“In music there must always be freedom, but also respect for the canon”

At the age of twenty-nine, the cantaor Israel Fernández (Toledo, 1989) lives “in a cloud on earth”. A trance in which having reached that age has a lot to do with his fourth album, ‘Amor’, recently released, becoming the new flamenco star for critics and after being praised by artists ranging from Rosalía to C. Tangana to Pablo Alborán. The creator, whose album has recently received the Odeon Award for Best Flamenco Album, will star today at the Centro Botín de Santander in a double event that includes first, at 6:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Cantabrian cultural center, a creative workshop and then, at 8:00 pm, a concert in which he will perform accompanied by the guitarist Diego del Morao, who has accompanied such figures as José Mercé, Enrique Morente or Diego el Cigala, among others. The performance is part of the cycle ‘Open Music. Alhambra Moments’ from the Botín Center.

–He arrives in Santander to offer a workshop on his creative process and a concert. What is your proposal going to be?

– I am more of inspiration and of the moment, so as the meeting unfolds I improvise. The concert will focus on the songs on the album and what comes to mind at the time. In the workshop I will explain my way of feeling, my way of composing, of listening to cante, all in a natural way.

– In the case of the creative process that you follow, what are the keys?

–The first thing I do is find a reason that leads me to experiences, which may be mine or with a friend or with someone that I have simply seen on the street, or something in a painting that has caught my attention. Everything can inspire you to compose.

–In addition to being a cantaor, he also plays. Do you consider yourself a guitarist?

– The word guitarist is very big. I’m a guitar fan, I like it a lot and I’ve been playing since I was little, but I really play at home, I defend myself to compose and that’s it. In Santander Diego del Morao will accompany me, which for me is a privilege that he is with me. He doesn’t like being told, but I think of him as a genius, like a mirror where young people look at each other because he has created a different way of playing the guitar, which is something that very few people achieve.

–Despite his youth, he already has four albums and critics define him as the new star of flamenco. What do you think your success responds to?

–For me it is always a challenge, but I think that when one, as in everything in life, does things from the heart, with sincerity and truth, in the end there has to be an answer. In this case, the response of the public, which is sovereign and takes and puts, makes me very happy and very grateful to this beautiful hobby, which mixes youth and older people.

– How is your relationship with music like flamenco?

–Flamenco is a World Heritage Site and its doors are open for every heart that wants to enter. But it is also true that as you enter a house, that is how they welcome you. That is why whenever I enter the house of flamenco, which is everyone’s, I do so from humility, respect and love. What I have for cante and flamenco is devotion, something that I carry inside since I was little and that comes with me like a shadow.

– He has just presented ‘Amor’, his fourth work. Where does it come from, what characteristics does this project have?

-It is very important to me because I have written 90% of the lyrics and it is a work with a lot of heart, hence its title. The fact that Diego del Morao is with me, that he has produced the album and been side by side with me is a dream come true for me, and there is nothing more beautiful than dreams that come true. That is the miracle of humanity: that beautiful dreams come true. In this case, it has been fulfilled for all that and for the reception of the fans, with the Odeon Award for Best Flamenco Album, so I am on a cloud, but a cloud on earth.

–What did two figures like Camarón and Paco de Lucía mean for this genre and for you?

–Flamenco is very extensive and there are many singers, guitarists, dancers … In the case of Camarón and Paco they marked a before and after that is very clear. They took all that hobby and the golden age and transferred them to an endless, infinite space. The way I see it, everyone who wants to enter the house of flamenco has to go through Camarón and Paco, there is no doubt.

–Flamenco has always set quite strict limits. Faced with this tradition, proposals like Rosalía’s are going beyond those canons. How do you see this new scenario?

–All music has a canon, otherwise the style would not exist. The canon has to be there. Beyond that, it is very important that there is freedom in music, in all its styles. But freedom is lost when you miss the tune or hit the wrong road. The important thing is that each one, with their musical freedom and their heart, give their way of feeling to music while respecting its essence.

– In your case, how has the pandemic affected you?

-During the confinement I spent a lot of time listening to cante, writing, composing … I have been very involved in myself and there have been moments for everything, of being bad for being locked up and not being able to see the friends and people you love … But I have taken refuge in my salvation, which is cante.

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