Found in Spain -
David McLean's debut CD release of 8 flamenco compositions

The CD features an eclectic ensemble of Bay Area musicians: David McLean (guitar) Jason McGuire (cajon, udu, and bass), Javad Butah (tablas), David Belove (bass), Danilo Paiz (congas), Yaelisa (palmas) and Melissa Cruz (palmas).

To buy a hard copy of Found in Spain, contact David McLean at mcleandelavega@yahoo.com or at http://www.myspace.com/flamencodave, where you can find audio samples. CD's will soon be available for purchase at cdbaby.com.

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At dusk in the hot summer of 1999, at a ferria in the Zaidin (a suburb of Granada), I saw my first flamenco show: "Duquende a la guitarra de Tomatito". It was an amazingly picturesque way to be introduced to the art form - a huge outdoor stage in the flatlands, with the sun going down, people scattered around standing in the dust, drinking calimochos. The duo's music was brilliantly intense and thoughtful and it brought me to a place I had never been before. So, I bought a guitar the following day.

For the next 4 years, I solidified my status as a loner, spending half of my days studying guitar in the Vega of Granada-- the surrounding suburbs where my teachers lived. In jest, my friend Angel started to call me "Mclean de la Vega". For awhile I even had a job delivering pizzas throughout the Vega, but I soon decided that illegally zooming around on a junky moto for five bucks an hour was testing my karma. When I returned to the Bay Area in late 2003, I started to compose in my spare time.

Aya Bracket

The songs on the CD came about in different romantic and unromantic ways. I did write one of the songs after I had my heart broken, but the majority were the product of sitting in a quiet place, finding a theme, and following through with it, relying on short moments of inspiration. As a kid I grew up in a rural area with a lot of time to myself, few friends, and no TV, and so I would sit around and improvise on the piano for hours. So, in a way, the composition of these songs seems like an extension of something that I have been doing my entire life.

Jason McGuire really came through on both the music and the production of this CD. He put his heart into it, figuratively and literally-- he actually recorded his heartbeat on one of the songs! I was also fortunate enough to have been offered studio time by the famous poet/songwriter musician, Jackson Browne, who is also a huge flamenco enthusiast. Jackson has spent much of his life in Spain and he has consistently incorporated elements of flamenco into his own music, often collaborating with musicians from Spain, such as the renowned flamenco pianist Ricardo Miño. In the end, I am honored to have worked with such dedicated artists, and I am happy that I chose to go to Spain in that summer of 99.