Born in Malaga and adopted by Granada, Alfredo Tejada He is a flamenco singer with a long and distinguished career who is always seeking new paths for his art. He has accompanied figures such as La Lupi, Mario Maya, Marco Flores, Blanca del Rey, Antonio Canales, El Farru, Eva La Yerbabuena, and Olga Pericet, but without ever neglecting his personal projects. On his fifth album, Broken verse, explores a territory he had not previously tackled.
“My idea was to revive the cuplé,” the artist confesses. “Logically, not by copying it exactly as they did it.” Bambino, Fernanda or, for example, The RepompaI shared the stage with him for many years. Rafaela"I was La Repompa's sister, and I heard many of her songs. I always had a great desire to make an album in this genre, but I didn't want to imitate what they did, but rather bring it to the musical concept that I understand and with the way I like to create."
A total of nine tracks make up this album, in which the public will find everything from a composition of Mercedes Sosa to the famous I hope you die, Cheo Feliciano, in the style of bulerías. “There are also a couple of my unreleased songs adapted to the cuplé, a composition by the Argentinian Roberto Livi, who sang a lot Dyango and that I heard Rafael, the one from La Repompa; Let's go out tonightAnother cuplé in the bulerías style. I also recovered some tangos from a group in Huelva called Sendero“…a flamenco group that I really liked,” he lists. “To complete the album, I wanted to include two new songs that he made me Gonzalo Grau, Venezuelan composer of La Clave Secreta, among them Wall, which are tributes to Bambino.”
"That's the most complicated thing: to take something that's already been heard and make it sound like you, to stand out and have your own unique style. There are songs that have been covered a lot, like 'La pared' or 'Se nos rompió el amor', and the key there is not to sound like anyone else."
All this without losing the essence of flamenco. “The identity of a singer flamenco It's there; my reflections sing flamenco“Although I compose for other genres or international artists, my signature style is always present on this album, both musically and in the way I present it,” Tejada asserts. cante or the cuplé towards flamenco.”
This repertoire is ready for release on digital platforms on April 10th. “We’ll also release it in physical format in digipak, but instead of a CD, I’ll use a USB drive, because we have to keep up with the times: CDs are practically impossible to sell,” Tejada explains. “This way, people can listen to it in the car or on their computer. It will include all the album information: musicians, acknowledgments, etc.”
The master's degree of Broken Verse It has been done in San Francisco with Oscar Autie, El Cerrito RecordsTop-level guitarists have participated, such as Flavio Rodríguez, Antonio de la Luz y Jose Tomas, as well as musicians of the caliber of Francis Gómez, David Galeano, Antonio Coronel o Butt“You have to take great care with the production and the concept,” says the flamenco singer. “I knew I had to do it with great care. I’m very happy with the result; it lives up to what I imagined and I think it will surprise people.”
When asked what makes the cuplé so timeless, Alfredo Tejada doesn't hesitate to answer: “I think the cuplé has truth. There's always a story behind it, like in the Andalusian copla. There's depth, a solid foundation, and a lot of passion. It's something exciting and timeless; it never goes out of style. It's an essence we must maintain and recover, as greats like Bambino taught us.”
"I think the fear is thinking you might lose your identity, but I was born with it." flamencoI come from a family that taught me that music is freedom. The artist needs to be free and express themselves. You have to fall in love with the artist, not just the singer. With what they offer, not just what is demanded of them.
In this sense, when interpreting these songs, the most difficult thing has been, “above all, avoiding sounding repetitive, not repeating what's already been done, but bringing it into my own territory, to how I feel it. That's the most complicated part: taking something that's already been heard and making it sound like you, making a difference and having your own signature. There are many covers of songs, like Wall o Our love broke downAnd the key is not to sound like anyone else. That's been the main goal of this album.”
However, fans sometimes want flamenco singers to stick to certain parameters. How do you convince them to do other things? “Like others have done before,” Tejada replies. “When something is well done, you should enjoy the music, not suffer through it. Besides, I have in mind a new album that will be an anthology of canteSo the fan can rest easy. I think the fear is thinking you might lose your identity, but I was born with it. flamencoI come from a family of musicians who taught me that music is freedom. You have to do what you feel, always with respect, affection, and taking care of what you do. The artist needs to be free and express themselves. You have to fall in love with the artist, not just the singer, with what they offer, not just with what is demanded of them.”
Finally, when asked what would constitute success for this album, he replies: “I’m already satisfied because the result is what I wanted. Recording albums these days is very complicated and they don’t always pay off; they’re done out of passion, to keep creating and moving forward. The greatest satisfaction is the result. Whether people like it or not, that’s a personal matter. The market is very volatile, even disoriented. Before, everything was clearer; now, not so much. I think an artist’s goal shouldn’t be to reach the masses, but to search, to stay current, to be avant-garde, but with a cultural background and a solid foundation. The most authentic thing is to be yourself, with something to say and something to hold on to.” ♦
