Biography

Rising up from the town of Úbeda, deep in Andalusia near Jaén, Guadalupe Plata have become legends for their provocative, deeply affecting blues and boogie music, creating a psychedelic landscape that is as darkly surrealistic as it is infectious. Their music is the result of a chemical experiment that mixes the raw edges of Hound Dog Taylor, Skip James, and John Lee Hooker with the insanity of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the winding guitars of Elmore James and Ennio Morricone, and the post-modern madness of Jon Spencer, The Fall, Captain Beefheart, the Gun Club, and Nick Cave. Like the flamenco players they watched growing up, they describe their process as ”training to be podrío“ — to be rotten — and speak of “duende,” and “hechizo” – literally demons and spells. But the results are uniquely their own: “Our music inhabits that place in our collective imagination where the demonic force straddles the blues and cante jondo,” they say. Mojo magazine has called them “culturally rich and instantly identifiable as excellent.” In 2013 they began their trophy collection, picking up the coveted Impala Award for Best European Rock Band, as well as Artist of the Year, Best Live Act, and Best Rock Album from the Independent Music Awards, as well as Best Modern Music from Critical Eye. Their music has seeped into the American consciousness on such television shows as Showtime’s Shameless and HBOs How to Make it in America.