Santiago Auserón

The singer of the echoes of blackness

No, Santiago Auserón has not sold his soul to the devil to obtain an immeasurable musical skill, as the legend says that the ‘bluesman’ Robert Johnson did at a crossroads. Auserón’s case is more prosaic: his natural talent allows him to enter without the backpack of the devil along the dusty paths of the blues, the sunny routes of the Caribbean and the embers of the national song that received the black influence. Auserón is a happy anomaly in a universe of Christmas stars; a rocker who gave meaning to the modern music of Spain, he is situated, like Johnson, at a crossroads, yes, but there is no demonic pact but a starting point where the echoes of blackness converge.

On Saturday, Santiago will perform a duet with his guitar, in a joyful conjunction of nuanced voice and meticulous instrumentation that few, with the repertoire he offers, can afford in these parts. Depedro did it in an outstanding way in the last edition.
But there is more: Auserón, like Dylan, reinvents himself in each concert, because therein lies (in addition to the compositions, of course) the mother of all musical battles; the strokes of the song are presented to its creator as an open canvas in which to compose new soundscapes, in which to open new paths of meaning. Add to that the subtext that the singer adds to each piece when he presents it; lines that make up a film halfway between confessional and fiction, in which grace and irony are not lacking.

Yes, we will enjoy ourselves, bringing the heat of New Orleans to the Cuban oriental sound, blowing jazz winds with noir film soundtracks, without forgetting boleros or rock. Let’s see if we can listen to some Radio Futura before we leave.