If there’s ever going to be a movie biopic of 70s Anglo-American outfit Carmen, the pitch would be: ‘flamenco music and dancing meets progressive rock.’ Although viewed as a musical oddity, they were befriended by David Bowie; and their first two albums, Fandangos In Space (1973) and Dancing On A Cold Wind (1974) were created with the services of producer Tony Visconti.
While mixing different styles and genres was key to achieving their sound, Carmen don’t just rely on founder David Clark Allen’s fearsomely precise guitar to do the job, but also import flamenco’s signature hand-clapping, the percussive foot-stomping and numerous rousing cries of ‘Olé!’ into the mix.
