Gipsy Kings Featuring Tonino Baliardo – Historia (Cooking Vinyl, 2026)
Gipsy Kings Featuring Tonino Baliardo will release Historia on May 29, 2026. Led by the single “Señorita,” the accessible album will be available nearly four decades after the group’s 1987 self-titled breakthrough. That release helped bring non-English-language music to wider UK and US audiences, followed by albums such as Mosaïque and Este Mundo.
“Señorita” hooks you in with Baliardo’s flamenco guitar, velvet baritone vocals, and hip-shaking rhythms. It’s a sun-drenched rumba flamenca steeped in the rambunctious street-party spirit of Spain’s legendary rumba flamenca bands. Baliardo traces the song back to childhood nights overflowing with swirling dancers, boisterous singalongs, and guitars passed from hand to hand until dawn.
That same combustible energy barrels through “El Campo” and the explosively buoyant “Big Bang,” while the album slips gracefully into more shadowy corners elsewhere. The title track glides on the swagger and sweep of classic Gipsy Kings magic. The aching “La Guera” unfurls with deeply rooted flamenco vocals that smolder and sigh, while “Soñador” (“dreamer”) drifts into a sultry jazz groove. The luminous instrumental “Cielo” (“Heaven”) serves as a heartfelt tribute to Baliardo’s late brother Paco, its melodies floating heavenward with tender melancholy. Then comes “Hijos del viento” (“sons of the wind”), an irresistibly hook-heavy anthem where glossy pop instincts collide — bam! — with the whirlwind pulse of flamenco rumba.
Throughout their career, Gipsy Kings have sold more than 25 million albums, surpassed 2 billion streams, and performed sold-out shows worldwide. Their flamenco rumba-rooted style, with Latin, pop, reggae, and jazz influences, has also appeared in Toy Story 3, The Big Lebowski, and Entourage.
Musicians: Tonino Baliardo — lead guitar; Benji Baliardo — guitar; Mikael Baliardo — percussion and guitar percussion; Jean Michel Kerwich — guitar, lead and backing vocals; Jean Samuel Rey — lead and backing vocals; Jean Claude Vila — lead vocals; Jean Claude Bila — lead vocals; Fausto Cuevas — percussion; José Fernández — piano; Thomas James Potrel — bass; Cyril Cablat — guitar; Cyril Seguy — keyboards; Frederic Marchal — drums; Samuel Debout — lead guitar; and Rey — backing vocals.
Author: Iliana Cabrera
