LatinoLife: How does it feel to be nominated for a LUKAS award?
Javier: It’s good! It’s a great opportunity to connect with your fans and friends and ask them to connect with you personally.
LL: As someone who is half Andalusian did the death of Paco de Lucia affect you as a musician?
Javier: It’s very sad, when I first listened to ‘Entre dos Aguas’ the song, which first launched him onto the international stage, it really influenced a lot of guitarists of my time. He meant so much for Spain and for Flamenco that you kind of feel like you lost somebody important from your culture.
LL: Who else did you listen to when you were younger and whilst you were practicing?
Javier: Mark Knopfler! I really like him, especially from that album with Dire Straits; ‘Sultans of Swing’. You know those solos with the guitar, they inspired me. His lyrics are quite deep and interesting. So between Mark Knopfler and Paco de Lucia those were my heroes to start playing the guitar.
LL: You are half Catalan and half Andalusian, do you have some days when you wake up and feel more of a resonance with one side of your ancestry?
Javier: Every summer, ever since I was born, we used to go to my Dad’s little village in the mountains of Andalusia so I have very good memories. I love it! The people there are just fantastic and different from Barcelona. I love Catalonia as well. I have both parts inside of me. I mean many people when they hear that I am Catalonian ask me ‘Oh so you want independence from Spain?!” I’m not like that, I love Spain and I love Catalonia, we live together. I don’t feel as attached to Catalan traditions but I respect them and I enjoy them.
LL: Let’s talk about your album ‘Rumba del Emigrante’…
Javier: Well I did an EP, so it’s my second album. On ‘Mala Mujer’ the EP before this album I sang a few songs in English, just because I was living here and I wanted to see how my style would work with English lyrics… obviously as I wanted people to understand what I was talking about!
LL: How do you find singing in English?
Javier: Well I like it! But it doesn’t come as naturally as Spanish. Music when you have to think too much isn’t good, it has to flow naturally. That’s why I’m back to singing in Spanish.
LL: What inspired this second album, obviously it is to do with immigration and the choice to move from your home country. Do you ever feel like an immigrant at times?
Javier: Well I wrote the song ‘La Rumba del Emigrante’ in 2012, I kept reading in the news about all the Spanish people who were leaving Spain. When I left in 2006 there was no financial crisis, but kept getting up and reading the news and over those few years it reminded me of how I felt. The fears, living in a different culture with a different language, being on your own, trying to find a job… it reminded me of all the fears that I had then and the song just came out!
LL: Would you say that you have a favourite song on the album or is that too difficult?
Javier: Well I have one that I really like. It’s called ‘Madre Soltera’ which means single mother. I have some friends who are single mothers and it made me think about the challenges of bringing up a child on your own. All the fears you might have, how as a woman you need to think about your future relationships. Not that I’m a single mother myself!
LL: You also do some song writing and arrangements for Claudia Aurora?
Javier: Yes that’s right, we always write songs together. She writes the lyrics (they are in Portuguese) and the melodies, I just add the chords. I didn’t know anything about Fado until I met Claudia but then I realised that the sadness in Fado is not that different from the sadness expressed in Flamenco. There are those common themes about sadness and suffering difficult times, so I think in that sense that Spain and Portugal do have a lot in common. They have been poor countries; they have been under a dictatorship. They both expressed their sadness, the gypsy community in Spain through Flamenco, and the Fado community in Portugal. It was a way to express their difficulties.
LL: How do you find life in the UK?
Javier: Well I have been living in London for 3 years now, and in the UK for 8 years. London is great but it’s a very big city. You have to come with all you have, try to do all you can in 5 to 10 years and then leave! The culture is very rich in London, there are so many musicians, and British people love live music. They love Spanish music it reminds you of the sun, the beach and parties!
LL: After the LUKAS what other plans do you have for 2014?
Javier: Well I was thinking of going on tour… but at the moment I’m participating in a series called ‘Spaniards in London’, they used my music as their opening song. It’s all about Spanish people living in London. I’m open to see where this album will take me… The director of the series is also called Javier Moreno! He contacted me and he loved the song, he had the same idea in mind. There have been a few episodes so far; it’s already been on TV and on the radio in Spain.
http://javimoreno.com/
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