"Volare," "Bamboleo,"
"Habla Me," "A Mi Manera (Comme D’habitude-My Way)," "Djobi Djoba," "Un Amor," and other global hits.
After a long wait, the GIPSY KINGS, led by Nicolas Reyes & Tonino Baliardo, will perform in Brazil in October 2018.
The band, which has sold over 20 million albums worldwide and garnered over 100 million views on YouTube, continues to celebrate its unique and exciting tradition. This tradition united the Reyes and Baliardo families and attracted famous fans such as Picasso, Cocteau, Dali, and Chaplin. Whether playing on the streets of Cannes or the glamorous settings of St. Tropez, the Gipsy Kings broke through the barriers of World Music, becoming one of the rare groups to top the charts in the U.S. and around the world.
Blending flamenco, rumba, salsa, and pop, the Kings promise to get all Brazilians dancing at their shows, throwing a grand party with their legendary hits like "Bamboleo," "Djobi Djoba," "Volare," and more, accompanied by their unmistakable flamenco guitars.
More recently, they have been featured in movie soundtracks such as Sing, The Big Lebowski, Toy Story 3, and Glee, gracefully embracing Western classics by Bob Marley, the Doobie Brothers, and The Eagles, with hints of Caribbean and Brazilian culture.
“Music has always been a passion,” says guitarist Tonino Baliardo. “Even after all this time, after all these years of touring and work, music has given us so much. We have matured, we’ve developed, and everything has been so good for us.”
Biography
It has been twenty-five years since the Gipsy Kings captured the world’s imagination with their debut album, which became a true phenomenon, going gold and platinum around the world, introducing millions of listeners to a unique and irresistible blend of traditional flamenco styles with Western pop and Latin rhythms.
Since then, the band has been continuously touring, maintaining the same lineup of virtuoso musicians and selling over twenty million albums.
Twenty-five years is an eternity in pop music, but the history of the Gipsy Kings stretches back even further. Their music spans generations, echoing the sounds of their ancestors and reflecting the eclectic history of the Spanish Romani people, who fled the Catalonia region during the Spanish Civil War.
For the past 25 years, the group has been led by two composers and producers: Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo. Nicolas’ father, Jose Reyes, formed a famous flamenco duo with Manitas de Plata. When the duo split, Reyes became even more popular with his own band, which included his sons and was called Los Reyes.
After Reyes passed away in 1979, Nicolas and Tonino began performing together in the city of Arles, in southern France. They traveled all over the country, playing wherever they could—weddings, parties, festivals. Adopting the nomadic gypsy lifestyle, they renamed the band the Gipsy Kings.
“World Music” is often a meaningless term, a marketing shortcut, but as one of the first artists to help define its meaning, the Gipsy Kings create music that truly crosses all boundaries. Their 1987 debut album, which spent forty weeks on the U.S. album charts, introduced the world to "Rumba Gitano"—the rumba rhythm of South America, combined with flamenco guitars. The album Bamboleo became a massive worldwide hit.
Over the years, the Reyes’ music has incorporated elements of Latin and Cuban styles, Arabic music, reggae, and jazz guitar reminiscent of French Romani master Django Reinhardt, while maintaining a deep connection to traditional flamenco. The fluid guitar work of Tonino Baliardo and the powerful vocals of Nicolas Reyes are central to this rich cultural mix. This broad cultural fusion has allowed the Gipsy Kings to be embraced wherever they perform—from China to Brazil, New Orleans to Russia, Australia to Africa.
The band’s music has also remained visible throughout popular culture. They recently performed their version of "Volare," a 1989 international hit, on an episode of Dancing with the Stars. Their rendition of "Hotel California" was featured in the movie The Big Lebowski and the HBO series Entourage. The 2010 movie Toy Story 3 featured a Gipsy Kings version of Randy Newman’s popular theme "You’ve Got a Friend in Me."
After the release of their 2006 album Pasajero, the Kings took a break from new projects, observing the chaos that dominated the 21st-century music industry. However, they never stopped writing new material and developing songs while on the road. They began recording Savor Flamenco in 2016, feeling free to write their own arrangements, select additional musicians, and produce their music for the first time.
For the band, the new album represents both a look forward and a look back. Nicolas Reyes speaks about “Samba Samba,” the lead single from Savor Flamenco, saying, “It’s a very old song from our early years—it was written for parties, sun, joy, and beaches.”
The Gipsy Kings have spent a remarkable two and a half decades at the top, in a category all their own. However, in the rare moments when they are not on tour, the band members still live with their families in the south of France, the area that shaped their identities and sound. Each time they return to their secluded enclave, they recreate the experience of immigrants arriving in a new land. Certainly, their lives are different from those of their ancestors, but something fundamental remains. As they continue to travel the world, absorbing new cultures and styles, this mobility, curiosity, and adaptability continue to drive their music forward. And while this remarkable collective remains active, they are also looking to the future. Nicolas Reyes reflects, “Even though 25 years have passed, we want to continue making new music because it’s our life, it’s who we are. But I think there will come a time when we will pass the Gipsy Kings on to our children.”
