EDGE OF THE WORLD
OJOS de BRUJO
STORY MARIO OÑA | PHOTOS JULIA MONTILLA
Barcelona’s 10-piece traveling Gypsy music carnival, Ojos de Brujo,
caught the attention of music fans around the world by splicing their
infectious flamenco rhythmic patterns with any and every sonic tex-
ture they could get their ears on. From American hip-hop to Indian
bhangra, the musical adventurers continue to broaden their already
vast musical landscape on their third album, Techarí.
On this new effort, released on their own equally new label, Diquela
Records, Ojos function more like an entrepreneurial juggernaut than
simply the garish face of neo-flamenco. Yet despite investing energy
and time in handling everything from promotion to licensing them-
selves, the band whose name means “wizard’s eyes” continues to
look forward with a sense of energy and invention.
“Barí was loaded with the experience of traveling together and get-
ting to know each other’s musical instruments and style of playing,”
20 GLOBAL RHYTHM DECEMBER_06
says Max Wright, who plays percussion and raps in the band. “Now
that we have that, we’ve begun investigating different musical styles.
For example, in ‘Respira’ there’s seguirilla—a 12-beat flamenco cycle
similar to soléa and bulería that is usually a slow tempo, but that we
kinda mixed into reggae.”
While Techarí doesn’t have the first-impression novelty their first
two albums did, it’s Ojos’ most stylistically ambitious and avant-garde
work to date, with a number of collaborations with friends they’ve met
along the way. “There are people that have meant a lot to us during
our musical careers and thanks to God, we’ve been able to meet and
collaborate with them on this album.”
Ojos’ sonic expansionist doctrine couldn’t be more audible than
on the superb single, “Todo Tiende,” where Asian Dub Foundation’s
drummer, Pritpal “Cyber” Rajput, plays the dhol, a percussion instru-
ment used in festive Indian bhangra music from the Punjab region.
While a few tracks suffer from adding too many ingredients to the
pot, on “Todo Tiende” they add just as many spices and somehow
still get it right.
More than a simple collaboration, there is a true affinity with the
Senegalese rap trio Daara J, who appear on “Runali,” which originally
came together when both groups partied
and jammed after they each won the award
for Best Band of their respective continents—
Europe and Africa—at the 2004 BBC Radio
Awards for World Music. “It was a very spe-
cial night for both of us—huge emotions,”
recalls Wright.
We try to keep
an open mind
and maintain our
a large fan base. Nonetheless, the band
dives into the fray on songs like “El Confort
No Reconforta” (“Comfort Isn’t Comfort-
ing”) and “Piedras Vs. Tanques” (“Rocks Vs.
Tanks”), which appears on the compilation A
Bush No Le Va A Gustar (Bush Isn’t Going
To Like It), in protest of the U.S. President’s
attendance at the Summit of the Americas
in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 2005. Though
this probably earned them more fans than
any sort of Dixie Chicks-esque backlash,
Ojos made the decision without weighing the
consequences beforehand.
Their populist politics manifests itself on
There is also Ediciones Tahitá, which is the
band’s publishing company since early ’06.
This means that from this new album forward,
the band owns its own songs. But artistic
freedom comes with concessions. Strict
self-management is impossible if you want to
travel the world. So the band does licensing
deals like the one with Stateside company
Six Degrees for the U.S. and Canada.
The “artistic autonomy” also applies to
touring. Ojos go where they please when they
please. The band is currently contemplating
a possible tour of Latin America in spring
2007 to “experience the music,” Wright says.

philosophy of doing the business side in other ways, too: In addi-

tion to being a band with global appeal and
“We try to keep an open mind and maintain
our philosophy of doing things that we like

things that we like an exquisite visual-audio-visceral live show

(captured on their live DVD, Girando Barí,
and not things that are economically viable.”
In essence, Ojos has become a world
directed by their traveling VJ, Andre Cruz), music band that not only demolishes bound-
and not things that Ojos are a DIY musical cooperative deter- aries in its march toward musical globaliza-
mined to remain self-managed, self-produced tion, but also creates its own dirt roads within
are economically and self-sufficient. Band drummer Sergio a music industry focused on superhighways.
Ramos runs the finances, while conga player While many bands talk about putting the
viable. Xavi Turull handles the label and publishing. music before the dollar, few seem to actually
Singer Marina Abad coordinates all the do it. Ojos de Brujo not only managed to find
Wright acknowledges that there are a few graphic design and guitarist Ramón Giménez that rare balance between art and business,
line-up changes for the new album, but he is in charge of promotion. DJ Panko and but do so without compromise. ·
feels it’s for the better: “The main change on Wright do all the remixing.
Techarí was definitely [founding member and
bassist] Juanlu’s departure. Juanlu left for
personal reasons and wanted to do his own
project. And then Javi Martin joined. He’s a
spectacular musician who I think has added
much more to the band with his experience
and knowledge of flamenco. He’s recording
at the moment with Duquende—one of the
biggest voices in flamenco right now.”
Another new face is Carlitos Sarduy,
a 21-year-old trumpeter from Cuba. “Adding
a trumpet,”explains Wright, “is something
very distinct in Ojos, because the only melodic
instruments we’ve had until now were the
guitar and bass. Suddenly having someone
who is free to not only do the rhythmical
breaks, but to also fly on the trumpet, gives
incredible new melodic dimension which
adds a lot, especially to rumba.”
But the freedom that the title of the album
suggests (techarí means “free” in the Gypsy
dialect Caló) isn’t espoused only in the music;
it’s also in their lyrics and politics as well as
the group’s approach to life.
In Spain, for example, where the race and
immigration debate is at the boiling point,
sticking up for social justice could mean losing