romanedirisinghe.com » Flamenco

Smoke Eyed at La Carbonería

Roman Edirisinghe — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:49:17 +0000

I’ve finally posted some videos that I took at a flamenco bar called La Carbonería, in Sevilla, over six months ago. This event took place after all the official performances had finished: a guy walked into the bar carrying a guitar; I’m guessing he was a gypsy, even though he lacked the stereotypical long hair. The musicians left over from earlier performances all joined him in a smaller alcove, and the resulting late-night session is what I managed to catch on my camera. What is undocumented is that after many of the other musicians left, he (the dark complexioned guy on the right with the brown jacket and short hair) looked at me and insistently demanded me to sing a song. I replied that I didn’t know flamenco, that I was a foreigner, but he didn’t buy it. Eventually I relented, asked him for his guitar and proceeded to sing and play a song. It wasn’t flamenco by any stretch (it was an East Indian tune called Ghoom Charakhana), but my delivery made him eat his foot. I wasn’t sure what he was after in challenging an amateur (at flamenco) to perform, but I hope he learned the error of his ways. In the end I didn’t return to the establishment for some time, hoping to avoid a similar scenario. Subsequent to this event was when I started my official flamenco lessons.

Melinda y su Amigos

Roman Edirisinghe — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:51:32 +0000

Here is another video of a friend from Sevilla dancing flamenco.

Date: March 12, 2008
Location: Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo
Dance: Melinda Hedgecorth
Vocals: Javier Rivera/ David “El Gamba”
Guitar: Jordi Flores

Flamenco Dancing

Roman Edirisinghe — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:10:38 +0000

Bernardo of Anarko Flamenco dancing bulerias, while Oriol and Carlos accompany him on the cajón.The crowded streets are a result of Semana Santa (the week preceding Easter).

Impromptu Flamenco

Roman Edirisinghe — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:07:05 +0000

I met some really cool musicians here in Sevilla, and here they are improvising an impromptu Flamenco song while we were sitting around at a café. Pictured from left to right are Marina, Tyson, Oriol, and Carlos.

Tomatito

Roman Edirisinghe — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:35:56 +0000

Last night, I was fortunate to buy the last available ticket for a Tomatito show. When the show started, he came out alone, and brought me to the point of tears with his musical finesse. After the first song, his musical companions joined him – 2 singers, another guitarist, a percussionist, and a dancer. These guys really knew how to put on a fantastic presentation, and they managed to do it without uttering one word (save lyrics) to the audience. It was certainly awesome to see one of my (many) guitar heroes performing live.

Here is a video clip of the encore, which was interrupted by an usher telling me I couldn’t film. Oops.