AZÚCAR CANELA
1. El Ciego Sol
2. No Sabes
3. Despertar
4. Cravo e Canela
5. Canicas
6. Azúcar, Canela
7. Los Pilares de la Tierra
8. Sin Piedad
9. Verde Sobre Azul
10. Lullaby
BONUS TRACKS:
El Hit: Reloaded
Verde Sobre Azul: After Hours
EL CIEGO SOL
This is a song of agony and pain: the feeling of powerlessness against the world’s injustices or the unjust acts of others that cause unjust pain and agony in the world.
EL HIT
“El Hit” is the very first song I ever wrote and which I’ve rescued from my first album. Before this song was “conceived” I never thought I was capable of composing song, and one day, the whole tune came to me as a complete concept as if it had “hit me in the head”. The title is a double entendre of “the song/inspiration hit me in the head” and the wishful thinking “this song is going to be a great success, a hit” – you, my dear friends, shall be the ones to judge on this last statement 😉
DESPERTAR
To go against the grain of many centuries of music history, I never wanted to write a “love song” … but sooner or latter, one succumbs to the above-mentioned genre and hence “Despertar” was born; this song talks about love in a very universal kind of way describing its symptoms and also implying that, If you are ever disappointed with love, there are “more fish in the sea” so keep your spirits high and be hopeful that, after a romantic disappointment, love will smile at you again.
CRAVO E CANELA
“Cravo e Canela” is a special tribute to one of my favorite Brazilian composers, Milton Nascimento, and to an album that literally changed my life (“Clube da Esquina”). The flamenco-ish spirit of Milton’s original and the lyrics that talk about a gypsy lady who smells like clove and with skin the color of cinnamon always made me think about my grandmother who (although not gypsy) was a strong, beautiful olive-skinned Andalusian lady with fire in her veins…. Hence the “bulería/alegría” rhythmic and harmonic twist I gave to the song.
CANICAS
This is a song inspired by memories of my childhood and the things that fill your universe at that age: going to school, chalk on the wall, a kiss when you wake up… but there is a punctual memory that sparkled the flame on this lyric: the repeated images of my grandmother asking me to hurry up and drink up my coffee (decaf, of course) because I was late for school! (My dear grandmother had the habit of serving everything piping hot so I had to blow and blow on my coffee to be able to drink it and to then be able to make it to class on time…)
AZÚCAR, CANELA
Sugar and Cinnamon are the two most important ingredients of my “signature sangria” (countless parties with friends and countless wonderful stories gather around my “signature sangria” 😉 This song talks about the rush of life, about how everything is a big game and of how, in spite of it all, I keep on believing there is “something bigger”, a bigger mission to fulfill and lots for us to share as human beings.
LOS PILARES DE LA TIERRA
“Los pilares de la Tierra” is a deep tribute to the musical pillars of my life, to roots, and to my beloved grandfather who was one of the most soulful people I have ever encountered. A tribute to two my strongest Jazz influences (John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk) blends with an homage to the spirit of the Olive-field workers in Andalucia (as my flamenco singer grandfather was one himself) by extracting a verse of the traditional folk song “Los Campanilleros”.
SIN PIEDAD
This song talks about the fact that when one is in deep pain time shows no mercy and the clock seems to move slower to prolong the suffering.
LULLABY
“Lullaby” is a “pep talk” from a close friend for heading towards a new chapter in your life or a challenge that you have to face. The main message this friend give you is that, whatever the venture you are to embark upon, you must begin the journey with a heart full of joy, having faith in yourself and in your dreams, and knowing that you will always have the support of the friend that is singing you this song.