Australia’s premier flamenco guitarist Paco Lara brings his ensemble to the Palais Geelong to launch his new album Duende on Saturday, June 10.
For Lara, who brought his family to Australia from Jerez in the south of Spain in 2017, the album is an ode to his homeland.
“The meaning of duende in Spanish is about that moment of inspiration when you compose, when you’re performing; that moment when there’s a special connection between the artist and the music, the artist with his instrument, with his audience,” Lara said.
“It’s a spiritual connection, that is the meaning of duende. After five years in Australia, four years with the problem of COVID, I couldn’t travel to Spain, and I felt very, very lonely and very nostalgic.
“And I found that connection, that duende, inspired by memories of my childhood, the nostalgia for my land. That feeling made me compose this album and create this new music.”
Possessing virtuosic ability on the guitar, Lara has performed and recorded with some of flamenco’s most significant musicians and dancers in his career of over 30 years, including Beni de Cádiz, Mercedes Ruiz, Miguel Flores “El Capullo de Jerez”, Tomasa Guerrero “La Macanita” and Remedios Amaya.
“Flamenco is a music that emerged in the south of Spain in the 18th century; it’s the expression of people who worked the land to survive, very poor people, very humble people,” Lara said.
“Flamenco has a lot of different styles and different expressions. It depends on the area of Spain – Jerez, Cadiz, Sevilla – different palos, different styles.
“All of them express different things; happiness, parting, love, and they express, too, the feeling of oppression.”
Lara has worked hard to establish his growing fanbase and reputation in Australia, saying Australian audiences responded amazingly well to flamenco music.
“I think people enjoy my music because I enjoy my music, from the composition to the stage. It’s impossible to make the audience enjoy it if you don’t enjoy yourself on the stage,” Lara said.
“You have to live, you know. I never play the same thing, I improvise on the stage and I leave the music free. And people enjoy that.
“I was in Darebin Theatre in Melbourne last year, a sold-out concert, and people enjoyed it a lot; it felt like playing in Spain, but in Melbourne.
“I hope in Geelong it will be another nice experience like that, and I want to invite everyone to come to the concert on the 10th, (which is also) my birthday.”
