Anamaria Sayre | August 17, 2023 Shrouded in all black, flamenco garb and flanked by his very own angelitos at the Tiny Desk, Spanish singer Omar Montes is the shining embodiment of the contrasts he constantly plays with.
Dancing along the border of tradition and modernity — flamenco and hip hop — the artist recounts his story as a kid of Roma heritage growing up on the streets of Madrid, over the melodic heartbeat of clapping hands. Opening the show with “Patio de la Cárcel,” he trades synthetic beats for transitive horns and lays bare his soul with vivid bars about life in his barrio. Locking in his audience with a heart-thumping trombone line, he switches to flamenco-driven “Metió en un Lío.” Settling back into the beat of clapping hands, he and his band dance through the up-tempo “La Llama del Amor.”
Omar Montes walked into the building on a video call with his grandma — one of the most important people in his life. He closes out his performance with “Conmigo,” infused with the kind of romance you’d imagine his abuela taught him. “For you I would bring down the moon,” he coos. The Spanish artist exudes tradition and soul as he centers his barrio, his people, his familia in his show — bringing a little piece of Spain to the rest of the world.
SET LIST “Patio de la Cárcel” “Metió en un Lío” “La Llama del Amor” “Conmigo”
MUSICIANS Omar Montes: vocals Oscar Barrul: vocals, palms Jose del Curro: vocals, palms Alejandro Paez: electric bass Cesar Galvez: flamenco guitar Eduardo Figueroa: flamenco cajon Marcos Ortega: trumpet Javier Campos: saxophone, flute Roberto Lorenzo: trombone
TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Anamaria Sayre Director/Editor: Kara Frame Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin Creative Director: Bob Boilen Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
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