Adventures with a set of 1936 recordings.

[hutch--]

A couple of months ago I posted a prototype of a restored Ramon Montoya flamenco track originally recorded in 1936 in Paris. A month or so later the Warner Music Group - Spain tried to moneygrub the recording by monetizing it in Google claiming they owned the copy. I ran an appeal in Youtube but as predicted, it was rejected. I deleted the prototype video to prevent them from trying to make money out of a recording that had lapsed into the public domain.

I just happen to own a 1960 re-release by the original company "La Boite A Musique" of "Arte Clasico Flamenco" so yesterday I took it up to a specialty company in walking distance of where I live and got them to clean it then digitise it so I could work on it with a computer. The record was still in reasonably good nick and the digitization came back as a far better copy than anything I had heard for years. I have repaired 5 of the 12 tracks so far and starting with a good condition digitization, the results are very good for tracks that were recorded in 1936 on a steel wire recorder.

I am waiting on a spare copy from Belgium "Wally's Groove World" and once I have a record cover of my own to video, I will probably post it again with full providence and copyright information in 3 jurisdictions, Australia, the United States and the European Union. Basically Warner Music Spain can go PHUK themselves.

[anunitu]

THAT is the OZ spirit!!!

[avcaballero]

Maybe you could offer your restoring services to this company. It looks like they liked the results 

I find it curious that you are so fond of flamenco, considering that you live in the antipodes.

[hutch--]

I studied and played flamenco for about 15 years until I had a slight hand injury that ruined it. Still own an excellent flamenco guitar made in Valencia but it never gets played any more.

[avcaballero]

That's very impressive. I would not be able to play a note on a guitar and I was amazed at what people can do. Here it is a video of some guys playing live "entre dos aguas" in homage to their idol Paco de Lucía.

I'm very sorry of your hand problem. I imagine that being prevented from doing something that you really like, it must change your life. This reminds me a scene of Robocop, a guy playing "El concierto de Aranjuez". Beautiful.

(I guess that fortunately your problem should not have been so serious, otherwise you could not continue programming)

Regards

[jj2007]

Paco de Lucía

Coincidence: right now when opening this post I was listening to Paco :t

[hutch--]

It was one of those thing you eventually got used to but I did not listen to music for many years after that. Part of doing the restoration of the Montoya recordings was I well know what a flamenco guitar sounds like and that was very useful in getting the restoration done. Paco De Lucia was an excellent player, sounds like he had an extra pair of hands and I particularly liked his earlier recordings which were very pure flamenco.

I own a very good flamenco guitar made in Valencia but it now lives in a wardrobe as I don't want to see it any more. Like any good one, it had a funny history, a guy bought it for his daughter in the 1950s, she never played it and it was eventually sold to a dealer who was a friend of mine as well as my guitar teacher. He spent a lot of money on it refinishing it which is normally a NO NO but when I first saw it, it worked OK but sounds a bit "new".

One day he had had a lousy week so he asked me how much money I had on me and after counting up the lot I had $365.00 on me so with much hand wringing he sold it to me and I had to walk home carrying it in a cardboard box. Took about a year to play it into shape but it turned into a genuine demon of a guitar. It well suited the old styles of Flamenco, Solea, Siguiriya and a few others but it was to growly for a style like a Buleria. I had just about conned him into selling me a very rare Domingo Estesso guitar that he used to play in concert but I had the hand injury and there was no point after that. Took the tips off 3 fingers on my left hand in a wood work machine and while I can do just about anything with my left hand, it PHUKED my guitar playing.

caballero,

I listened to the 3 young guys, they were playing a south American style which is different to flamenco from Spain.

Here is an early recording of Paco De Lucia playing a Solea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY0BBrfWDeo

[anunitu]

I feel for you Hutch,back in junior high school,I split my middle left hand finger on a table saw. I thought my shop teacher was going to have a heart attack when he saw me covered in blood. Damn finger was squirting blood all over. That finger tip is still tender at times. It did heal up fairly well.

Makes for a good story when things get boring.

[avcaballero]

I could hardly distingish between one to other, I'm more on this

[HSE]

I'm more on this

You don't lost any finger, but the hearing 

[hutch--]

 

> Loosing a few fingertips is not an excuse for quitting.

Here is a man who did not spend 15 years learning to play flamenco. I promised myself that if I ever took up a musical instrument again, it would be a slide whistle.

I am with HSE on that one, if you did not go blind with the strobes, you would still damage your hearing. I used to work in my trade in really noisy factories and I have what is called a "phase shift" which means if the noise gets too loud, I cannot differentiate between sounds.

I was never into discos, I was into cars, blondes, work and money, tools, toys and had a disposition that if I spent money, I took something home for it. Paying someone for the privileges to go blind and deaf was never my thing.  :P

[avcaballero]

There is nothing better to release adrenaline. Not all electronic music is good, some are just beeps. I liked it before it was invented. Although since we had children we have already forgotten the nightlife. However, if one day came for Madrid Milk inc, I would like to go with my wife to do some dances and remember old times. :t

[anunitu]

and remember..

Then I am surly screwed..only one way out of this flying circus :icon_rolleyes:

[avcaballero]

I love the heat of summer and feel the cool breeze, go to the park with my family, play ball or basketball and drink a bottle of cold water in the shade of a tree. That makes me rejuvenate.

There is not always time to do everything you want, it's just that the stages of life change goals. In any case is good to try to enjoy life whenever possible. :t

[felipe]

I like flamenco. And Paco was a tremendous guitar player. When i was a kid i saw the movie "Carmen" (where Paco participates). I remember i was in love of the main actress (Carmen). Long time after that i heared that Paco was injuried in his hand and that he would never play again. A couple of years a go i started to listen his music and in some weeks later he died. I feeled sad that day, he was a tremendous musician!