Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Raül Fernández Miró treat London audience to moving concert

London (ACN).- With all tickets sold out months ahead, the audience which gathered Saturday in the Sadler 's Wells Theatre were eager to listen to the moving songs of Barcelona duo Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Raül Fernández Miró, during the closing concert of the 11^th Flamenco Festival London. Both Singer and Guitarist interpreted three Flamenco themes and performed songs from their latest album, still unnamed, which they will introduce to New Yorkers next week. The new album, the first common release after eight years of collaboration, includes songs in Catalan, French, English and German. The musicians will officially present it in a concert at the Tívoli theatre in Barcelona on the 25^th of April.

Londoners longed to hear their music live, and they were not let down. Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Raül Fernández Miró treated the audience of the Sadler’s Wells Theatre to their own interpretation of Flamenco music. The Catalan musicians performed, among others, a Leonard Cohen theme, with lyrics by Federico García Lorca, and two songs from Enrique Morente’s Despegando, which greatly influenced their first album in common after eight years of friendship and musical collaboration.

“My voice has touches of Iberian and a few others of Flamenco. For some time, with much respect and from a distance, I sang flamenco” explained Sílvia Pérez Cruz at the beginning of the concert.  The Catalan Singer added she was “surprised” to perform in the Flamenco Festival London’s 11^th edition alongside “great artists” such as famous Flamenco Dancers Sara Baras and Farruquito, and Singer Miguel Poveda.

A new musical project

The singer and guitarist  used the opportunity to present their latest album, a collection of varied pieces sung in Catalan, English, French, Portuguese and German, ranging from flamenco and Brazilian rock band Novos Bahia, to Edith Piaf, Classic Composer Robert Schumann or more contemporary Catalan Songwriter Lluís Llach. “These are songs that we want people to hallucinate to, to be moved about” said Sílvia Pérez Cruz. “It may seem like a nonsensical mix of songs, but there is a common thread, it is our understanding of music”, added Raül Fernández Miró, who acknowledged having learned flamenco alongside Catalan Guitarist Kiko Veneno, with whom he has performed throughout his career.

The musicians’ offered an intense concert, which combined Spanish classical guitar, with other acoustic or electric guitars and even a banjo, breaking their solemn music with touches of humor, in an intimate and personal way.

A “luxury premiere”

After their Saturday night success in London, the Barcelona duo will present their latest album in New York, where they will perform at the prestigious Joyce Theater on the 22^nd of March. “It is a luxury premiere”, said Sílvia Pérez Cruz enthusiastically. But the official concert presentation of the album, which has yet to be named, is scheduled for the 25^th of April at the Tívoli theatre in Barcelona. 

Pérez Cruz and Fernández Miró’s first album together will be released after a year of work and eight of previous collaborations between the two artists. “We have taken the time to make the album, because it was challenging for us to make it. We have recorded it in the studio three times and in three different ways” admitted the musicians. “We are two different artists, but together we have created a unique sound”, added Pérez Cruz. In this album, “we have found the formula to work together, so that [the music] comes from both of us” concluded Fernández Miró, also known in the musical world under the pseudonym ‘Refree’.

Great attendance at the Flamenco Festival London

Pérez Cruz and Fernández Miró ended on a high the Flamenco Festival London, which offers two weeks of flamenco music and dance in the UK every year. Both the British audience and the expats in London have made this 11^th edition particularly successful, with sold-out performances for Sara Baras and Miguel Poveda, among others.

The organisers were “overwhelmed” by the audience, which has been “very eager, present all along, and enthusiastic”. “Sometimes, looking at the audience’s reaction, it seemed that instead of being in London, we were in Jérez de la Frontera”, in Andalucía, claimed Beatriz Hoyos, the Head of Production of the Flamenco Festival London. She also stressed that the British were increasingly interested in “flamenco culture”.