Everything requires patience - time to mature, to evolve - whether it’s good wine or good music. This is especially true of flamenco, as a good flamenco artist is years in the making. This is true also of the new album by Miguel Ivens: it’s as much a pleasure for the taste buds as it is for the ears. Using the wine analogy, a good Crianza is one that’s cultivated and aged enough for it to reach its full potential. And Solera is the result when an ancient recipe is followed, involving the bodegas from Jerez de la Frontera, the famous superimposed barrels: one passes through into the other and ensures a high quality product after it’s aged properly. The best comes from the ground, hence the name (solera).

It’s this combination of respect for age old traditions that makes Miguel Iven´s album one of the most important flamenco guitar albums of the last few years. The timing was just right making this album. Everything fell into place perfectly, nothing was calculated; rather it is marvellously organic. The outstanding quality of Miguel Iven’s new recording lies in its simplicity: guitar and nothing but. No other instruments added to dilute the mix, no studio tricks to alter what’s heard, and nothing to distract from the original grain of his idea.

Producer and percussionist Conny Sommer supports Miguel Iven without flamboyance, but with enormous sensitivity. The nine songs encompass all flavours of the Flamenco. The master’s life experience and knowledge of flamenco are found in every note, from the bright tanguillos of Cádiz to the sorrowful Seguiriyas. Each note and each break is placed exactly where intended. Miguel Iven doesn´t have to prove his ability, and therein lies the key to his creative freedom. His brilliant licks and precise rasguados occur naturally, never solely to impress. And, funnily enough, what’s impressive is precisely this – his utter lack of gratuitous flash.

Jerez de la Frontera became famous throughout the world for its sweet wines named after the town, which the British pronounced "sherry". It’s called "de la Frontera" because it once stood on the frontier between the Moorish and Christian lands. And as connaisseurs throughout the world know, Jerez is also famous for its fine horses and its outstanding flamenco singers and dancers.

It’s important to reject tendency toward “flamenco light” that today is so common. To make something of lasting value, one has to reach further, to tap into the personal. This is what’s expected of flamenco: depth, purity and authenticity. We’re happy to report that it’s all here in this recording: “Flamenco de Solera y Crianza,” is exactly what one would expect of an exceptionally tasty wine.

Oliver Farke / translation: Jean-Pierre Leduc

Musicians:
Miguel Iven: Flamenco Guitar
Conny Sommer: Percussion