Willie and Lobo - "Caliente"
(This is the old artwork)
This is the updated artwork
Truly enjoyable flamenco/gypsy guitar and violin. These two musicians (one German-born, the other a well-traveled Texan) collaborate to create some of the most enjoyable and listenable music I own. This album is primo "morning coffee" or "late evening chill" music, and it offers up a variety of Spanish/moorish/gypsy-inspired music for your listening pleasure. Some modern elements (i.e. keyboards, sampling) are used in a number of the tracks, but only to add ambience to this acoustic guitar and violin-focused music.
The vast majority of the album places you in a neo-gypsy camp overlooking the mediterranean, with Willie and "Lobo" providing music that is at once modern and ancient.
The fisrt few tracks offer a slow warm up to to a stunning pure acoustic piece (track 4, "El Anclote) with only the two musicians building to a breathtaking climax (on the climactic final note I can picture the flamenco dancer with her arm thrust upward, the other hand pulling her dress backwards as she drops her head to a pensive gaze downwards.....)
This is immediately followed by a smooth gypsy fiesta with the added contribution of trumpet and some sampled elements to give a party-like feel. The album continues to move through various pieces that vary in style, but still tie together very well.
The recording quality is quite good and the performance is engaging and enthralling, with a bent towards simplicity and playful interplay between the two primary musicians.
In my opinion, this album's highlights are the 3-4 tracks where only the two musicains are doing their thing. Breathtaking.
I can heartfully recommend this album to any fans of flamenco/gypsy music (a-la Ottmar Liebert, Shahin & Sepehr, etc).