John Walsh on making Ireland's first Flamenco music album

Irish Flamenco guitarist and composer John Walsh writes for Culture about making Ireland's first Flamenco music album, Irlandalucía, and his musical journey to date - read RTÉ's review of Irlandalucía here.

Growing up in rural Longford, I always dreamed that I would one day work as an Astronomer and spent many a freezing winter's night staring up at the stars through a pair of binoculars kindly furnished by Mr. Claus one Christmas. That I would end up as a professional musician never entered my mind.

I took up the guitar as a way of escaping the stress of studying for the Leaving Cert and shortly thereafter went on to study Applied Physics in University of Limerick.

It was while I was in Uni that I started to really discover my love for the music and the guitar, often spending 8 hours a day at the weekend practicing.

It was during this time that I discovered Flamenco music.

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I was on work experience in Dublin and finally having some disposable income, I bought a number of CD's, one of which was Fuente y Caudal by the great Maestro Paco de Lucia. I was immediately captivated and resolved that somehow or other, I had to learn to play this music.

Upon graduation in 2003 and finding a job as a Fibre-Optics engineer, I decided to begin studying classical guitar. After two years, I completed a diploma in classical guitar performance and decided that now was the time to get into Flamenco proper.

It was in 2008 that things really changed for me. I ended up on the main stage of the National Concert Hall as an ‘interval act’ during a show presented by my Flamenco teacher at the time, Francisco Garcia.

He was joined on stage by Salvador Andrades, who subsequently invited me to come to Algeciras, Spain to study with him.

The logical thing to do was to quit my job and go to Algeciras, the birthplace of my idol Paco de Lucia, so that’s what I did.

I had private classes every morning with Salvador and after eight hours of practice, spent the evenings accompanying the dancers and singers in his Flamenco academy.

Over the course of four years, I went over and back to Algeciras to study both with Salvador and his son, the inimitable Jose Manuel Leon, as well as with whoever else I could find throughout Andalucía.

Shortly after being proclaimed ‘a professional’ by Salvador, I found myself in Dublin again and faced with the task of somehow making a career out of this ‘profession’.

I began composing my own Flamenco music, playing small gigs wherever I could and teaching whoever was interested.

Little by little gigs gave way to arts and guitar festivals, my teaching led to masterclasses at home and abroad and my compositions which I put on YouTube gained some attention in various parts.

It was in 2013 that I had the pleasure of composing 40 minutes of extra music for Ballet Ireland’s production of Carmen, which toured all around Ireland as well as in London.

While that tour was coming to a close, I was contacted from Spain by the percussionist Gines Pozas to play as the ‘International Artist’ at a Flamenco Festival near Toledo.

While there, I was asked to play 2 nights in the ‘Candela’ tablao (flamenco club) in Madrid.

The following year, things came full circle when I was invited again as ‘International Artist’ to another Flamenco festival, but this time in the prestigious Paco de Lucia guitar festival in Algeciras where I had studied.

All the while I was still composing, but trying to make a living as a Flamenco guitarist, particularly outside of Spain, makes for a busy schedule.

Time never seemed available to me to record the debut album which I had been promising to many people for a number of years.

Then came COVID and the lockdown. With all concerts, masterclasses, workshops and everything else wiped off the calendar, I knew it was now or never.

I began recording in my home studio in Sallins in April.

I brought three percussionists on board to join me on the album. Pepe Rodriguez, my long-time percussionist Gines Pozas, who played in my quartet and Ruven Ruppik, whom I played with at the Paco de Lucia guitar festival.

They each recorded in their own studios in Spain and Netherlands, and the whole thing was mixed and mastered in Seville by Alberto Lopez.

The called the album Irlandalucía to reflect my two musical homes, in Ireland and Andalucía, and it contains seven of my original Flamenco compositions for guitar. One I dedicated to my dear friend and mentor Salvador Andrades and one of the tracks is called Cassiopeia, a nod to my original astronomical dreams.

I’ve been really taken aback by the positive reception the album has received and now that the monkey is off my back I think I will spend more time fly fishing!

Irlandalucía by John Walsh is out now - find out more here.

Pics: Magda Kacperska

John Walsh on making Ireland's first Flamenco music album

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