Gipsy Kings are a group from Arles and Montpellier in France. Their parents fled from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. They are Calé (Gitano) musicians, best known for bringing Rumba Catalana, a pop-oriented version of traditional flamenco music to worldwide audiences. Theirs is a kind of Rumba Flamenca style of music. Many songs of the Gipsy Kings fit social dances, such as Salsa and Rumba. Their music has been described as a place where "Spanish flamenco and Romani rhapsody meet salsa funk."
They explained the evolution of their sound in the 1996 PBS documentary of their lives and music "Tierra Gitana (Gipsy Ground)." Young brothers Nicholas, Canut and Paul Reyes accompanied their father, famed flamenco singer Jose Reyes, who started out singing "cante jondo (deep song)," traditional flamenco with long-running themes of passion, love, death, etc. Traditional flamenco song forms were not danced to except by "really great flamenco dancers," said Nicholas; when they played parties, ...
Created by dipity
on Jan 24, 2008
Last updated: 04/10/10 at 01:24 PM
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