Listen to Santa Leone

Pájaro
Andrés Herrera, AKA Pájaro, is a mythical figure in the musical world of Seville in Southern Spain. One of the city’s legendary characters, at a very young age he joined one of Seville’s most celebrated bands, Silvio y Sacramento, and in a place which is famous for its guitar players, he rapidly consolidated his reputation as one of its greatest. Later he played with other renowned artists such as Raimundo Amador and then the band he formed with his brother Rafael, Pata Negra. Nevertheless, the early years of the new millennium found him in a situation similar to that of Johnny Cash before he was “re-discovered” by Rick Rubin, playing to a loyal audience but no longer at the forefront of the national music scene.
All this changed in 2011 when the small Seville indie label Happy Place invited him to come into their studios to work on new material and try a different approach. With fellow guitarists Paco Lamato, (co-founder of the label), and Raul Fernandez working as producers, Pájaro was joined by a group of younger musicians, and together with old friends like Raimundo Amador they made the groundbreaking Santa Leone, a heady mixture of rock, country, and surf music, mixed with the traditional atmosphere of the drums and trumpets of the Easter processions in Seville, and the evocative sounds of Ennio Morricone and the Spaghetti Westerns from the 60s and 70s. Released by Happy Place in 2012, Santa Leone, has completely revitalised Pájaro’s career, and been voted record of the year in numerous publications, including prestigious national magazines such as Ruta 66, whilst receiving continuous airplay on Spanish radio stations. The band has been much in demand in festivals, and filled out concert halls throughout 2012. Now comes their first chance to present their unique sound to American audiences at SXSW.