Today one of the great Andalusian musicians looks out of this public window, I am referring to Juan Reina, who was born in Seville, in a neighborhood marked by street music, begins his artistic career in a group called Sonacai, with which they record on Virgin a single album making Flamenco music. He collaborates on the latest album by the flamenco guitarist ”Rafael Riqueni”, with whom he tours and collaborates on the album ”Riverdance” with the producer of “U2” Bill Welan.
In 1989 he formed the band “Arrajatabla” together with Raimundo Amador and Luis Cobos. With the band they go to Japan and compete with 32 groups from all over the world and win the “band explosion” in Tokyo, they record their CD with Warner and the SGAE collaborates In the executive production, they tour with Ketama and Barbería del Sur . After two years he called him to sing “Tele” from the group “Triana” and with him recorded two albums “El jardin Eléctrico” and “En libertad”. He lived in Triana and together with Tele from 1994 to 2002, and after Tele left he continued to perform with the band, in the meantime he did what he always did, producing many artists within flamenco and fusion, such as El Barrio, Algiva, The Breast, Romero San Juan…
And within the more traditional flamenco he made three albums for Juan Peña “El Lebrijano” and great singers like Chocolate, with whom he won a Latin Grammy for best production.
He has currently produced several new artists such as Adrian Benítez or Entrecalles and is in the most beautiful project of his life which is “Clamp” together with the great teacher and guitarist “Octavio Kotan”.
This great artist is our protagonist today, with whom talking about music is a real joy, and we start the interview in this way:
What is your opinion of the situation we are experiencing, especially within the world of music?
Well, look, all this has cornered us in the world of music, now we are reinventing ourselves, because there is no way that the institutions and the Ministry of Culture itself oppose us. They have abandoned us to our fate, the same to musicians, sound companies, private promoters… who play with their money, and do not give us options to work.
Have you been scared at some point?
Well, I haven’t been afraid per se, I’ve been afraid for my family and friends, who in one way or another have been affected by this pandemic and many friends have fallen by the wayside.
What projects do you have for the future and what are you doing now?
The future is uncertain, in my case I am always making music, composing and doing productions for other artists. I’m still working with Triana and this fall I’ll release a solo song like Juan Reina, but always experimenting and creating with the music that fills me.
How was the process to be able to continue using the name of Triana?
There is no process here, everything is very clear, Triana’s name has all the legal rights, and we will continue working until the body holds out and nothing and no one external to the group is going to prevent it, least of all a former member. Triana will continue to be alive as long as people want.
What does Triana mean to you?
For me, in these 29 years that I have been in the group, it has marked me a lot, but for good, first with Tele and then without it, and people enjoy the concerts, which is the most important thing, and it gives you the desire to continue and stream Triana’s music live.
What are your best and worst musical memories?
If I’m honest, they are all good and beautiful memories, both with all the groups I’ve been to and in the productions I’ve done with great artists, the collaborations I’ve participated in…
The bad guys are the road and travel companions who have stayed on the road and are no longer here and will always be in my memory and in my heart.
Who are your idols in the world of music?
We all have our references and they are the ones that influence you. From the 1960s-70s, then, Pink Floyd, Kim Crimson, The Doors, and, later on, Coldplay, Pocurpine Three, Lenny Kravitz, Jhon Mayer, and an endless etc.
What is Huelva for you?
Huelva and its towns have always been my second home, I lived in Isla Cristina for four years, and Huelva is always in me, where I have many people I love and admire, it is a land with an endless talent for music.
What was your childhood like and what did you dream of being when you grew up?
As a child I was always very happy, thanks to my parents and my sisters. As a child I remember having a guitar in my hands, in my house music lived a lot, it was my world and it still is. My dream was and is for everyone to be happy, not have enemies, and continue to be the same as I was when I was little.
Who are your personal and professional references?
On a personal level, my father, who was also a musician and taught me to be who I am, the one who told me to always keep my feet on the ground, and, professionally, “Tele”, Juan Peña “Lebrijano”, who was my friend, partner and teacher and the one who guided me in the gear in which the music itself moves.
With which character would you like to share a dinner and what would you ask?
I would have liked to do it with Federico Garcia Lorca, who is one of my favorites, and I would have asked him how he was able to survive the time he lived with the persecution he suffered. He was a great musician who liked flamenco and as a poet, his work will always be eternal.
What do you spend your free time doing?
As I have already told you, my life is music, so I read, write and listen to world music, which enriches me a lot and I advise readers to discover it.
Juan, chatting with you for a while and listening to you talk about music is like doing a master’s degree, I love seeing you happy, with illusions and optimistic.
You are a true luxury for the music of our Andalusian land.
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