De Fez a Jerez
Seffarine
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Saghir 5:340:00/5:34
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0:00/4:19
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Une Autre Chance 4:410:00/4:41
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Saqi al Ma 3:360:00/3:36
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0:00/4:30
Listen
recording in jerez de la frontera
a collaboration with the greats of flamenco
Flamenco singer La Macanita and Lamiae recording "De Fez a Jerez"
Nat and Diego del Morao at Estudio la Bodega in Jerez, Spain
Seffarine's debut CD, De Fez a Jerez ("From Fez to Jerez") was named after Nat and Lamiae's well worn path between the two cities. Fez is the ancient cultural capital of Morocco and Lamiae's home city. Jerez is a town in Andalusia, just across the Straits of Gibraltar, well known for being home to many of the great artists in flamenco music. Nat has done much of his training in Jerez with the flamenco guitar masters of the mostly Gypsy neighborhood, Barrio Santiago.
In 2015, Seffarine was awarded a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council to travel to Spain to record their original music in collaboration with living legends of flamenco music, including Diego del Morao and Tomasa La Macanita.
After Spanish newspaper La Voz del Sur published an article about Seffarine's recording project, word spread through the barrio and some of the living legends of flamenco came to the studio to check out the project. Seeing the solid background and deep respect for the traditions of flamenco, alongside a fresh approach and creative explorations of the common history and musical roots of Morocco and Andalusia, they enthusiastically offered to collaborate with Seffarine.
What followed were several midnight sessions full of creativity, soulful improvisations and collaborations with these artists Nat and Lamiae have listened to and admired for years.
The record gained Seffarine international acclaim when it placed in top world music charts around the globe, including Afribuku's Top 13 African Releases and the Transglobal World Music Charts, a panel of 43 world music experts from 28 countries. Spanish music critic Javier Mantecón wrote, "made from in-depth knowledge of the music on both banks of the Strait of Gibraltar, we have to go back to El Lebrijano's experiments with the Andalusian Orchestra of Tangier to find such solid work." Apple Music chose one of the tracks, an homage to the late-great flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla, for the playlist, Inspired by Camarón de la Isla, along with the top artists of flamenco, such as Pepe de Lucia and Tomatito.
De Fez a Jerez continues to receive acclaim internationally which has led to several other recording collaborations in Spain, including flamenco-pop star Sarayma, La Bejazz, a group of flamenco jazz fusion virtuosos from Marchena, Spain, and most recently, recording a Seffarine original with master flamenco guitarist Antonio Rey, who many consider to be the heir apparent to Paco de Lucia's throne and winner of the 2020 GRAMMY for best flamenco record.