Luna Blanca Popular For Their Latin-oriented New-flamenco

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Provence, the southeastern region of France, is known for its painterly sunlight, mistral wind, scenery, wine, food and ambience, and now it serves as the title and inspiration for the fourth album by the German act Luna Blanca, which over the past decade has become one of the most popular nouveau-flamenco groups in the world. Luna Blanca's first three CDs - New Flamenco Odyssee, Magic and Guitar Island, plus their concert DVD Guitar Island Live - established the group internationally as a top modern flamenco ensemble combining melodic emotional acoustic guitar performance with piano and keyboards backed by tasteful passionate percussion. Luna Blanca has become known for their catchy and instantly-appealing melodies plus a Latin-oriented ensemble sound that makes the listener feel they are traveling to a warm climate to enjoy good times.

Luna Blanca was founded by acoustic lead guitarist Richard Hecks, who has used a variable line-up of musicians in the band. But the other mainstay of the group is pianist Helmut Graebe, who joined the second year, just before they recorded the first album, and now co-writes much of the music with Hecks. Both on record and in concert they add other musicians as needed (drums and percussion, bass, one or two acoustic rhythm guitars, organ, occasional vocalizing, etc.). On Provence, Hecks and Graebe are joined by rhythm guitarist Bino Dola (a flamenco player much respected throughout Europe) and Clemens Paskert (who added bass, percussion and additional keyboards). Paskert, who runs Capitol Sound Studios where the CD was recorded, also served as arranger and co-producer with Hecks. The band is based in Bocholt, Germany.

Hecks was a classical guitarist until he heard Ottmar Liebert (a fellow German transplanted to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the United States) on the radio appropriately playing the tune "Santa Fe." "It was like a stroke of lightning. That was the sound I had been searching for, " Hecks says. "It was the alchemy of uniting beautiful melodies with the intensity of flamenco. It aroused my enthusiasm. Many classical flamenco guitarists simply aim at virtuosity, but I prefer the romantic and melodious aspect that Ottmar introduced." Hecks named his band Luna Blanca as a "tip of the hat" homage to Liebert's band, and also covered several Liebert tunes, as well as compositions by Govi (another popular guitarist), on the first two Luna Blanca recordings.

On their debut album, Luna Blanca also did versions of both a classical piece by Chopin and "Johnny Guitar" by Victor Young from the 1954 film of the same name. On the second CD, Magic, Hecks and Graebe began writing original material, and found that their title tune and "Destiny" were well received. They also did their own distinctive new flamenco arrangements of classic rock tunes by The Beatles, Procol Harum and Santana. For Guitar Island, Hecks and Graebe composed all of the pieces except for "Robinson Crusoe, " the original theme from the 1964 German-French TV series. On the new Provence, Hecks and Graebe penned all the material.

For their original material, the Mediterranean region is a source of great inspiration. "I have been traveling on holiday almost every year to the south of France, most times to a nice little town called Sainte-Maxime, often to a beautiful residence with the name Villa Azur where I can sit in the garden and look out at the sea, " explains Hecks. "This inspired the tune 'Villa Azur' on Guitar Island. I love the Mediterranean panoramas. This French region known as Provence has inspired many famous painters including Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Matisse and Picasso; and it is surely more than a random coincidence that the Gipsy Kings, with their exciting music, live in Provence."

Listening to the Provence recording is like taking a tour of this region. The CD begins with the soft-and-slow tune "Driving, " which sets the stage for a leisurely trip. "Mistral, " with organist Uwe Gronau added to the mix, is named after a famous wind that blows in the area removing dust and giving a special quality of light prized by painters. Hecks explains that "Creme Brulee" is named after a sweet dessert favored in that locale, "La Maison Bleue" is a favorite restaurant in Sainte-Maxime, "Rose" is the wine that accompanies nearly every dinner, and "Cote d'Azur" and "Camargue" are famous locations within Provence. Less specific, but still capturing the flavor and spirit of the western Mediterranean are the tunes "Francoise, " the ever-present "Cafe, " the life of a "Gipsy, " the mid-day tradition of the "Siesta, " and, as a fitting end to the CD, "Sunset." While the focus is on Hecks' exquisite guitar melody lines, there are many other highlights including Graebe's piano playing on "Rose" and "Siesta, " guest vocalizing on "Cote d'Azur" and "Sunset, " and stellar percussion on "Camargue" and "Sunset."

Richard Hecks began playing guitar at age 12, "initially inspired by Trini Lopez in the movie 'The Poppy is Also a Flower'." Richard soon got hooked on the electric guitar rock'n'roll sounds of groups such as The Shadows and The Spotnicks, and he played in the band The Condors. "Helmut is an old and dear friend of mine. We have known each other since our time at university when we played together for pure fun, mostly doing all The Beatles' songs." Eventually Richard became passionate about classical guitar and artists such as Andres Segovia, and in 1995 Hecks hired a well-known guitar-maker, Hermann Hauser, to craft a custom acoustic. "I explicitly asked him to produce a guitar which would produce a soft sound which is why he made the top out of cedar." In 1999 Hecks performed classical guitar music in concert with another guitarist and was pleased by the crowd's enthusiastic response. After hearing Ottmar Liebert, Hecks began performing in a nouveau-flamenco style. "I always loved discovering new directions of style and other techniques. It was always my intention to play emotional music capable of reaching the hearts of those who listen."

Helmut Graebe began playing bass when he was 13 and remembers playing percussion on tin cans while listening to BBC Radio. Later he discovered one of his relatives had a piano and he taught himself to play that instrument. He also enjoys performing on a Hammond B-3 organ when he gets the chance. As a friend of Hecks, Graebe was asked to help produce the first Luna Blanca CD, but when he played a piano solo "just for fun" on the tune "August Moon, " he and Richard felt, "The new sound of Luna Blanca was born." When Richard came up with the idea of projecting photos and original artwork on a screen behind the group during concerts, Helmut contributed paintings to use.

In addition to garnering airplay around the world with their music, Luna Blanca has had many memorable moments. They performed at major concert events - "La Guitarra" in 2004 and "Noche de Guitarra" in 2005 - with international guitar stars Peter Finger and Bino Dola joining them. On their Guitar Island album, Hecks and Graebe brought in award-winning percussionist Sascha Popping. From that CD, the tune "Pastis" went to No. 3 on the Australian Indie Radio Chart, "Island Reggae" appeared on a Global Rhythm compilation CD, "Villa Azur" was heard on a New Age and New Sounds compilation recording, and "Rising Sun" was chosen to be on two compilation albums - Cafe World Lounge and Goa Chillout Zone.

“In my early years as a musician, I never thought I would turn my attention to flamenco melodies, ” states Hecks. “But once I heard the music, I fell in love with the emotionalism and intensity, and I also love how this new flamenco sound deeply touches listeners from all age groups, all different ethnic backgrounds and all countries around the world. It seems to be a universal musical language that can be appreciated by anyone.”

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