Ojos de Brujo at the Roundhouse

More fun from the Roundhouse last week. That Cuban trumpeter can do keyboards too.

I've said before that I think Ojos de Brujo's blend of Flamenco with Latin rhythms and hip hop is variably successful. Still, Spain is in an enviable position when it comes to fusion potential. Compare for example Italy, which appears to be the only major Mediterranean country without a folk tradition, at least not one that has any visibility on the 'world music' scene compared to the likes of Fado and Flamenco.

A couple of weeks ago V recommended to me an album of songs called Nessuno È Solo by Tiziano Ferro: "the next Eros Ramazzotti" she said...not necessarily an entirely good thing.

Spain gets its afro influence via its former colonies, but in truth there's very little sign of indigenous MOBO at the San Remo Song Festival. Still, this early hit from Tiziano (who does have that unfortunate Lazio fan look about him) seems to have an enjoyable, Franco-Senegalese kind of beat: