Buika finds Turks as crazy as she is

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Spanish singer Buika’s second Istanbul appearance this year, on April 13, sold out. This performance took place one day before her first-ever appearance in Ankara. According to the singer the reason her Turkish audience loves her so much is that they are as crazy as she is.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News before her show in Istanbul, Buika said she really got along with the Turkish audience. “The audience is the real orchestra conductor, because it is the crowd that decides whether you go on with what you are doing, or stop. And I must say I am very happy about the crowd here.”

Buika is noted for her style, which fuses many musical styles such as flamenco, copla, jazz, rumba and soul. She is renowned for being one of the most lively and spontaneous artists on the current Spanish musical scene. She said she always goes on stage with no preconceived idea what she will do there. “I like to surprise the audience. They keep on passing me information about what they want to see, anyway.”

The singer establishes an amazing relationship with the audience, enchanting them completely, immediately upon beginning to sing. Her secret is eye contact, she says. “If eyes are windows, it means that you can look through them in both ways. When the audience is looking at me, I am looking through their eyes and see what they want. Sometimes you leave a concert thinking the artist could really read your soul and perfectly describe your feelings. There is a reason for that, which is, in my case, that I am also listening to the audience while they are listening to me on stage.”

Buika is no stranger to the Turkish jazz scene, because Turkish composer and pianist Fahir Atakoğlu is her close friend, and has introduced her to a few singers in Turkey. “I was amazed at what I heard. Turkish melodies are so powerful. The go through all my senses, directly into my heart. I really do not understand why Turkish music is not running around Europe, and musicians are not crossing the border, because I think this music is like fresh air for all of us. They are doing an amazing job here, I must say.”

When asked who her favorite performers are among her peers, Buika said she has great respect for all musicians, performers, and singers who are not afraid of music. “There is a lot of fear in the music business, [about things like] sales success. I think sales success is a prison for an artist, it prevents him or her from being what he or she could be.” That is not to say that Buika does not care about success at all, because she immediately says where real success lies. “The real success is a happy family, by which I literally mean your close family. If your loved ones at home are happy about what you do and who you are, then you are successful. When thousands are applauding you, the real victory is experienced at home.”

Two songs in Almodovar film

Born in 1972 in Palma de Mallorca, Concha Buika (who performs simply as “Buika”) released her debut album in 2005. Her 2008 album “Nina de Fuego” was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Her second album, “Mi Nina Lola”, included traditional Spanish copla songs such as “Mi Nina Lola,” “Ojos Verdes,” and “Te Camelo,” as well as the flamenco rhythms of “tanguillos” and “bulerías.” The album ended with a flamenco-jazz fusion song titled “Love” and an original song titled “Jodida pero contenta.” In contrast, her third album “Nina de Fuego” contains mostly songs written by Javier Limon, her artistic producer, and Buika herself, along with covers of classic Spanish coplas, including the song the album is named for, and a Mexican ballad.

In 2009 Buika collaborated with international pop-star Nelly Furtado on the song “Fuerte,” which was featured on Furtado’s Spanish-language album “Mi Plan.” “Fuerte” was remixed and released as a single in October 2010. Most recently, she performed two songs, “Se Me Hizo Facil” and “Por El Amor de Amar,” in the 2011 Pedro Almodovar movie “The Skin I Live In.”