Teye & Belén
FlamencObsesionArte (CoraZong) It’s one thing to master an art, but it’s another to do so in a foreign land. And it’s still another to successfully relocate your hard-earned skills to a third culture. So goes the story of strummer extraordinaire Teye (pronounced like “hi ya”). Teye was raised in the Netherlands, but flamenco pulled him to Spain, where he learned guitarra flamenca from resident masters. He and Belén, his lovely Spanish dancer wife, now lead an Austin-based flamenco ensemble that tours all over the world. Teye & Co.’s passion is obvious, from FlamencObsesionArte’s artistically rendered, poetry-filled liner notes, to their “Best Music Video/ DVD” 2004 Austin Music Awards nod for “Sol del Caribe” (audio and video versions are included here). Like 1999’s Viva el Flamenco, its excellent predecessor, FlamencObsesionArte is full of understated expertise and deep emotion. Most of the nine cuts feature the full band, but Teye’s God-given fretboard talents are on full display in the solo works “El Deseo” and “Punta y Tacón.” Adding greater dimension are cameos by Atash’s vocalist Mohammad Firoozi and violinist Erik Hokkanen, whose solo sets the title track ablaze. The only shortcoming of FlamencObsesionArte is it’s not quite as magical as experiencing Teye live. Still, you’d have to be in Iberia to do better. Olé!
This article appears in November 5 • 2004.