Ketama
Encyclopedia
Ketama are a Spanish
flamenco
group in the fusion flamenco style. The leaders of what has been called New Flamenco, they brought a style that was somewhere between flamenco and pop salsa onto the musical scene that drew as much criticism as praise, but which has won over the young public and has given them millions of sales. In their records they have mixed flamenco with salsa, Brazilian music, reggae, funk, jazz and, in their last work (2002) "Dame la Mano", they have been so bold as to mix it with hip hop and house music.
Ketama was formed in Madrid in the early eighties, taking its name from a well-known valley in Morocco.
The group consists of José Soto Sorderita, and Juan Carmona, both sons of gypsy flamenco families, who founded the group with Ray Heredia, the son of the bailador Josele Heredia. Each of the three come from great flamenco dynasties: the Heredias of Madrid
, the Habichuelas of Granada
and the Carmonas of Jerez.
Their first work, "Ketama", was released in 1985, although it was recorded two years earlier.
Nonetheless, Ketama did not just live off 'salsero' pop. Without ever leaving flamenco behind they incorporated in their music, a number of different musical genres: mainly those arising from black roots, like blues
, jazz or the African kora
, as well as funk, reggae and Brazilian music. .
The band was formed in the mid-1980s. The initial line-up featured José Soto (guitar), Juan Carmona (guitar) and Ray Heredia (vocals). Heredia left the band shortly afterwards, and was eventually replaced by Antonio and José Miguel Carmona. The trio briefly became a quartet, but this was only for a short time, as José Soto would leave Ketama a few records later.
First Ray Heredia and later José Soto left the band, and it was joined by José Miguel Carmona, on guitar, and Antonio Carmona, as a lead singer.
They earned international recognition with their third record, Songhai, a fusion of flamenco with Toumani Diabate
and Danny Thompson
´s African kora, which was praised in reviews in The Times and The International Herald Tribune. Nonetheless, their ultimate success was "De akí a Ketama", which was recorded live with the participation, among others, of Antonio Flores and Antonio Vega. It sold over a million copies, it spent a year in the Spanish hit parade, and won the Ondas award for Best Album (1995), Best Spanish Group (1996) and the Premio de la Música in the Best Song category in 1996 with the song "No estamos lokos". In the same year they contributed to the film Alma Gitana with two songs.
In 1987, "La Pipa de Kif" was released. The solo singing was still José Soto's responsibility, but in this record Antonio Carmona started to show the qualities that turned him into the band's undisputed leader. It is one of the works by Ketama that drew most acknowledgements and served to launch them at an international level. The record was mentioned in important newspapers like The Times and The International Herald Tribune, and in 1989 it came away with prizes for the best world music albums from prestigious international music magazines like New Musical Express and Folk Roots.
This record had a sequel in 1994, "Songhai 2".
Violins, an electric guitar, bass, piano, trumpet, trombone and sax can he heard playing alongside Ketama -which was still a quartet- in "Y es ke me han kambiao los tiempos" (1990). The time has come for the rumba and salsa, both of which are flamencoised in this record.
"El arte de lo invisible" (1993) leaves fusion temporarily aside and recovers a more traditional sound. Thus, Ketama came to make the live record to which it owes the fame that it attained in Spain. Until then, although it was a successful band with an acknowledged reputation, it had not reached the public at large yet.
"De akí a Ketama" (1995) represented a big push in terms of their economy and sales and it showed that the band's three members moved on the stage as comfortably as fish in water. Numerous artists participated, like El Potito, Chonchi Heredia, Antonio Vega, Antonio Flores and Juañares.
After "De akí a Ketama", the band tried to break away from their last record. It was conscious of the fact that it would be difficult to repeat such a big success but, at the same time, it did not want to be repetitive. The end product was "Konfusión" (1997), which achieved some good sales figures as well, without relinquishing their quality or the Ketama imprint. In 1998, the band won the Ondas award for the Best Album again, this time with Konfusión, which sold 300,000 copies.
In these early records, it is already possible to appreciate a review of the legacy of their respective families, although they are still distant from the audacious developments that were to come, not long afterwards. In 1988, "Songhai" was released on the market, and its name was that of the court of the Mandinga empire (Sudan). Here, flamenco was blended with African music, Toumani Diabate's kora to be specific, alongside which African choruses, the guitar playing and voices of Ketama and Danny Thompson's folk-jazz double bass could be heard.
The version of "Vente pa' Madrid" following the rhythm of the kora is indispensable. "Toma Ketama" arrived in 1999, following a compilation record that collected the best themes that they released between 1990 and 1997. "Toma Ketama" sounds more like a flamenco record than "Konfusión", although this does not mean that different influences like pop -which in reality had always been present-, blues or Latin rhythms are absent.
In 2002, Ketama went a step further and was so bold as to blend flamenco with rap, hip-hop and house music in "Dame la mano". This was the last release before their break-up began. In order not to leave anyone with a bad taste in their mouth, their farewell was accompanied by "20 pa' Ketama" (2004): twenty songs for their followers. With a selection of their best songs and few other new releases and surprises, the band put an end to their twenty-year professional and musical career.
And one cannot forget Ketama's contribution to cinema. In 1995, the band was responsible for the original soundtrack of the film "El efecto mariposa" (The butterfly effect), a Spanish film directed by Fernando Colomo. Their music was also heard in the film "Alma gitana", directed by Chus Gutiérrez and whose protagonist was Amara Carmona.
Source: esflamenco.com
Ketama also contributed to the AIDS benefit compilation album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon
(1998) produced by the Red Hot Organization
with "Dukeles".
Their current members are Antonio Carmona (Vocals) José Miguel Carmona, Juan Carmona.
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...
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....
group in the fusion flamenco style. The leaders of what has been called New Flamenco, they brought a style that was somewhere between flamenco and pop salsa onto the musical scene that drew as much criticism as praise, but which has won over the young public and has given them millions of sales. In their records they have mixed flamenco with salsa, Brazilian music, reggae, funk, jazz and, in their last work (2002) "Dame la Mano", they have been so bold as to mix it with hip hop and house music.
Ketama was formed in Madrid in the early eighties, taking its name from a well-known valley in Morocco.
The group consists of José Soto Sorderita, and Juan Carmona, both sons of gypsy flamenco families, who founded the group with Ray Heredia, the son of the bailador Josele Heredia. Each of the three come from great flamenco dynasties: the Heredias of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, the Habichuelas of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
and the Carmonas of Jerez.
Their first work, "Ketama", was released in 1985, although it was recorded two years earlier.
Nonetheless, Ketama did not just live off 'salsero' pop. Without ever leaving flamenco behind they incorporated in their music, a number of different musical genres: mainly those arising from black roots, like blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz or the African kora
Kora
Kora may refer to:* Kora , a stringed musical instrument of West African origin* Kora , a New Zealand reggae band** Kora , Kora album released in 2007* Kora , a type of pilgrimage in the Buddhist tradition...
, as well as funk, reggae and Brazilian music. .
The band was formed in the mid-1980s. The initial line-up featured José Soto (guitar), Juan Carmona (guitar) and Ray Heredia (vocals). Heredia left the band shortly afterwards, and was eventually replaced by Antonio and José Miguel Carmona. The trio briefly became a quartet, but this was only for a short time, as José Soto would leave Ketama a few records later.
First Ray Heredia and later José Soto left the band, and it was joined by José Miguel Carmona, on guitar, and Antonio Carmona, as a lead singer.
They earned international recognition with their third record, Songhai, a fusion of flamenco with Toumani Diabate
Toumani Diabaté
Toumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles.-Biography:...
and Danny Thompson
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
´s African kora, which was praised in reviews in The Times and The International Herald Tribune. Nonetheless, their ultimate success was "De akí a Ketama", which was recorded live with the participation, among others, of Antonio Flores and Antonio Vega. It sold over a million copies, it spent a year in the Spanish hit parade, and won the Ondas award for Best Album (1995), Best Spanish Group (1996) and the Premio de la Música in the Best Song category in 1996 with the song "No estamos lokos". In the same year they contributed to the film Alma Gitana with two songs.
In 1987, "La Pipa de Kif" was released. The solo singing was still José Soto's responsibility, but in this record Antonio Carmona started to show the qualities that turned him into the band's undisputed leader. It is one of the works by Ketama that drew most acknowledgements and served to launch them at an international level. The record was mentioned in important newspapers like The Times and The International Herald Tribune, and in 1989 it came away with prizes for the best world music albums from prestigious international music magazines like New Musical Express and Folk Roots.
This record had a sequel in 1994, "Songhai 2".
Violins, an electric guitar, bass, piano, trumpet, trombone and sax can he heard playing alongside Ketama -which was still a quartet- in "Y es ke me han kambiao los tiempos" (1990). The time has come for the rumba and salsa, both of which are flamencoised in this record.
"El arte de lo invisible" (1993) leaves fusion temporarily aside and recovers a more traditional sound. Thus, Ketama came to make the live record to which it owes the fame that it attained in Spain. Until then, although it was a successful band with an acknowledged reputation, it had not reached the public at large yet.
"De akí a Ketama" (1995) represented a big push in terms of their economy and sales and it showed that the band's three members moved on the stage as comfortably as fish in water. Numerous artists participated, like El Potito, Chonchi Heredia, Antonio Vega, Antonio Flores and Juañares.
After "De akí a Ketama", the band tried to break away from their last record. It was conscious of the fact that it would be difficult to repeat such a big success but, at the same time, it did not want to be repetitive. The end product was "Konfusión" (1997), which achieved some good sales figures as well, without relinquishing their quality or the Ketama imprint. In 1998, the band won the Ondas award for the Best Album again, this time with Konfusión, which sold 300,000 copies.
In these early records, it is already possible to appreciate a review of the legacy of their respective families, although they are still distant from the audacious developments that were to come, not long afterwards. In 1988, "Songhai" was released on the market, and its name was that of the court of the Mandinga empire (Sudan). Here, flamenco was blended with African music, Toumani Diabate's kora to be specific, alongside which African choruses, the guitar playing and voices of Ketama and Danny Thompson's folk-jazz double bass could be heard.
The version of "Vente pa' Madrid" following the rhythm of the kora is indispensable. "Toma Ketama" arrived in 1999, following a compilation record that collected the best themes that they released between 1990 and 1997. "Toma Ketama" sounds more like a flamenco record than "Konfusión", although this does not mean that different influences like pop -which in reality had always been present-, blues or Latin rhythms are absent.
In 2002, Ketama went a step further and was so bold as to blend flamenco with rap, hip-hop and house music in "Dame la mano". This was the last release before their break-up began. In order not to leave anyone with a bad taste in their mouth, their farewell was accompanied by "20 pa' Ketama" (2004): twenty songs for their followers. With a selection of their best songs and few other new releases and surprises, the band put an end to their twenty-year professional and musical career.
And one cannot forget Ketama's contribution to cinema. In 1995, the band was responsible for the original soundtrack of the film "El efecto mariposa" (The butterfly effect), a Spanish film directed by Fernando Colomo. Their music was also heard in the film "Alma gitana", directed by Chus Gutiérrez and whose protagonist was Amara Carmona.
Source: esflamenco.com
Ketama also contributed to the AIDS benefit compilation album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon
Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon
Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon is the eleventh entry in the Red Hot Benefit Series of compilation albums. The album and related television special were both created by the Red Hot Organization , an international organization whose objective in this project is to raise AIDS awareness in the...
(1998) produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
with "Dukeles".
Their current members are Antonio Carmona (Vocals) José Miguel Carmona, Juan Carmona.
Albums
- Ketama (Nuevos Medios, 1985)
- La pipa de Kif (Nuevos Medios, 1987)
- SonghaiSonghai (album)Songhai is a fusion flamenco album by Spanish band Ketama, working in collaboration with Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté and other musicians.*For further information see Songhai -Track listing:#"Jarabi"...
(with Toumani DiabateToumani DiabatéToumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles.-Biography:...
and Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
) (Nuevos Medios, 1988) - Y es ke me han kambiao los tiempos (Universal, 1990)
- Karma (recopilatorio) (Nuevos medios, 1990)
- Canciones hondas (recopilatorio) (Nuevos medios, 1992)
- Pa´ gente con Alma (Polygram, 1992)
- El Arte de lo invisible (Universal, 1993)
- Songhai 2 (with Toumani DiabateToumani DiabatéToumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles.-Biography:...
and Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
) (Nuevos medios, 1994) - De akí a KetamaDe akí a KetamaDe Aki A Ketama is a fusion flamenco album by Spanish band Ketama. It gave the group mainstream recognition within Spain. The album sold over 600,000 copies.- Track listing :All tracks by Ketama except were noted# "No estamos lokos " – 4:34...
(Universal, 1995) - Konfusión (Universal, 1997)
- Sabor Ketama (Mercury Records, 1998)
- Toma Ketama! (Universal, 1999)
- Dame la mano (Universal, 2002)
- Nuevos Medios Colección (Nuevos medios, 2002)
- 20 pa' Ketama (Universal, 2004)