INTERVIEW: Gipsy Kings’ Founding Guitarist Tonino Baliardo on Flamenco, French Roots, and Family

The guitarist discusses the group's evolution as well as their latest record, Historia

(Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gipsy Kings featuring Tonino)

This Thursday, the Gipsy Kings will be returning to Atlanta to perform at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre with founding guitarist Tonino Baliardo. The flamenco family band has embarked on a nostalgic journey through their careers as they share Historia, an album developed whilst filming a retrospective documentary. Ahead of their upcoming show, Art Seen ATL spoke with Baliardo about the band’s influences and the value of creating with his loved ones.

Founded in the late 1970s, Gipsy Kings’ sound is certainly inspired by the traditional stylings of Spanish flamenco guitar, but longtime fans know their sonic influences also expand to their French routes. “We have this particularity to be French,” Baliardo shared. “French pop, rock music, things my sister used to listen to [when we were young] influenced me.” In fact, the band skyrocketed after French starlet and singer Brigitte Bardot overheard the Gipsy Kings playing in Saint-Tropez, later inviting them to play at her birthday party for the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Tony Curtis.

Historia takes listeners through the Gipsy Kings’ multi-decade career. It’s a love letter to everything that makes the band unique, from their iconic covers of “Hotel California” in The Big Lebowski and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” for Toy Story 3, to hits like “Bamboleo” and “Djobi Djoba.” The latter tunes are mentioned on the album’s title track, which just so happens to be the song Baliardo most enjoys playing on tour. The flamenco guitar appears once again as the consistent thread through the project, tapping into Baliardo’s signature “gypsy rumba” approach.

As the youngest in the group, Baliardo had a unique experience playing alongside his family. “I was always there for my brothers, and they were there for me,” he said. “We kind of kept each other together and supported each other throughout our careers.” Nowadays, Baliardo has the pleasure of performing alongside his sons, Cosso and Mikeal, furthering the Gipsy Kings’ legacy for years to come.

It’s clear that the band has continued to grow and evolve as musicians over the years, but when asked what’s changed about the Gipsy Kings, Baliardo emphasized that what matters most is where they’ve stayed the same. “It’s just this continuous process of being together as a group of musicians and traveling around the world, sharing our music and passion with people from all over the world,” he shared. “Doing these two things has just been a continuation of what we’ve always done.”