Needles & Grooves AoTM /// Vol. 4 - October 2019 /// Camarón de la isla - La leyenda del tiempo

@Skalap commented on the dark and bright contrast throughout this album, and I wanted to share something I found when translating the lyrics. It's only a theory I built out of my personal interpretation, but I found it pretty intriguing nevertheless:

You may have noticed that Side B has an overall darker feel than Side A, even though it opens with the most upbeat song in the album. I blame that, in part, to the last 3 tracks, which are some of the darkest both in their themes and sound. "Bahía de Cádiz" is the last "happy" song on the album, and it is followed by 3 tracks that I found to share one thing in common: a prominent Middle Eastern influence. "Viejo Mundo" -the song @Skalap mentioned as having his favorite lyrics on the album- is an adaptation of a poem by Omar Khayyam, a Persian poet and mathematician who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries. I think the Middle Eastern elements on "Tangos de la sultana" are pretty evident in its titles and lyrics, and "Nana del caballo grande" features a sitar that serves as a beautiful background for Camarón's voice. With all this, one could say that the last 3 songs show the "Moor" side of Andalusia after showing the Romani and Spaniard sides before that. All of this comes right after the last words on "Bahía de Cádiz"(again, the last "happy" and Romani/Spaniard song on the album): Island of the Guadalquivir, where all the moors who wouldn't leave went, openings the door for what comes next. I don't know if this was some sort of concept that Camarón and his producer thought about, and I have never read about this theory/interpretation, but I find it hard to believe that it could all be a coincidence.
 
agutierrezb said:
Awesome! Drop by and share your thoughts once you get a chance to spin it.
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I've streamed it quite a bit already.
Flamenco brings back a lot of childhood memories. My grandmother was from Galicia and she loved Flamenco. I'm pretty sure there's a picture of her as a Flamenco dancer at my mom's.
Paco de Lucia was always the first name that came to my mind and I remember falling in love with his music through the soundtrack of "The Hit". It's an 80's movie set in Spain with Terence Stamp.
Somehow I didn't own any Flamenco records until now.
La Leyenda del Tiempo, Romance del Amargo and Homenaje a Federico are simply amazing, what a way to start an album.
 
agutierrezb said:
@Skalap commented on the dark and bright contrast throughout this album, and I wanted to share something I found when translating the lyrics. It's only a theory I built out of my personal interpretation, but I found it pretty intriguing nevertheless:

You may have noticed that Side B has an overall darker feel than Side A, even though it opens with the most upbeat song in the album. I blame that, in part, to the last 3 tracks, which are some of the darkest both in their themes and sound. "Bahía de Cádiz" is the last "happy" song on the album, and it is followed by 3 tracks that I found to share one thing in common: a prominent Middle Eastern influence. "Viejo Mundo" -the song @Skalap mentioned as having his favorite lyrics on the album- is an adaptation of a poem by Omar Khayyam, a Persian poet and mathematician who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries. I think the Middle Eastern elements on "Tangos de la sultana" are pretty evident in its titles and lyrics, and "Nana del caballo grande" features a sitar that serves as a beautiful background for Camarón's voice. With all this, one could say that the last 3 songs show the "Moor" side of Andalusia after showing the Romani and Spaniard sides before that. All of this comes right after the last words on "Bahía de Cádiz"(again, the last "happy" and Romani/Spaniard song on the album): Island of the Guadalquivir, where all the moors who wouldn't leave went, openings the door for what comes next. I don't know if this was some sort of concept that Camarón and his producer thought about, and I have never read about this theory/interpretation, but I find it hard to believe that it could all be a coincidence.
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Interesting analysis. He may have wanted to share the main roots of gypsy people?
 
Skalap said:
Interesting analysis. He may have wanted to share the main roots of gypsy people?
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Probably. Also, the centuries-long Muslim domination of Spain left a huge impact in its culture, specially in the south, where Flamenco was originated. After the conquest of Granada in 1492 (The same year as the discovery of America), the Moors had two options: to convert to christianism or to leave, hence the last phrase on "Bahía de Cádiz". In a way, both gypsies and Moors share not only a geographic and cultural background, but also a history of persecution and segregation in the Iberian peninsula.
 
gaporter said:
I took me a few minutes to find it but there's an option at the *very* bottom of the site to "switch to English"

^ this may be helpful info to other English speaking peeps looking to order
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Yeah with most mainland European websites they’re very helpful and have that as an option at the bottom so it’s always my first look! Unfortunately in the English speaking world we are not quite so accommodating lol
 
Oh my, I REALLY hope this works. I placed an order for @D Jilla and was charged right away, so I hope that means they have the item in stock and his copy is now "secured". If you ordered on this site, please update us all if you get a shipping notice or something.... I had lost all hope on people getting the album, so this would be amazing news.
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah with most mainland European websites they’re very helpful and have that as an option at the bottom so it’s always my first look! Unfortunately in the English speaking world we are not quite so accommodating lol
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Actually what really impressed me was in Madrid that all the major airports and train stations had every sign in both Spanish and English and all the ticket machines etc had English options. You’d never get the same courtesy in reverse. That said we do already have 2 languages on all our signs, a third might be a bit much...
 
agutierrezb said:
Oh my, I REALLY hope this works. I placed an order for @D Jilla and was charged right away, so I hope that means they have the item in stock and his copy is now "secured". If you ordered on this site, please update us all if you get a shipping notice or something.... I had lost all hope on people getting the album, so this would be amazing news.
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I'll try to keep everyone posted if I get a shipping notification or anything, can confirm I was also charged right away. Fingers crossed 🤞
 
agutierrezb said:
Oh my, I REALLY hope this works. I placed an order for @D Jilla and was charged right away, so I hope that means they have the item in stock and his copy is now "secured". If you ordered on this site, please update us all if you get a shipping notice or something.... I had lost all hope on people getting the album, so this would be amazing news.
Click to expand...

I independently placed my own order since I underestimated the generosity of @agutierrezb (you're awesome!). Still, I'll keep my own order open, too. If it comes through, I'll have it for anyone who doesn't want to deal with overseas shipping. @duke86fan - you'd get first dibs if you wanted it. I promise not to include any contraband when shipping 😂
 
D Jilla said:
I independently placed my own order since I underestimated the generosity of @agutierrezb (you're awesome!). Still, I'll keep my own order open, too. If it comes through, I'll have it for anyone who doesn't want to deal with overseas shipping. @duke86fan - you'd get first dibs if you wanted it. I promise not to include any contraband when shipping 😂
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Thanks for the offer

But it's fine if someone else gets it

I'm planning on either swapping to Rosalia or being a slave for vmp
 
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