Insight into the life of Mark Shurey, British Flamenco Artist

It's not every day that you meet a British flamenco musician who one day up and decides to leave everything behind and run off with the gypsies in search of mastering the art of the flamenco guitar. Mark Shurey, known as 'pimientito' by fellow musicians, never felt quite right in England and instead of waiting around for something to change, he went after it himself. Having now lived in Andalucía for more than ten years, spending his time in both Granada and nearby town Nerja, Mark is pleased to announce his first album release, Ceremonial, a compilation of classical pieces with a flamenco flare and a perfect fit for a wedding ceremony.

How did you come up with the idea for this ceremonial album?

We [referring to music producer Harold Burgon] looked around and realized there's no other classical wedding music album, really. We were surprised ourselves. And for the first project we wanted to start with something classical and later move on to flamenco.

We had a look at what people typically want in a ceremony and the thing is, many couples are English or English-Spanish, so we decided for example that many people like Ave María for communion, etc.

As for the name, we chose something that was the same in both English and Spanish.

What are the other projects you have planned?

This is one of five. Our next project is about the Caves of Nerja. If you're not familiar with them, you should really go. They're like a Cathedral inside. And we plan to record compositions that were made about the caves. We might record inside the caves themselves, but we're not sure if it'll work out acoustically.

So, we've got to ask, why pimientito?

In the gypsy world they have silly names for everyone. For example, there's tomate and his son tomatito. I used to have really long hair, and one day someone said hey, this guy's like tomatito, and someone else said, no more like pimientito! And it just stuck.

Do you have a specific muse?

Being here in Granada is what drives me. And it has always fascinated me what you can get out of 6 strings and a piece of wood. That's enough for me.

Why Southern Spain?

My mother always says I was born in the wrong country. When you look at my life, there's no clear reason why I should have felt particularly connected to Spain. ... One day I just looked at the calender and said, that's the day. And I left. Everything? Yes. Everything. And I took a boat because I wanted to feel the actual distance. When I got here, Granada wasn't an inspiration. It was home.

Wasn't it difficult for you to break the barrier with the other musicians, particularly as a foreigner?

Absolutely. It took me years.

What are some of your greatest challenges as a musician?

There are waiters who play better than me. It's overwhelming the amount of talent in Granada.

For more information about Mark Shurey's new album and concerts, visit www.pimientito.com.