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 Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in Madrid (1968–70), he got to know musicians from

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

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

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

(1972), studied Spanish

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

(

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

) at the

Complutense University The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

and music,

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

at the Royal School of Music. In those years he travelled extensively around different European countries, where he worked as a '

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) 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 equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

' 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 love, heartbreaks and society with significant use of literary figures as in the baroque-literature style. He ha ...

and Javier Krahe, a trio to which he brought his romantic 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 (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. 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 . is the most read newspaper in ...

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 A crooner is a singer who performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The crooning style was made possible by better microphones that picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to acc ...

of the 1940s and 1950s who sung a selection of around 100 famous if long-forgotten

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

. 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 Chicho is a Spanish male nickname. It can be a pet name for many different Spanish names, including Francisco and Narciso. Notable people known by this nickname include: * Cándido Sibilio * Chicho Frumboli, also known as Mariano Frúmboli, Argen ...

's death in 2003 – was fruitful in the way of a collection of 20 dance

, of various

genre Genre () is any style or form 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 fo ...

, 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

generation A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It also is "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and b ...

s and

nationalities Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, nat ...

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 a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and managed to arrange and perform, using only vocals and

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

, 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 h ...

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

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

vibraphonist The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) 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 ''vib ...

, 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

, Alberto Vergara, Pérez set about developing a new guitar-playing technique so as to be able to interpret some of his dance

, 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 the largest city 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 inhabita ...

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

1997–2000 "Avizor Records" and Carmen Martín Gaite

In 1997 Pérez and the writer Carmen Martín Gaite launched the record company "Avizor Records", with a view to giving publicity to new poets and musicians. The

project A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...

was solely funded with earnings made from their own recitals 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 Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

- 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 lands which the state con ...

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

' and Central and

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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 Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007), better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez, was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director, novelist, and playwright. Prolific and outstanding in all these fiel ...

(1986).

Records

* "

La mandrágora (Album) LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, 1981 * "Amar y Vivir",

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international ...

, 1984 * "Sobre la pista", BMG, 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