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Ojos de Brujo (Spain)
Song : Naitá
Album : Bari (La Fabrica de Colores, Spain)
Visit : www.ojosdebrujo.com
Elsewhere in BBCi : WOMAD 2003 audio | CD review
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Have any other largely unknown act ever won over the Womad public so convincingly as Ojos De Brujo did when they took the main stage on Sunday afternoon at Womad Reading 2003? Although fRoots magazine had profiled the band and Charlie Gillett had played tracks from their 2002 album Bari (Edsel) on his BBC London radio show the Ojos remained a new entity to the general world music public. But not for long! Vocalist Marina Arab, whose flowing black locks and golden robes immediately announced her as the festival's most striking visual presence, grabbed the microphone and wailed, the Ojos kicked in and all of Womad seemed to rise to the magical musical alchemy erupting on stage.
I don't use the word 'magic' lightly when writing on Ojos De Brujo – their name translates as 'Eyes of the Wizard' and the group certainly believe in the earth's elemental energies. Perhaps this is what lends their music such a driving passion. Ojos De Brujo are a Barcelona-based musical collective. Their 2001 debut album Vengue (Edsel) found the band lead by noted Catalan producer/singer Dani 'el mono loco' (literally 'the crazy monkey’). Dani also fronts the successful Catalan band Macaco and when their 2002 album took off across Europe he had to withdraw from Ojos.
Marina was already in the band and for the Bari album she stepped forward, bringing her mix of wailing vocal and brusque Catalan rapping to the forefront. The band members play a variety of instruments and a DJ lends percussive scratching to the sound. 'Flamenco hip-hop' is how one critic described the band. That's fitting yet the band draw on a vast reservoir of sounds – Catalan rumba, reggae, rock, Indian, dance music and more all flow into the Ojos sound.
Inspired by the Spanish Gypsy ethos, Ojos De Brujo are very much a 21st Century roots band.
Garth Cartwright, October 2003
 Tell us what you think
Read other peoples comments
chupa
yes i love them!! the girls are lovely.. i always miss the m when they come to UK but thanx to portable cd's,,, whilst lying in a field just outside santiago i got the feeling that they were singing to me!! must have been the sunshine eh!!! still in love with them.. wish i could play as good as the guys, wish i was dating the girls... thanx odb!! for everything!
Fri Jun 10 18:54:18 2005
raeesah ( leicester)
i love this band sooo much!!
i heard them for the first ime on later with jools holland and was astounded!!! what an excellent array of ecclectic sound!
Mon Jan 3 00:57:32 2005
seb (brighton)
simply the best music I've herad in ages... so fresh yet strictly roots !!! A supperb mixture of influences . Simply love it!
Sat Jun 5 14:17:02 2004
Oscar
This is a real new art of music. Never heard something like this.
Sat Jan 31 10:10:07 2004
HACHIcha
simply the best music for wake up in a cloudy day!
Thu Jan 29 11:19:14 2004
Rhode Island, USA
What an amazing sound! I just don't think it gets any better than "Ojos".
Wed Jan 28 18:59:38 2004
claudio
ojos de brujo the band that changes your mind!don´t forget this!
Wed Jan 28 09:22:21 2004
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