Jolifanto

For all its depth of tradition, flamenco has always been moved by innovation. In 1979 Camarón de le Isla’s La Leyenda del Tiempo experimented with new sounds and in 1996 Enrique Morente worked with a full rock band on Omega. Now the cantaor Perrate takes up the mantle in his own way.

His last album Tres Golpes (reviewed in Songlines #179) caused a stir with the involvement of leading producer Raül Refree. Now, with Jolifanto Perrate goes a giant step further. His collaborators this time are the avant-garde electronic rock duo ZA! (think of them as a Catalan Chemical Brothers and you won’t be far wrong). And if that sounds wild, you’re getting the right picture.

On ‘Pregones’, Perrate sings over psychedelic rave and trumpet extemporisations. On the title-track, he is swarmed by electronic trance sounds. In places the sound is heavy, dense and industrial in texture. But the subtler tracks are some of the most successful, like the electric guitar-driven ‘Tarareos’ and ‘Steve Kahn’ carried by marimba sounds.

This outlandish, astounding release is guaranteed to displease many, but it might be one of the most important albums in any imagined future of flamenco.