Alberto Pérez Lapastora (born 20 August 1950) is a Spanish musician, singer, composer and record producer. He has also been involved in radio and cinema throughout his career.

Professional biography

1956–80 early years

He took his first steps in the music world in the choir of the Sagrada Familia (1956) and the so-called Rondalla Seguntina (1961), where he set foot on a stage and went on tours for the first time. At 16 he formed a pop group called "Somos" ("This is us") for which he composed his first songs and recorded his first demo tape. While doing military service in Madrid (1968–70), he got to know musicians from

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and for the first time had the chance to experiment with non-European music. He moved permanently to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

(1972), studied Spanish

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

(

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

) at the Complutense University and music,

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

and

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

at the

Royal School of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. In those years he travelled extensively around different European countries, where he worked as a '

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

' and theatre musician.BASINFA (Data base of th
RTVE Corporation

1981 "La Mandrágora" (The Mandrake)

In 1981 he formed "La Mandrágora" together with

Joaquín Sabina Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina (born 12 February 1949) is a Spanish musician, singer, composer, and poet. His songs usually treat about love, heartbreaks and society with a large usage of literary figures similarly to the baroque-literature st ...

and

Javier Krahe Francisco Javier Krahe de Salas (30 March 1944 – 12 July 2015) was a Spanish singer active from 1980. Biography Krahe was born in distrito de Salamanca, Madrid. He studied at Colegio del Pilar, where he began his studies in business admin ...

, a trio to which he brought his

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

touch as well as a sense of showmanship, and with whom he would make a record of the same name that is still being re-released.Palabras hechas canciones. La Mandrágora
.

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

publishers, 2007

1984–96 "Si yo fuera presidente" (If I were the President) – RTVE. The Alberto Pérez Orchestra

In 1984 he was invited to take part in the Spanish television programme "Si yo fuera presidente" for which he created a character inspired in the vocalists and crooners of the 1940s and 1950s who sung a selection of around 100 famous if long-forgotten songs. He formed the Alberto Pérez Orchestra that he would conduct for 12 years. His record "Amar y Vivir" (To Love and To Live) belongs to that period.

1989 "Corazón loco" (Crazy Heart) – Radio 3

In 1989 he accepted a proposal from Spanish Radio 3 to produce and host a programme about the history and evolution of Afrocuban music. It would be the origin of "Corazón Loco", a radio space that Alberto Pérez would conduct with a guitar in his hands and conversing with the listeners. Although with the unexplained closure of Radio 3 so too the programme had to end.

1990–99 "Sobre la pista" (On the dance floor) y "Tiempo de baile" (Time to dance): meeting Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio

Meeting Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio – with whom Alberto Pérez would have a fifteen-year-long friendship till Chicho's death in 2003 – was fruitful in the way of a collection of 20 dance songs, of various

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, that were composed as stylistic exercises. This enterprise would keep them busy for over two years and would eventually take form in "Sobre la pista" (1990) and "Tiempo de baile" (1997), produced and interpreted by Alberto Pérez himself and in which musicians from different generations and

nationalities Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...

took part. Another project they both worked on was composing the soundtrack to the film
Buenaventura Durruti, anarchist
' (1999), this time performed by Chicho.Mondo Brutto, n. 38, Autumn 2007. "Alberto Pérez. Vida después de la Mandrágora"

1994–95 Voice and vibraphone: Alberto Pérez y Alberto Vergara

He met Alberto Vergara in 1994 while on a tour in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and managed to arrange and perform, using only vocals and

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

, an overview of the history of the '

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

'. Their collaboration lasted for about two years until the return of the

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

vibraphonist, Alberto Vergara, to his home country.

1995 Coming back to songwriting and solo music tours. A new guitar-playing technique.

After his experience with the vibraphonist, Alberto Vergara, Pérez set about developing a new guitar-playing technique so as to be able to

interpret Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language. The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interp ...

some of his dance songs, as it were, in

fashion. He put it to the test in a show called "Más allá de la Mandrágora", that is, "Beyond the Mandrágora" (1995), which most unexpectedly brought him back to the solo singing

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, leading him to give up his role as orchestra conductor.ValladolidWebMusical
18/10/08
Entrevista
/ref>

1997–2000 "Avizor Records" and Carmen Martín Gaite

In 1997 Pérez and the writer

Carmen Martín Gaite Carmen Martín Gaite (8 December 1925 – 23 July 2000) was a Spanish author. She wrote many novels, short stories, screenplays, and essays, across many genres. Gaite was awarded the Premio Nadal in 1957 for '' Entre visillos'', the Prince ...

launched the record company "Avizor Records", with a view to giving publicity to new poets and musicians. The

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

was solely funded with earnings made from their own

recitals A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

and it lasted until Carmen's death in 2000.

2005 "Alberto Pérez y su Orquesta Volátil" (The Volatile Orchestra)

In 2005 he set up the show "Alberto Pérez y su Orquesta Volátil" –entirely done

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

- in order to pay

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

to his friend Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio. This half-spoken, half-sung proposal with elements from the

tradition would take Pérez on theatre

.Esedosuno
–digital newspaper (01/10/11).
Estoy preparado para dejar el oficio mañana mismo o seguir hasta que me muera
" (I am ready to give up my job any minute or else go on with it until I die)

Working for the radio. Workshops and lectures. Acting.

Pérez has directed and conducted various radio programmes, among which the most noteworthy include "Corazón loco" ( RNE, 1989–90) and "A vivir, que son dos días" or "Live it up, life's too short" (

SER Ser or SER may refer to: Places * Ser, a village in Bogdand Commune, Satu Mare County, Romania * Serpens (Ser), an astronomical constellation of the northern hemisphere * Serres, known as Ser in Serbian, a city in Macedonia, Greece Organization ...

, 1994–95). He has also been invited to lecture at various universities and academic institutions, most especially to talk about the '

' and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and South American music; and he has also taken part in

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

for professional musicians aimed at enabling them to identify various

and rhythms. As to his film acting, his most popular contribution was in the film
El viaje a ninguna parte
(Voyage to Nowhere) by Fernando Fernán Gómez (1986).

Records

* " La mandrágora (Album)". CBS, 1981 * "Amar y Vivir", Ariola, 1984 * "Sobre la pista",

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

, 1990 * "Tiempo de baile", Avizor Records, 1997

External links

Video

His channel at Vimeo

Audio

Orquesta volátil at MySpace

Photographies

Photographies at Flickr

Sources and References

AquíNoHueleAPapel
(Here it does not smell of paper) (Irene Ferradas Torre-Marín blog, 2010). "Vivo con los mismos anhelos que cualquier otra persona: dedicarme a lo que me gusta, viajar y disfrutar de una buena compañía”. (I live with the same longings as everyone else: to devote my time to what I like doing, to travel and be in good company.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Alberto Spanish male singers Spanish guitarists Spanish male guitarists Spanish male songwriters 1950 births Living people A cappella musicians Musicians from Castilla–La Mancha Singers from Castilla–La Mancha People from the Province of Guadalajara