Jairo is an admirer of artists as diverse as Remedios Amaya, Rubén Blades María Terremoto or, almost with devotion, Juan Luis Guerra. And of Alejandro Sanz, Antonio Carmona, Israel Fernández, El Pele, María Toledo… Will it be any of them?
It is not the first time you will have heard the name Jairo de Remache. And perhaps not so much because of his work since he was a child as a singer, composer and instrumentalist, but because he is the one who gave life to Omar Montes’ hit “La llama del amor”, a success thanks to his composition and co-performance. By Montse Ambroa, ALL FLAMENCO
But he had already been in the music business for a long time. Following in the footsteps of his father, Antonio Remache, renowned composer of songs such as “Quien Te Va a Querer”, by Niña Pastori, and “El Beso”, by Israel Fernández, among other great flamenco anthems, Jairo started playing and singing in the evangelist church at a very young age.
Until 2023, which starts off strong with the release on 9 June of “Pa Olvidarte”, an advance track from the EP produced by BMG that you will enjoy after the summer with 5 songs + a bonus track and which promises to be a total smash hit.
This first track is a rumba appetizer that talks about heartbreak with all the flamenco emotion that comes from Jairo de Remache (below is the link for you to listen to it).
PRESS PLAY! You’re going to love “Pa Olvidarte Me Fui”…
In “Pa Olvidarte”, Jairo de Remache sounds very rumba-like, but talks about heartbreak. What inspired you?
Who hasn’t suffered for love! It’s a universal feeling, isn’t it? Actually, it comes from a text shared with me by my dear Antón Muñoz, who is part of my family and my friend. It awakened in me a tremendous curiosity, forcing me to immerse myself in his phrases and give shape to this marvellous lyric that we both share.
Tell us about another friend, Omar Montes, who made one of your compositions very famous, “La llama del amor”, which also appears on the EP as a bonus track.
This song was already written when Omar called me to collaborate. He had already heard it and for quite some time he played it whenever he could… Y me pareció estupendo cuando me dijo que quería cantarlo conmigo. I didn’t have the means to take him where he did, so I was delighted.
Making a living from music can’t be easy, but imagine becoming a superstar with this song?
I wish I could always live from music, that’s my greatest wish. So far I have been able to achieve it and I hope this record will be important for my career. But I’m a person who is not looking for stardom or anything like that, although of course, everybody likes to be liked… I am content to enjoy the moment and to be able to transmit through my songs.
It’s just that you started at a very young age, I’ve been told.
Yes, since I was born (laughs). I’m the son of a singer-songwriter, so waking up every day surrounded by music influences you. And, on top of that, I have that passion inside me. I started with percussion, with the cajón, the conga, the drums… You could see me more with the drums when I was 11 or 12 years old accompanying my father on tours in theatres and churches. Being from Monday to Monday singing with spontaneous music and accompanying it as you can, without a set list or anything, a bit improvising, has given me a lot of experience, it’s been a gymnasium.
So when I got older, I decided that I wanted to be on stage also singing my own compositions. I am happy composing and performing what comes from me. I would love for people to empathise with my songs, for people to listen and give my songs a chance..
I want to transmit emotions. Everything I reflect in my songs is part of my experiences, of my personal life. And from that spirituality of my beginnings in the religious cult
Despite your gypsy and flamenco roots, perhaps the purists don’t see your music as flamenco. In fact, you have been criticised for this collaboration with Omar Montes on social networks.
I don’t think flamenco should be boxed in, but it’s also true that I don’t think it’s right for some artists to label themselves as flamenco when what they do may be, at best, flamenco, but not flamenco. I’m thinking, for example, of that “little southern flamenco”, as we call it, which has very little flamenco in it, but I don’t want to give names…
So, you are a flamenco artist?
I am a fusion singer-songwriter, maybe with flamenco-pop overtones, but not a flamenco singer. My music is auteur music, with hints of flamenco and other genres. It’s flamenco, it’s in my blood, it can’t be avoided in my songs. It’s like asking me if Alejandro Sanz is flamenco. I would say no, but does it pinch flamenco? Or what Rosalía is doing now, which is more urban flamenco. It transmits flamenco even if it is not.
In the end, being flamenco is something deeper, and if you have it in you, you will make it modern, but it will be noticeable that you are doing a flamenco palo. I think this issue can also lead us to a debate that exists about flamenco and its difference with gypsy music. As Camarón de la Isla used to say, you can’t get rid of that gypsy feeling when you perform.