicians, including Nitin Sawhney
and Prithpal Rajput from Asian Dub Foundation
as well as many Spanish artists.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, who describe their style as "jipjop flamenkillo" (hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
with a little flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
). The band sold over 100,000 copies of their self-produced Barí album, and has received several awards, among these the BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
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.
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 don't pretend 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 don't pretend to be doing 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 Brujos 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, the rapRapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and scratching
Scratching
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
/turntablism
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
of Hip Hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, and Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
. 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 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 Brujos 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.” 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 guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Xavi Turull - cajónCajónA cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...
, tablaTablaThe tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, congas, percussion - DJ Panko - scratchingScratchingScratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
- Sergio Ramos - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, cajón - Maxwell Wright - percussion, vocals
- Paco Lomeña - flamenco guitar
- Javi Martin - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Carlitos Sarduy - congas, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
Their CDs have also featured guest appearances by a large number of other musicians, including Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
and Prithpal Rajput from Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
as well as many Spanish artists.
Discography
- Vengue, 1999
- Barí, 2002
- Barí: Remezclas de la Casa, 2003
- Techarí, 2006
- Techarí Live, 2007 (CD/DVD)
- Techarí Remixes, 2007
- Aocaná, 2009
- Corriente vital 10 años, 2010