OJOS DE BRUJO

DOSSIER Agoust 2001
by Mono Lo

Here comes rumba Dub Style!

More than a band, they are a group of friends; more than friends, musicians; more than musicians, they also paint, do graffitti, video, sculptures and dance; more than creators, they also do all the editing themselves. You can call them Ojos de Brujo or Fabrica de Colores, it is the same restless, inventive group.

Once upon a time, there was Juanlu, from Barcelona's Chinatown, who decided to discover the Americas with a walkman and an audio cassette tape. On this tape, Ramón, a Barcelonian from Gracia, poured his soul at flamencos with the help of a guitar and a bongo. Juanlu was sure that in the lands of Bolivar and Zapata he would find the missing musical ingredients. Back in Barcelona he met Ramón and Dani, el mono loco(the crazy monkey), had a jam session and decided to work together.

This was the origin of La Fábrica de Colores, an association of multimedia artists and musicians who fuse together music, dance, theater, literature, cinema, animation, video, photography, sound, drawing, and performances. Ojos de Brujo is the name given to the musical part of the project, a name inspired by the drawing of the wizard which can be seen on the group's webpage.

Their first album, Vengue -a gypsy word that means both a gnome and swing (jaleo)- surprised by the swing and freshness of its flamenco hip-hop. Their second work, "Bari", was released in mid-2002. The latter bears some resemblance to the former, but is both more carefully finished and less musically surprising. It confirms the group's potential, as they try to explore more deeply the paths they had opened in the first album.

As far as their music is concerned, let pure flamenco fans cover their ears. With its members coming from several different areas (Cuba, Colombia, Barcelona, Valencia, Córdoba, La Trinitat, etc…) and always open and ready to experiment, Ojos de Brujo mixes flamenco with hip-hop, funk, reggae, ragga and Cuban són. Such influences are fused within songs derived from traditional rhythms related to flamenco: tangos, colombianas, bulerías, tanguillos, rumba, and others and take us to previously unknown paths. With the force of a flamenco cajón, the weight of a bass, the compass of a guitar, the colors of Latin percussion and the sound of jaleos and clapping hands, the rhythmic ragga voice, the crazy scratching and the contagious dance music, they disguise Camarón as a mestizo and mix balcony flamenco with street rap and the sound of the park.

In their lyrics, Ojos de Brujo tackle a paradox: the philosophy of life x the difficulties of the present moment. A little hashish and a lot of poetry.

As Ojos de Brujo, they have toured successfully from Germany to Sweden, from France to Belgium, from Switzerland to Italy. In Spain, the public reacted very warmly to the Bari tour, from the end of 2002 to early 2003, which was held in sold-out venues.

Their live performance, be it of rumba, tango or bulería; of Cuban son or an unassuming improvised song; a little flamenco dance or some "Break dance" for bulerías, surprise the public and make for a good party. They usually perform live with the help of many: DJ's to add spice, and guest musicians (Loli, flamenco dance; Abdul, African dance; Max, drums and voice; Roy, trumpet; Shan, scratches).
In keeping with the concept of La Fabrica de Colores, the book that accompanies Bari reproduces street work of graffiti artists. La Fabrica also functions as the group's label. It was a risky step to take, but everything turned out fine and they are proving that they could work without a big record label.

The composition of the band is variable: "There are as many of us as will fit into a van", says Juanlu, "that is to say, seven, one technician and a road manager"

MARINA : Voice, hip hop and hand clapping. When she was born in Valencia, the first that was seen of her were her shins(canillas), hence her artistic name "La Canillas". She moved around a lot until she ran into him again in Barcelona, where she decided to stay. At the time, she used to have an all-female theatre group, called the Agüita troupe. Now she is researching the relationship between flamenco and electronic music.

RAMÓN : Flamenco guitar, voices, jaleos. A gypsy born in Barcelona, nursed with flamenco and whose father, he says, can turn even La Internacional into rumba. He is 29, married, one child. He has worked with the rumba band Los Xavis, the flamenco company Carmen Amaya and taken part in several hip-hop shows. At present he is experimenting with the fusion of flamenco with electronic music. He is called Ramón "el metralleta" (the submachine-gun). He has even played heavy metal.

JUAN LU : 29, bass. Born in Barcelona and lived in Los Angeles and Brasil. He has played with numerous bands (Magiaanimal - funk-reggae; El Fantástico Hombre Bala - funk-rock; Mesmalva- Brazilian pop-funk; La Burbuja - jazz-funk; Umanawé - African-American reggae; Otneim Kham - techno-bass percusion; Flamencorro - flamenco-fusión.) His roots, unsurprisingly, are in funk, but he considers himself a lover of flamenco, reggae and all sorts of creative music. A fan of La Fábrica de Colores and Rey de los perros, he lives in a run-down apartment near Las Ramblas with two people and a few dogs.

DJ PANKO : Scratching, samplers, guitar and percussion. Born in Barcelona, he belongs to the Barcelona and Ibiza disc-jockey circuit with his peculiar Panko Funk System style. He was very involved in the Mestizo club.

XAVI TURULL : Cajón, tablas and percusions. Barcelona musical heavyweight with large experience with flamencos, cubanos, indios. He founded the groups Amalgama and Fula, worked with Rosario Flores, Ketama and Raimundo Amador. And all that to end up in Ojos de Brujo. Guiness record of syrup and laughter.

SERGIO RAMOS : percussionist, he plays cajón and drums. He comes from a flamenco background. He took part in several groups and quartets before coming to Ojos to participate in the explosive Acción-Reacción -Percusión trio.
MAX: the machine gun. He comes from a theatre and percussion background through Formentera and London. He is also takes part -from behind the cajón- in Acción-Reacción -Percusión, but he has also excursions to the mike that leave the audience breathless. His muscles and buttocks move, but the audience starts to drool when Max begins to create percussion sounds with his voice in frenetic rhythm. It is as if he had vocal-cord shaped finger and a cajón in the palate.

ANTONIO RESTUCCI : Chilean contributor of prestige, he has played with Paco de Lucía, Cañizares and other flamenco legends. He is now working with a small number of themes, as he is involved in another flamenco project.

LOLI : Dance and choirs. From her comes the art and authenticity of flamenco, Ojos de Brujo style. The grace and mastery of her movements and hand clapping are accompanied by a precious gypsy voice.

First hour contributors:
MONOLOCO : Voice, shouts, leaps vibes on stage. Also born in Barcelona. Singer and leader of Macaco. He is capable of livening up the dreariest places. Macaco takes up 99,9% of his time , but he keeps some time for recording sessions with his colleagues from Ojos and for taking part in some concerts in Barcelona.
MUÑECO : Percussion, voice, sounds and guaguancó. A Cuban from Camagüey he has lived in Spain since the age of eight. Percussionist with Amparanoïa in their second CD and also in the excellent Postrof of Dusminguet. Since he started playing with Amparanoïa, he has been living in Madrid and that has distanced him from Ojos.
BETO : Macaco's percussionist, guerrilla fighter of the sound-system, king of the congas. He had a very significant participation in the first record, but then he moved on to focus on Macaco and electronic projects.

Records [up]
  Vengue
   2001 Edel - Album
   buy it at iTunes

Main contributions [up]
  Peret Rey de la Rumba
   2000 Virgin - Compilation
 

News [up]
  19.01.2012: OJOS DE BRUJO pasa el testigo a LENACAY (Castellano)
  01.03.2010: Festival Esperanzah 2 : cartel confirmado (Castellano)
  14.12.2009: La Diada de la Rumba desborda el CAT (Català)
  21.05.2009: V CAIXA SABADELL ETNIVAL 2009 (Castellano)
  21.05.2009: V CAIXA SABADELL ETNIVAL 2009 (Català)
  25.04.2009: TERRITORIOS SEVILLA DEDICA SU EDICIÓN DE 2009 A ÁFRICA (Castellano)
  07.04.2009: CONCIERTO POR LA PAZ - Save Tibet (Castellano)
  31.03.2009: VIÑA ROCK 2009 (Castellano)
  23.01.2009: Crónica del V Mestizao Festival (Castellano)
  27.12.2008: V MESTIZAO festival (Castellano)
  03.09.2008: Recopilatori RadioChango Añejo Reserva 7 Años (Català)
  03.09.2008: Recopilatorio RadioChango Añejo Reserva 7 Años (Castellano)
  03.12.2007: Ojos de Brujo edita un LIBRO: "Los tripulantes de la nave bruja" (Castellano)
  04.11.2007: ODB nominados a Premios BBC AWARDS WORLD MUSIC 2008!!!! (Castellano)
  06.06.2007: Muévete Bien - Sabor Latino 2
  06.06.2007: Muévete Bien - Sabor Latino 2 (Castellano)
  06.06.2007: Muévete Bien - Sabor Latino 2 (Français)
  28.05.2007: El álbum Rambla, Rumble, Rumba descubre la tercera generación de rumberos catalanes (Castellano)
  29.03.2007: II Festival Solidario “Respeto a Ibiza” (Castellano)
  29.09.2006: BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS con OJOS DE BRUJO »»» en Madrid y Barcelona (Castellano)
  05.09.2006: FESTICULTURA REPERKUSION 06 (Castellano)
  13.06.2006: Festival SALVEMOS EL MEDITERRANEO - S.O.S. IBIZA (Castellano)
  04.04.2006: Fotografia musical al BAHIA (Català)
  04.04.2006: Fotografía musical en el BAHÍA (Castellano)
  29.03.2006: Barcelona Raval Session II - con camiseta de regalo!!! (Castellano)
  06.02.2006: Bracelona Sessions Sidecar - Febrero 2006 (Castellano)
  31.01.2006: BARCELONA RAVAL SESSIONS VOL. 2 (Castellano)
  07.10.2005: TECHARÍ: 3er disco de OJOS DE BRUJO (Castellano)
  10.06.2005: CRONICAS DE ROCK MESTIZO - Música sin papeles (Castellano)
  08.09.2004: CD "Mundo Mestizo" (Castellano)
  19.04.2004: Nueva gira de OJOS DE BRUJO (Castellano)
  25.02.2004: ODB gana el BBCradio3 world music awars 2004 [categoria EUROPA] (Castellano)
  06.02.2004: OJOS DE BRUJO ganan el Premio BBC World Music 2004 (Castellano)

Forum [up]
  The Forum for Ojos de Brujo

Interviews [up]
  El arte está con el pueblo - 09/2002 (Castellano)

Videos [up]
  03.2009: Video Clip Ojos de Brujo - Todos Mortales
  05.2007: Videoclip: Ojos de Brujo - Corre Lola Corre

Photos [up]
  Esperanzah! World Music Festival Barcelona
  Experiencia Espantapitas 2009
  Festival Extremusika 2009
  V Festival Mestizao
  VIÑAROCK 2007
  Apolo, Barcelona 2003
  St. Nazaire, Festival Les Escales 2002
  La Paloma, Barcelona, 9/5/2000

Contact & Management [up]
Management: DIQUELA Concerts

booking@ojosdebrujo.com
+34 93 302 77 96 // + 34 661673409

promotion / promoció / promoción
promo@ojosdebrujo.com
34 93 302 77 9 / + 34 607 227 569

Contactar con los miembros de la banda:
Marina : marina@ojosdebrujo.com
Ramón : brujo10@ojosdebrujo.com
Xavi : xavi@ojosdebrujo.com
Panko : panko@ojosdebrujo.com
Sergio : sergio@ojosdebrujo.com
Max : max@ojosdebrujo.com
Paco : paco@ojosdebrujo.com
Javi : javimartin@ojosdebrujo.com
Carlos : carlitos@ojosdebrujo.com

Artists related [up]
  Macaco
  Calima
  Radio Malanga
  Nubla
  Almasäla
  Eldys
  Zuri

Links [up]
  www.ojosdebrujo.com
  www.myspace.com/ojosdebrujo
  www.onvibes.com/ojosdebrujo
  www.audiokat.com/artistas.asp?aid=00000337
  www.calarumba.com

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