TAIFA – Interview with Luís Massot

TAIFA is the band which proved that Metal music does not need to stand in opposition to different musical species. The Metal music is open for different species of music… But if you want to know more I invite to the interview.

When I heard your song “Guitarra El Espejo De Mi Alma” first time then I fell in love in this song and I decided to know wider with your music which can to qualifying as Flamenco Metal. Could you unroll this name of the music?

Yes, its a lovely song of our first album.

Theres a lot of people mixing flamenco with pop, soft rock.but not much doing it with metal. Also you can find small pieces of Spanish guitar or flamenco voices in some songs, but for us the real fusion must to have melodies, harmonies, rhythms of both music and make it sound together. Its doesnt matter how you call it, but people had to feel a real fusion of this apparently different styles.

For me such fusion of Flamenco, Arabian Music, Progressive Rock and Power Metal is very original. You plaited elements of Flamenco and Arabic tones ideally in your music and by the way you don't losing this Rock-Metal energy Who is originator of such arrangements?]

Im guilty!! …he,he.

Thats the result of listening a lot of flamenco and Moroccan music although essentially Im a hard rock singer. We learned a lot recording the new album, where flamenco and Moroccan musicians play. Youll find flamenco cajon, claps and piano; Spanish guitar and Moroccan Andalusi violin…ah! and I play a piece of Moroccan ud. Its always good for your music have different points of view and never forget that we play metal, thats how we feel it.

That is it, people sometimes with original instruments appear on a stage together with you

Yes, we played in live with a band who play Gnawa music ( a mystic style of Moroccan music) with traditional instruments, we always want to incorporate new sounds to our fusion.

And what kind of music do you like listening?

All the music with heart. Ive been listening all the hard rock music since I was 15 and now we return to our roots, usually hearing flamenco, Moroccan and Mediterranean music. Flamenco is the jazz from Spain, temperamental and with a lot of feeling, strong and visceral ( exactly as rock is) and for that is not easy play or sing it. Moroccan music is brother with flamenco, same roots, so we mix it.

I'm curious how do orthodox metallers react on your music?

TAIFA is a metal band, you can feel it on the stage; hard guitars, big drums, powerful voice, sometimes the people that come to see us sometimes is a mix between flamenco and metal fans. Nobody can be defrauded, TAIFA is a very hard flamenco band fusion. We are in the line between each styles of this music, the power of the metal and the flamenco harmonies.

I saw with fragments of concert in Morocco and I noticed, that it was not concert only for fans of Rock and Metal but the concert was for various people. Something like in style of playing on a feast How do various people, mainly older react on your music? Do not think they about you as profanation of Arabian Music or profanation of Flamenco?

All the concerts are a feast for us!

Everybody that hear our music knows that were a band of fusion. If you treat with respect the roots you are playing with, people respect that you love their roots. Roots are part of you and always when you hear them you feel something special. We play sometimes with musicians that play pure flamenco and classical Moroccan music and there is mutual respect always, but a evolution is needed to stay alive.. We include some pure flamenco pieces between our songs and the people agree it a lot.

Did you play in Europe some concert beyond of Iberian Peninsula already? I am interesting how do “Central Europeans” accept your music?

We never did it, but well love to come and play!!! Theres no frontiers when music is played from the heart. It would be an honour for us be ambassadors of our culture in Europe. Im sure that people enjoy with TAIFA, it doesnt matter if you heard flamenco or not before.

Are such bands a lot like TAIFA – who mixing Flamenco with Metal and Rock?

Not much, but we hope that it will grows, fusion is the future. We know other bands that wants to mix they music with different cultures and do something different. Theres a lot of possibilities of mixing, more or less hard, flamenco or others music are possible. Rock was a mix of different influences at first.

I know band BREED77 from Gibraltar. It also is excellent music!

Yes, theres excellent people doing good music, the problem is that the industry of music ( Im talking about Spain) really dont know how work actually. We hope that with internet a new era will born, and people could hear good bands is doesnt matter if they are in the commercial business or not, and decide what to hear.

When I looked your video-clips I turned my attention for several musical and unmusical elements. I noticed that on the concert and on the video-clip you stand on carpets, as in a house. Is it normal in your region – carpets put on a floor during show?

Not really, our gigs in Morocco were something special. We find there the exotic ambient we needed, people were fantastic and we felt like at home. We try always to keep the mystical feeling of our songs through images on the stage, its important that the people feels your music with the ears, eyes,all the body and soul.

Moreover Arabian and maybe Hindu symbols and architectural motives appear in the video-clip of ” Las Torres De Babel” A lot of colours, characteristic dresses, buildings this are very exotic for typical European

We live in a closer world everyday, our culture is a mixing of different cultures, if your mind is open youll find lot of news experiences. In the 70 people like Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Doors. went to different cultures and have new inspiration to their music, changing the point of view of the rock. Theres was an explosion of colour and image also. We think that it must come back.

The climate creating by you is entirely different of dark-satanic climate created by majority of metal bands. There isn't Satan nor different demons, there isn't black but is colourfulness. But you aren't devoid religious symbols. I saw Sanskrit symbol Omkara on your T-shirt

Theres enough people in black with devils or dragons or whatever. Personally I love colours, our video is full of red, blue, etc, maybe because we live in a sunny place. But our image is strong powerful !! You can see a band with a rock image on stage.

But don't you run away with your texts from Rock-Metal subject-matter?

Well, when I write I really dont think about a rock concept, I leave the feeling comes, Im just thinking about to transmit this feelings to the people. For me write music is something important, for that we care the words a lot. The themes in our songs are too deep, come from the heart. I need to do good words to believe it and sing it, just be honest with what Im doing.

You have two materials, the debut album “Más Allá Del Sur” from 1999 year as well as “Fe” from 2004 recorded in two language versions – Spanish and English. I know that your line-up were various on both these recordings. Did this difference of line-up influence on the music contained in these materials essentially? Can you compare these two releases?

Theres lovely songs in our first album though it was the first time we make this kind of music. We still play some of this songs in live, but now essentially all the set is from our future new album.

After recoding Más allá del sur I thought about doing harder and powerful the band and a trio was the best option, so I learned play bass. Also we wanted more fusion, so we investigate more and more in the Flamenco and Moroccan music, adding new instruments and be helped for others musicians of this styles. Now the album is still mixing and we thing the result will be better that we hope first, harder and with more fusion that the first.

So, what will release be next?

We just came touring in Sevilla and now we gonna promote the video clip Las torres de Babel in advance of the new album that will be ready next year, and of course play and play on stage everywhere the people want to hear us.

so I wish you realizing plans! Traditionally the finish belongs to the band

We would like to invite everybody to visit our web where they can find our music, pictures, videos.., and hoping come soon to Central Europe.

Many Thanks!!!!