Armik | |
---|---|
Birth name | Armik Dashchi |
Born | Iran |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | New Flamenco |
Instrument | Guitar |
Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | Baja/TSR Records, Bolero Records |
Website | Armik.com |
Armik is an Iranian-Armenian American New Flamenco guitarist, producer and composer. [1] His music blends Spanish guitar scales with flamenco improvisation, Latin jazz rhythms, and classical elements. Several of Armik's albums have reached Billboard 's Top New Age Albums chart. [2] [3] [4]
Born in Iran of Armenian descent, Armik showed an early talent for music. At the age of seven, he pawned his watch to buy a classical guitar, which he hid and practiced on in the basement. By nine, Armik had completed formal music lessons as well as a rigid instructional regimen. At the age of 12, he was a professional recording artist. In 1981, Armik moved to Los Angeles, where he performed with various artists before launching his solo career in 1994 with the album Rain Dancer. His second album, Gypsy Flame, helped establish him in the emerging New Flamenco genre.
In 2002, Armik founded his own record label, Bolero Records. His latest album, Gitano Amor, is set for release in January 2025. [5]
Gipsy Kings are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, salsa, and pop. They perform mostly in Spanish but also mix in Catalan, French, and languages of southern France, such as Occitan.
Sabicas was a Spanish flamenco guitarist of Romani origin.
Ottmar Liebert is a German guitarist, songwriter and producer best known for his Spanish-influenced music. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, Liebert has received 38 Gold and Platinum certifications in the United States, as well as certifications in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. His debut album Nouveau Flamenco (1990) was certified Platinum in the United States.
Francisco Sánchez Gómez, known as Paco de Lucía, was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flamenco guitarists to branch into classical and jazz. Richard Chapman and Eric Clapton, authors of Guitar: Music, History, Players, describe de Lucía as a "titanic figure in the world of flamenco guitar", and Dennis Koster, author of Guitar Atlas, Flamenco, has referred to de Lucía as "one of history's greatest guitarists".
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TSR Records is an independent record label based in Tarzana, California, that produced many hit songs in the 1980s, especially dance music. Founded by Tom Hayden and his wife Suzanne. The name TSR is made up of the initials of Tom, Suzanne, and their son, Ryan.
Strunz & Farah is a guitar duo with an eclectic sound that has been described as a cross between world fusion and flamenco.
Shahin & Sepehr are an Iranian-American guitarist duo. Sepehr Haddad is also the author of the historical fiction novel, " A Hundred Sweet Promises" by Appleyard & Sons Publishing.
Young & Rollins is a guitar duo, consisting of Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins, that performs and records original music which draws upon an eclectic mixture of salsa music, Latin jazz, blues, samba, bossa nova, flamenco, and classical styles. Their music can be broadly described as a melding of Nuevo Flamenco, World Music, and Latin Music genres. Daniel Young and Lawson Rollins began collaborating after meeting in Washington, D.C. in 1998. They came from different musical backgrounds - Rollins started out as a classically trained guitarist before moving into Latin American and flamenco guitar styles, while Young holds a degree in jazz from The New School in New York City.
Luis Villegas is an American guitarist who released an album called Cafe Olé in 1996, which was nominated for the Best New Album award at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999. Villegas's style combines new-age music, flamenco, and jazz. He is known for using a technique of playing fast, intricate lines by using the fingernail of his right index finger in place of a guitar pick. He also had a small role as a member of a band in the film Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. He is currently a member of the group Heavy Mellow, along with founder Benjamin Woods and percussionist Mike Bennett.
Santoo Govi is a new age and ambient German American musician. Each of Govi's albums have reached Top 10 on Billboard's New Age chart.
"Amor Gitano" is a Latin pop duet recorded by Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández and American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. The song contains a mixture of cultures, mostly influenced by the language of Fernández, that is Spanish, and Beyoncé's pop and R&B influences. Along with Jaime Flores and Reyli Barba, Beyoncé wrote the song, while Rudy Pérez and Beyoncé herself produced the song. "Amor Gitano" serves as the theme song of the telenovela El Zorro and it was released on February 12, 2007, during the premiere of the episode of the telenovela.
Willie & Lobo was a musical duo composed of William Robert "Willie" Royal, Jr. (violin) and Wolfgang Hubert "Lobo" Fink (guitar). Their music, characterized as New Flamenco and World Music, is a blend of Gypsy, Latin, Celtic, Flamenco, Middle Eastern, Rock, Jazz, Cuban Swing, Tango and Salsa.
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Lawson Rollins is an American guitarist from North Carolina noted for his virtuoso fingerstyle technique and melodic compositional skills. Guitar Player magazine ranked him as one of the "50 Best Acoustic Guitarists of All Time". His music has risen to #1 on the Billboard charts and is generally classed as Latin jazz and world music, with elements of samba, bossa nova, Middle Eastern, classical guitar, flamenco, and shred guitar. He often employs fast minor scales and diminished scale solo runs to his compositions which are executed in the flamenco picado style.
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