For more than 25 years, the German-based guitar duo Tierra Negra have been highly active protagonists of flamenco nuevo and mediterranean guitar lounge music. Since their discovery in Montreal, Canada, in 1997 and the subsequent recording contract, guitar virtuosos Leo Henrichs and Raughi Ebert have produced a total of 17 CDs.
The music of Tierra Negra (Spanish for Black Earth) is inspired by the special beauty of the landscape in the Camargue in the south of France. There lies the small village of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, where the two guitarists - Leo Henrichs and Raughi Ebert - regularly travel to compose their music in the garden of an old country house. In addition to the barely touched lake landscape around this place, the semi-wild Camargue horses, the multitude of flamingos and the neighboring Mediterranean Sea, there is a special flamenco tradition of its own. This music was made world-famous by Manitas de Plata and the Gipsy Kings.
Leo and Raughi like to sit down on the shore of a large lake adjacent to the garden and capture the melodies carried by the wind with their guitars. They blend flamenco harmonies and rhythms with influences from reggae, pop, jazz and rock music to create their very own musical style.
The melody and the sound of the flamenco guitars are always at the heart of the songs. Hypnotic ballads alternate with passionately intense rhythm guitars.