Gipsy Kings

Born at the crossroads of Arles and Montpellier into Spanish Romani families, the Gipsy Kings formed in the late 1970s around Nicolas Reyes and guitarist Tonino Baliardo, bringing together several cousins from the Reyes and Baliardo clans. The group developed a rumba flamenca sung in Spanish, blending Andalusian heritage, Catalan rumba and Latin pop influences, driven by highly percussive acoustic guitar playing, tight vocal harmonies and danceable rhythms. After starting out as Los Reyes and touring southern France, the Gipsy Kings recorded Allegria (1982) and Luna de Fuego (1983), before reaching an international audience with the album Gipsy Kings (1987), which included songs such as Bamboléo and Djobi Djoba, and later with Mosaïque (1989) and Este Mundo (1991). Their discography continued with albums like Compas (1997), Somos Gitanos (2001), Roots (2004) and Savor Flamenco (2013), while the Gipsy Kings performed extensively at concerts and festivals across Europe, North America and Latin America, maintaining a group identity built on an extended family core and a hybrid flamenco aesthetic.