WOMAD

Chambao

From Spain

Chambao, the platinum selling purveyors of Flamenco chill are at the technological frontier of Spain's reinvention of Flamenco. Somewhere between the organic passion of gritty flamenco of the barrios of Andalucía and the electronic sound of Ibiza Chambao are stadium fillers in their own country.Chambao exploded on the scene in 2002 with their self titled debut and inclusion in the monster selling Flamenco Chill series guaranteed them a huge following.They were soon branded ‘Flamenco Chillout’, a way of defining a music that mixes the outdoor element of Flamenco with the indoor element of chillout. Time has proved Chambao to be one of the only groups capable of creating artistically viable songs from two such disparate elements.Taking their name from a ‘chambao’ (a type of thatched beach hut to protect people from the sun and wind) in the Malagan district of El Pedregalejo, their sound captured the spirit of Spain’s fiesta lifestyle and became the sound track to thousands of beach parties. With sales of their records topping 250,000 it wasn’t surprising that their appeal has now gone international.Chambao’s UK debut in autumn 2006 saw them sell out shows in Bristol, Brighton and London with no national publicity or UK album release something not sen since the debut of the Gotan Project. October 2007 sees the band set to tour the UK as part of a world tour, which begins in Latin America as special guests with Ricky Martin. Singer La Mari’s duet with Ricky Martin has been phenomenally successful in Latin America and she has been the subject of several MTV features.