Enrique Morente: The flamenco singer who embraced rock and metal

Posted On September 1, 2024September 1, 2024

The art of flamenco has roots dating back hundreds of years to the Romani people of 18th-century southern Spain. With deep ties to folklore, traditions, and cultural expression, flamenco is still rightly revered by the people of Spain. It is a virtually untouchable artform, incapable of being improved upon or modernised without losing the roots that make it so important to Spanish culture. However, that did not stop flamenco master Enrique Morente from attempting to update the musical style during the 1990s.

Morente found a natural affinity with flamenco music at a very young age, during his upbringing in 1940s Granada, and soon relocated to Msdrid during his teens to pursue his obvious talent for singing. While there, Morente took guidance from iconic figures of 20th-century flamenco, including the likes of Pepe de la Matrona, who took a particular liking to the young singer. Morente began his recording career during the late 1960s, paying faithful homage to the flamenco singers who had gone before him.

Much of this early period was storied by an unwavering dedication to the traditions and conventions of flamenco music. In the eyes of the Spanish public, there was little room to experiment when it came to flamenco, and any move away from those age-old traditions would be akin to treason. But alas, Morente was an artist at heart, and as his career as a flamenco vocalist progressed, his approach to music became increasingly experimental.

Outside of his performing career, Morente was said to be a particular fan of alternative rock music. Noise rock heroes Sonic Youth were reportedly a particular favourite, and the flamenco singer even got the chance to perform with the legendary New York outfit during a gig in Valencia back in 2005. Much to the dismay of flamenco purists, Morente soon began to incorporate this unexpected love for experimental rock into his music, culminating in the release of Omega in 1996.

The album was constructed by Morente alongside alternative rockers Lagartija Nick, who had established themselves on the Spanish rock scene during the early part of the 1990s. Collaborating with Morente for Omega, the artists began to fuse flamenco music with a variety of different rock styles. Most interestingly, the album attempted to fuse flamenco music with heavy metal in a move that delighted rock fans and deeply offended flamenco purists.

Its complex construction likely gives an idea why Omega took two years to record, and why its production was stoked by countless arguments and musical differences between Morente and the band. Nevertheless, the groundbreaking and controversial album changed the landscape of contemporary flamenco indefinitely, with Morente’s inclusion opening the door for various other flamenco artists to experiment with their own sound.

Although traditional, orthodox flamenco music still exists, and is thriving, across Spain, there are also multiple artists who aim to utilise the influences of flamenco in conjunction with other styles of rock, pop, and even metal.

Admittedly, much of the ‘flametal’ scene, as it is occasionally referred to, is pretty terrible, but then few flametal performers have the same deep love and appreciation for the origins of the style as Morente. If anybody could get away with experimenting with the sacred landscape of flamenco music, then it was Morente – and even he was ostracised from the upper echelon of flamenco as a result of this Frankenstein blend of metal and flamenco.

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