INTERVIEW: Tonino Baliardo on 25 years of Gipsy Kings music

The Gipsy Kings, the wonderfully diverse band rooted in traditional flamenco styles, celebrates 25 years of world-music domination this year. They have a new Grammy-winning album, Savor Flamenco, and a new U.S. tour. From “Djobi Djoba” to “Bem, Bem Maria” to the new “Caramelo”, the Gipsy Kings have been busy the past quarter of a century.

The group consists of two sets of brothers, now based in the Camargue region of France. There’s Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Patchai and Andre on the Reyes side, and Tonino, Paco and Diego on the Baliardo side. Music runs in the family, and they are descendants of the famous Jose Reyes and Manitas de Plata. Among their many hit songs are “Bamboleo” and a unique rendition of “Volare”. Their style can sometimes be difficult to classify: From flamenco to pop to rumba, the Gipsy Kings are truly multicultural, attracting audiences from around the world.

Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Tonino Baliardo, lead guitarist and co-writer/producer of the new album. The band speaks French, although audiences can hear them sing predominantly in the Spanish dialect of Gitane (Spanish, French, Catalan). Gitane culture is based in southern Spain. The interview has been translated into English.

You are celebrating 25 years as the Gipsy Kings. From your humble beginnings, could you ever imagine the success the band would have in 2014?

No, we could not. It has been a long, strange but completely gratifying trip. All we ever wanted to do was play with our brothers and make a living out of it. That was the dream, which turned into some much more.

The Gipsy Kings are often labeled as “world music,” but there are so many great influences in the songs. How would you classify your music? 

We are the music of the world. Our music is based on our forefathers, who over the years, picked up sounds and rhythms from all of their travels, which included Africa, the Middle East, India and Europe. We, too, hear music from all over the world and incorporate it in what we do.

Where did the inspiration for Savor Flamenco come from? It has been a few years since your last album.

We decided that on this project we would do everything ourselves: writing, playing, producing, and making all musical decisions.

With our busy schedule and a change from what we usually do, it takes time. We also have our lives with our families and we must try and live it. It all takes a lot of time. We do over 150 tour dates a year.

Our inspiration came from being able to control this all on our own, we simply never did that before. Winning the Grammy really meant something to us at such a personal level for that reason.

The Gipsy Kings tour extensively, coming to the United States several times a year. What is it about the open road and the fans that you love so much? 

We could not do it if it was not for our fans.

On two levels:  One, they support us by buying tickets, records, merchandise and enabling us to continue to do this. That is big.

On the other level, we get so much back from the audience and how generous they are. They keep us going and are the reason we do this. Period.

As two sets of brothers — how is it working with family on stage and on albums? Do your close relationships make work easier or tougher? 

It really cuts both ways.

It would be honest to say we have our moments as brothers. We fight, argue, and at times do other things.

But we are family. We’ve known each other from when we were born. Blood is thicker than water and that helps us to create the music and sounds we do. We know what one another is going to do. You cannot get that from someone outside the family. There is a trust and a knowing there.

Do you feel the band is an ambassador for Gitane culture? Does that responsibility of representing your history mean a lot? 

We feel a deep responsibility to our forefathers and our people. We want to make a good impression wherever we go.

We also realize you cannot please everyone all of the time.

So we just try and do what makes us feel good and what the audience gives us back. If they are happy, we are happy. And maybe they learn a bit of where we come from. It’s great.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• The Gipsy Kings’ new album is out now. Click here for more information on Savor Flamenco and their tour dates.