Soleá Morente

Name, where are you from? 

Soleá Morente. From Madrid although I live between Madrid and Granada.

What do you do?

I am a singer / cantaora and I write and compose songs. I also often sing songs that artists I admire write for me. I would define myself as a person with a lot of love for art.

Describe your style in three words?

Flamenco, pop, indie.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?

Of the several unforgettable concerts that there are in my memory, I was very impressed to see Van Morrison in Granada in 2004.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?

I would love to share the line up with Triangulo de Amor Bizarro and Los Punsetes. From the current bands I choose these two because I like their songs, the attitude and commitment they have with their speech to a society like the one we live in. I am struck by the noise, the unconventional sound which they play and the lyrics of their songs attract me. On each album, they surprise me and I like that.

Which subcultures have influenced you?

I have been directly influenced by flamenco and Andalusian popular music, also alternative culture from the Beat generation, punk, indie to trap. I could say that from La Niña Los Peines to New Order and from there to Yung Beef. Each of them are subcultures or countercultures that arise as a reaction to situations of historical oppression. They represent freedom in life and in art. From them, from their music, from their literature, from their culture in general I investigate, select and choose concepts with which I feel identified and help me find my own space. I usually travel from flamenco which is where I come from all those other influences.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?

David Bowie, he is an artist who gives me infinite curiosity and I would love to chat with him and ask him many questions. I am inspired by everything he does, his songs, his chameleon-like ability to become different characters in each project, and how his worked and studied aesthetics for each project conceptually enriches the message he wants to convey in each work. His interviews seem very interesting to me, true documents to understand him as an artist and as a person. I find it very brave, one of the greatest in the history of culture. In particular, the albums he makes with Brian Eno (another of my guru artists) seem to me to be an absolute genius.

Of all the independent venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?

There are many places where I have performed, and they have marked me a lot, the places and their audiences. The El Sol hall in Madrid is one of the venues that has impressed me much. Last year was the presentation of my second album, Olelorelei, I had a great time and it was very exciting to see the public that came so loving, filled and knew the songs... I did not expect it...

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?

Enrique Morente, my father. I have learned from him and with him so many things about life and art... Not only for me, for many people of my generation he has opened very interesting paths for the evolution, development and diffusion of flamenco.