"Orillas Del Mar"
55,7 sec. - 109 Kb.
song : De Smet / Luiz de Góngora y Argote
"Cerca de ti"
1 min 12 sec. - 143 Kb.
song : De Smet /
Nicolás Guillen
"No Estás Sola"
1 min 12 sec. - 142 Kb.
song : De Smet
Produced : De Smet Rembert
Year : 1999
Record co.: CNR
Está Loco (a Spanish sentence meaning : "It's Crazy")
is the band of Rembert De Smet, who started this group after the successes of
his famous eighties funky popband Twee Belgen died
down. De Smet found a refuge in the "Hogar Español", a Spanish
house in Ghent : "There was a whole bunch of friends playing guitar there,
teaching each other their songs. Initially, I joined them phonetically, like a
parrot, but I liked it so much I took lessons in Spanish and eventually got to
the stage where I could write songs in that language".
As he explained his change of course "At the end of the
eighties, technology was taking things over. The band had become too complicated.
I was sick with nerves, afraid that some machine or other would break down. With
Está Loco, I could put all my material in a 2PK and play wherever I wanted.
It's a physical thing, and much more honest. I'm really glad I found this way
out".
In 1994, he came out with his new project for the first time :
almost completely solo he recorded, produced and wrote the album "A Fuego
Lento". The result was a consistent album, which was dubbed as "a creative
rebirth" of the singer. Especially the songs "Caminante" and "Llorar"
got good airplay during the summer. Live, he performed with two guitars and a
dancer.
In the years that followed, De Smet became a father twice, and
the band got enlarged to a group of seven musicians (Hilde Geelen, dancer, the
brothers Lopez-Vega, Djamel -who is part of the arabo-folk formation Olla Vogola
- Jan Marmenout ...). Instead of working from the melody and guitar, the new songs
got composed from the rhythm & percussion. He put together a show called "Gracias
a los Poetas", a programme in dance- and songs based on Spanish and South-American
poetry from bygone days. "Expect a lot of new songs, exciting versions
of Esta Loco-classics, Cuban son, very spicy dance by Hilde. I hope your eyes,
ears ànd hips will itch", said the announcement.
The second album of Esta Loco came out in 1999, wrapped in a sleeve
depicting two of the people from the "Hogar Español". Singles
became "Orillas Del Mar" (lyrics by Luis de Góngora y Argote)
and a new flamenco-version of "Lena" (the biggest hit of his previous
band Twee Belgen). "Even before the first CD, I had translated "Quand
le film est triste" and "Lena" as an exercise. Lena is the only
song that never really has left me. It was one of the first that I wrote, back
in 1980-81. The translated text fitted the music miraculously, and we have played
this song live a lot. That's why we've put in on the CD".
"As long as I feel as I have something to add to music,
that I can cause some chemical reaction between genres, I'll continue to do so",
Rembert declared. "In that regard, I feel like a true Belgian. All those
different influences and cultures : I live in Ghent and talk and play with Arabs,
Turks, Africans almost every day. I hope that melting pot can survive for a very
long time."
Band members (op "Cerca de Ti"):
- Rembert De Smet : voz, guitarra, maracas, acordeón, bajo, panderetas,
güiro, Toms, Cua, bangamandolina, claves, cuicatom
- Agaric : congas, bongos, chékeres, cajon, huevos, cajon, toms, cascara,
rotomons, maracas, catañuelas
- Luis Lopez Vega : bajo, requinto, güiro
- Djamel : derbuka, voz
- Willy Seeuws : bongos
- Jan Marmenout : congas, campana, quinto, cuá
- Joan Williams Gallego : requinto, jaleo
- Geert Simoen : derbuka, chiquitsi, congas
- Hilde Geelen, Kamel Lebbad, Marjan Willem, Annemie Piron : coro
Buy CD's of this band at
Albums :
- A Fuego Lento (CNR, 1994)
- Cerca de Ti (CNR, 1999)
Websites :
- There's some info at the website of Arcade/CNR
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