Flamenco: Pasado y Presente

The songs on Argentinian producer and guitarist Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde’s new album are mostly originals, but much emphasis is made on their roots in Indian ragas and Arabic maqamat. Hence the title’s reference to the past and present of flamenco. Nor is this his first excursion into the hazily defined roots of this music. His past album was subtitled Music of Ancient Andalusia. So, the most surprising thing about this disc is how modern it sounds. Not just the production, but the gently jazzy chord work on several tracks as well as the greater focus given to song structures and melody than you typically hear in ‘traditional’ flamenco.

The result offers a good deal of variation, without straying far from a familiar flamenco/Latin sound. ‘Puente Romaní’ might be light rock, for example, while ‘Medina Sidonia’, despite the Saudi Arabian reference in the title, could be the perfect summer soundtrack for beachcombers. Although at moments the music totters uneasily into easy listening territory, this tastefully produced album looks more towards one possible future of flamenco rather than its past. Less intensity, perhaps, but with a broader and more international language.