Buika

One of the first words that Larry Rohter used to describe singer Concha Buika was ecletic.  The Merriam-Webster definition would be: “composed of elements drawn from various sources”, but another way to look at it would be in the words of Rohter: “from everywhere at once and nowhere in particular.”  Although Concha Buika has a many influences, such as jazz, pop, soul, flamenco, and African poly-rhythm, her record producer said that “she’s clearly Spanish in the way she feels music and life.”
Concha Buika was born in Majorca, a Spanish Mediterranean Island.  Her parents were from Equatorial Guinea, where they fled from the African dictatorship.  Growing up in Majorca, Buika was the only African child there, and so she sympathized with the local gypsies, absorbing their style of deep singing and passion for flamenco.  About ten years ago, Buika was still having a hard time making it as a singer, and she was in Las Vegas doing imitations of Tina Turner.  Now, her latest CD “El Último Trago” is being nominated for two Latin Grammy awards, and she as collaborated with Nelly Furtado and Seal.
Buika has the husky, soulful voice that can get very emotional.  She also mentions Billy Holiday as one of her influences (whom ToniAnn talked about in one of her previous posts), as well as Nina Simone,.  I feel like anything she sings would sound good, but fortunately, I very much like her music too.   Listening to a various songs on youtube, I could definitely hear the different influences in her music.  Even though it is a little hard to define which parts come from which influences, I feel like Buika’s music tends to be more on the soft, lyrical, and expressive side.  It seems to me that there is a definite Spanish influence in the way she sings as well, despite the fact that she is singing in Spanish.link to NYTimes article

Here is “Soledad” from her album “El Último Trago”, or “The Last Drink”