José María López Sanfeliu (born April 3, 1952), better known by his stage name Kiko Veneno, is a Spanish musician.

Biography

He was born in

Figueres Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museu ...

, where he was brought up in a military home, and later grew up in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

finally settling down in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. He got the nickname Kiko while studying at university. He studied History and philosophy and after graduating, travelled through Europe and the US. During his travels he attended concerts of artists like Frank Zappa, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

which influenced his style. Still, also during these years he rediscovered

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

. In 1975 he formed the group Veneno with brothers Rafael and

Raimundo Amador Raimundo Amador Fernández (born in Sevilla on May 26, 1959) is a Spaniards, Spanish gypsy guitar player. Biography He started playing the guitar for well-known flamenco artists like Fernanda de Utrera or Camarón de la Isla and Paco de Lucía ...

. In 1977 they produced the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

album ''Veneno'' produced by Ricardo Pachon. Although not a great hit at the time it is now considered a classic Spanish album. In 1979 he collaborated with

Camarón de la Isla José Monje Cruz (5 December 1950 – 2 July 1992), better known by his stage name Camarón de la Isla (), was a Spanish Romani flamenco singer. Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, he was noted for his collaborations ...

, the famous

gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

flamenco singer, on the classic album ''La leyenda del tiempo''. In 1982 he published his first solo album ''Seré Mecánico por Ti'', produced by Jose Luis de Carlos, which had a poor commercial performance. During the 1980s he continued to publish songs but due to lack of commercial success he had to supplement his music working for the council of

. The most successful part of his career started in 1992 when he signed BMG-Ariola and released his albums ''Échate un cantecito'' (1992) and ''Está muy bien eso del cariño'' (1995), both produced by Joe Dworniak. The first album produced several hits like "En Un Mercedes Blanco" and "Joselito". The success of these albums allowed him to devote himself full-time to music. In 1992, Kiko sponsored the creation of a band that would be called Mártires del Compás, formed by Chico Ocaña, Raul Rodriguez and Jose Caraoscura. Disagreements between Ocana and Kiko meant that the band split in two: Ocaña took the name of the group and went solo, and Raul Rodriguez and Jose Caraoscura (Kiko in the background) formed Caraoscura. They released an album in 1995 entitled ''¿Qué es lo que quieres de mí?''. In 1999 he toured

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

to give a series of concerts which were a critical success. After three more records Kiko ended his contract with Ariola and decided to produce his future music himself. In September 2005 he released ''El Hombre Invisible''. Ever since, he has mostly collaborated with other musicians, while releasing his own new songs only via digital download. In 2006 he formed the band G5 along Los Delinqüentes,

Tomasito Tomás Moreno Romero, better known as Tomasito, is a Spanish flamenco dancer, singer and rapper born in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in 1969. His music style is a very personal mixture of flamenco, pop, rock, hip hop, funky, and other rhythms. He ...

and Muchachito Bombo Infierno. His album Sombrero Roto has been nominated for IMPALA's European Independent Album of the Year Award (2019).

Selected discography

Veneno

* ''Veneno (CBS, 1977).'' * ''El pueblo guapeao (Twins, 1989).''

Kiko Veneno

*''Seré mecánico por ti'' (Epic, 1981). *"Si tú, si yo" (Epic, 1984) - maxisingle. *''Pequeño salvaje'' (Nuevos Medios, 1987). *''Échate un cantecito'' (BMG Ariola, 1992). *''Está muy bien eso del cariño'' (BMG, 1995). *''Punta Paloma'' (BMG, 1997). *''Puro veneno'' (BMG, 1998) *''La familia pollo'' (BMG, 2000). *''El hombre invisible'' (Nuevos Medios, 2005). *''Dice la Gente'' (Warner, 2010). *''Sensación Térmica (2013)

Kiko Veneno and Pepe Begines

*''Gira mundial'' (Elemúsica, 2002).

Compilation albums

*''Un ratito de gloria'' (BMG, 2001)

G5

*'' Tucaratupapi'' (2007), with Los Delinqüentes, Muchachito Bombo Infierno and

References

External links

Kiko Veneno's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veneno, Kiko Flamenco-rock 1952 births Living people Spanish musicians