Concha Buika
Encyclopedia
Concha Buika is a Spanish singer. Her album Niña de Fuego
was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year
.
Buika's family is originally from Equatorial Guinea
. She grew up in Mallorca among Spanish Romani people (Gitanos) - who imbued in her the traditional "cante" flamenco - as the only person of African descent in her neighborhood. Her music mixes flamenco
and coplas
with soul
and jazz
.
During the 1990s she took part in different productions, such as Ombra by La Fura dels Baus
and the soundtrack for the Spanish movie km.O. At the same time she composed several songs such as "Ritmo para você", "Up to the Sky" and "Loving You".
From November 2000 to March 2001, she sang at The Luxor, Harrah's, and Gold Coast casino
s in Las Vegas
as a Tina Turner
impersonator. She also performed as a guest singer in the Blue Note festival
with Rachelle Ferrell
.
Buika is a singer who handles and fuses many musical styles (flamenco
, copla
, jazz
, rumba
, soul
), having also appeared as vocalist in house music
tracks authored by Spanish producers David Penn
and DJ Chus
. She is noted as one of the most lively and spontaneous artists in the current Spanish musical scene.
Her second album, Mi Niña Lola, included traditional Spanish Copla songs (Mi Niña Lola, Ojos Verdes, Te Camelo) and flamenco rhythms of “tanguillos” and “bulerías”. The album ended with a flamenco-jazz fusion song titled “Love” and an original song titled “Jodida pero contenta”. Her singing is accompanied by guitarist Niño Josele.
In contrast, her third album, Niña de Fuego
, contains mostly songs (Coplas, Bulerías, Rumbas) written by Javier Limón
, her artistic producer, and Buika herself, along with remakes of classic Spanish Coplas (including the song that gives name to the album's title) and a Mexican Ballad song.
Asked to define herself, she said, "I am bisexual, three-phase and three-dimensional." She is the mother of a young son.
In 2009 she collaborated with international pop-star Nelly Furtado
on the song "Fuerte
", which featured on Furtado's Spanish album "Mi Plan
". Fuerte was remixed and released as a single in October 2010.
In 2011 she performed two songs, "Se Me Hizo Facil" and "Por El Amor de Amar" in the Almódovar movie The Skin I Live in
Niña de Fuego
Niña de Fuego is a 2008 Spanish-language album by Spanish singer Concha Buika. It was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.- Track listing :# "La Falsa Moneda" - 3:33# "Culpa Mía" - 4:11# "Miénteme Bien" - 5:52...
was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year
Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the United States and internationally...
.
Buika's family is originally from Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
. She grew up in Mallorca among Spanish Romani people (Gitanos) - who imbued in her the traditional "cante" flamenco - as the only person of African descent in her neighborhood. Her music mixes flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
and coplas
Copla (music)
The copla or copla andaluza is a form of Spanish popular song, deriving from the poetic form of the same name. The genre arose in the 1940s, and is epitomized by songwriters Antonio Quintero, Rafael de León and Manuel Quiroga.One of the first singers of coplas was Raquel Meller...
with soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
During the 1990s she took part in different productions, such as Ombra by La Fura dels Baus
La Fura dels Baus
La Fura dels Baus is a Catalan theatrical group founded in 1979 in Barcelona, known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan means "vermin from the sewers"....
and the soundtrack for the Spanish movie km.O. At the same time she composed several songs such as "Ritmo para você", "Up to the Sky" and "Loving You".
From November 2000 to March 2001, she sang at The Luxor, Harrah's, and Gold Coast casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
as a Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
impersonator. She also performed as a guest singer in the Blue Note festival
Blue Note Festival
The Gent Jazz Festival is an international jazz festival held annually in Ghent, Belgium in mid July. It lasts two weeks and the programmation is divided in two parts: the first week, called All That Jazz., unites some of the best jazz performers in the world while the second week, named All That...
with Rachelle Ferrell
Rachelle Ferrell
Rachelle Ferrell is an American singer and musician. Although she has had some success in the mainstream R&B, pop, gospel, and classical music scene, she is most noted for her talents as a contemporary jazz singer.-Biography:...
.
Buika is a singer who handles and fuses many musical styles (flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, copla
Copla (music)
The copla or copla andaluza is a form of Spanish popular song, deriving from the poetic form of the same name. The genre arose in the 1940s, and is epitomized by songwriters Antonio Quintero, Rafael de León and Manuel Quiroga.One of the first singers of coplas was Raquel Meller...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
), having also appeared as vocalist in house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
tracks authored by Spanish producers David Penn
David Penn
For the British magician, see David Penn José David Peñín Montilla, better known under the anglicized form David Penn, is a house music producer from Spain. He was born in Madrid.-Career:...
and DJ Chus
DJ Chus
DJ Chus is an electronic music producer, remixer and DJ. He works mainly on house music tracks.-Career:Chus began DJing at the age of 16...
. She is noted as one of the most lively and spontaneous artists in the current Spanish musical scene.
Her second album, Mi Niña Lola, included traditional Spanish Copla songs (Mi Niña Lola, Ojos Verdes, Te Camelo) and flamenco rhythms of “tanguillos” and “bulerías”. The album ended with a flamenco-jazz fusion song titled “Love” and an original song titled “Jodida pero contenta”. Her singing is accompanied by guitarist Niño Josele.
In contrast, her third album, Niña de Fuego
Niña de Fuego
Niña de Fuego is a 2008 Spanish-language album by Spanish singer Concha Buika. It was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.- Track listing :# "La Falsa Moneda" - 3:33# "Culpa Mía" - 4:11# "Miénteme Bien" - 5:52...
, contains mostly songs (Coplas, Bulerías, Rumbas) written by Javier Limón
Javier Limón
Javier Limón is a record producer, singer and songwriter born and raised in Madrid, Spain. Limón has worked with several artists, mainly from Spain, since he incorporates elements of flamenco rhythm to his work. Besides his work as producer has also dabbled as an interpreter and has released three...
, her artistic producer, and Buika herself, along with remakes of classic Spanish Coplas (including the song that gives name to the album's title) and a Mexican Ballad song.
Asked to define herself, she said, "I am bisexual, three-phase and three-dimensional." She is the mother of a young son.
Discography
- BuikaBuika (album)Buika is the 2005 debut album of Spanish singer Concha Buika. It fuses jazz, traditional Spanish music, electronica, funk and several other elements.-Track listing:All songs written by Concha Buika except where otherwise specified....
(2005) - Mestizüo, with Jacob Sureda (2006)
- Mi Niña Lola (2006)
- Niña de FuegoNiña de FuegoNiña de Fuego is a 2008 Spanish-language album by Spanish singer Concha Buika. It was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.- Track listing :# "La Falsa Moneda" - 3:33# "Culpa Mía" - 4:11# "Miénteme Bien" - 5:52...
(2008) - El Último TragoEl Último TragoEl Último Trago is an 2009 album by Concha Buika and Chucho Valdés, produced by Javier Limón.Javier Limón describes the concept of the album as bringing together "Afro-Cuban Jazz idol" Chucho Valdés with "Afro-Flamenco Jazz" singer Buika, working on the ranchera songs originally sung by Costa...
, with Chucho ValdésChucho ValdésChucho Valdés is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. In 1972 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Together with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Valdés is revered as one of Cuba's greatest jazz pianists...
(2009)
In 2009 she collaborated with international pop-star Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
on the song "Fuerte
Fuerte (song)
"Fuerte" is a Latin pop song released by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, with added vocals from Spanish flamenco artist Concha Buika, as the fourth and final promotional single released as part of an iTunes promotion counting down to the release of her fourth studio album, Mi Plan...
", which featured on Furtado's Spanish album "Mi Plan
Mi Plan
Mi Plan is the fourth studio album by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado and the first she has released in Spanish. It was first released on September 11, 2009 by Furtado's own record label, Nelstar Entertainment...
". Fuerte was remixed and released as a single in October 2010.
In 2011 she performed two songs, "Se Me Hizo Facil" and "Por El Amor de Amar" in the Almódovar movie The Skin I Live in