kiki morente She was not yet six years old when unusual turmoil gripped her home. Her father, Enrique MorenteHe had been absorbed for months by an idea, a new project that wasn't going to be just any album. The great flamenco singer, who had already revolutionized the flamenco Several times, he was preparing to give the genre a new twist with texts by Federico Garcia Lorca y Leonard Cohen along with some eccentric traveling companions: the Granada-based punk rock band Nick lizard.
The invention came to be called OmegaAfter the initial shock, it became an almost instant classic and is an essential reference point on every list of the best Spanish albums of the 20th century. Now, thirty years later, that boy who gazed in wonder at those men in boots and leather jackets reunites with them to commemorate that milestone.
“I have very funny memories, flashes of memory, and very nice photos of my father with Lagartija,” Kiki recalls. “For example, the first time I saw a bass guitar and an electric guitar was precisely at a rehearsal of OmegaBut above all, I retain the feeling in my head that something strange was happening at home, that my father was doing something important.”
For his part, Nick, the singer and bassist of Lagartija, Antonio Arias placeholder imageHe recalls that “at that time the Granada scene was very different. People like my brother, Mariano Maresca, Julio Juste or the poet Javier Egea we used to get together in La Tertulia And we lived that intoxicating, luminous friendship that Enrique spoke of, in which all ideas were welcome. We didn't think about problems; everything was a discovery.”
"I have very funny memories, flashes of memory, and very beautiful photos of my father with Lagartija. For example, the first time I saw a bass guitar and an electric guitar was precisely at an Omega rehearsal. But above all, I retain the feeling that something strange was happening at home, that my father was doing something important" (Kiki Morente)
In that context, Arias would meet at Morente's house around a small table to prepare the songs for what would become the album. "I remember the children running around us, Aurora [Carbonell, Morente's wife] taking them away… Each song came out immediately, gained popularity, and grew and grew. Then we started on the album, which we paid a very high price for: me with the group, Enrique in the flamencoBut we were in a creative bubble and we didn't care about anything."
“We knew we wanted to immerse ourselves in Omega without fully grasping the project’s true scope,” Arias continues. “But if a master calls you, drop everything, because it will change the way you see music. Everything I know about rock, Enrique taught me: what freedom with your work means, how far you can go when you’re being beaten down and ignored for years. Enrique was a shaman, a guru.”
El Cordoba Guitar Festival This is the setting in which this resurrection is staged OmegaSpecifically, on July 11th, and will continue with a tour that already includes Madrid, Seville, Marbella, and the Pirineos Sur festival, among other venues. “It’s a responsibility I take on out of passion and respect, with the idea of bringing this repertoire to a beautiful place, because otherwise, it will devour us.It's an imposing album, full of energy, with a lot of weight. It's not easy at all.“Kiki says.
Like her sisters, Estrella y SoleaKiki Morente has made her own way in the flamenco with albums like El CanteAlbayzín o JetBut this, he assures us, is something else entirely. The only thing that's clear is that he doesn't intend to emulate the cante Original, to play Enrique. “The idea is to bring it into my own world, of course. The last thing I would want is to do an imitation, like those Michael Jackson tribute shows. It's simply a flamenco singer's interpretation, born from love and commitment. My father's spirit is ever-present; I enjoy singing his songs, but I try to approach them in my own way."To put on a fun live show and for people to enjoy that very special noise."
“I can’t say that Omega "It's my favorite album of my father's," he points out, "because he taught me that they all have their own patina and energy." Omega He's a monster, but I also often listen The small clock, the Lorca, Flamenco essence"I go through streaks."
"We paid a very high price for the album: me with the group, Enrique in the flamencoBut we were in a creative bubble and nothing else mattered. (...) But if a master calls you, drop everything, because it will change the way you see music. Everything I know about rock, Enrique taught me: what freedom with your work is, how far you can go when you're being beaten down and ignored for years. Enrique was a shaman, a guru" (Antonio Arias)
This tour takes Kiki Morente back to his childhood, but for Lagartija, it's a direct trip down memory lane, reminding them where they were three decades ago and what they did. “I learn a lot from Antonio Arias; he tells me stories about how the album was made, details… It allows me to get to know my father in a different way,” says the young flamenco singer. “He taught my sisters and me to be a bit punk through this album, or at least a part of me feels that way because of it.” Omega".
Will this project continue, or will it all end with the 30th anniversary celebrations? “We haven’t even had time to think about it,” admits Kiki. “It was such an emotional and impulsive decision that for now we’re only thinking about the tour. If it gives me or my sisters any ideas that would allow us to continue, we will, but it’s difficult.”
“Right now, everything is so unique and so immediate that thinking longer-term overwhelms us,” Arias adds. “The important thing is that We've revisited this project, which was much more than just a flamenco singer with a group; it was a flamenco singer with everything that came with it: Tomatito, Cañizares, Vicente Amigo, the girls… Something that, as a musician, forced you to improve and adapt. They are two worlds that coexist, where everything is a learning experience and egos go to hell.” ♦
