Juanito Makande (live) and Mega Spanish Party

One of the most recurrent and elusive cliches in music jargon is the concept of 'authenticity'. It is recurrent because it is the Holy Grail of musicians and what they all strive for; it is elusive because it is hard to define what, and especially who, is and is not authentic. Well, Juanito Makande is authentic and aside from his albums, there is a great deal of additional proof to back this up.

Perhaps the most obvious clue is the fact that few people like him have been able to lead a project as a flamenco percussionist, his speciality. It's hard to get noticed from the back of the stage while hidden behind a cajon, drums and cymbals, but as a percussionist he has worked on several projects and recorded with artists such as Pepe Bao, Carlos Chaouen and Chico Ocana. In 2006, he decided to launch a personal project that has slowly earned the respect of the genre's experts and of people with a taste for modern flamenco.

Last year, this position was further boosted with the publication of Las canciones que escribi mientras volaba, which is one of those albums that makes careers and leaves a mark. The feat is even more impressive because it was made possible thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. He repeated this success with Muerte a los pajaros negros, which was published one year later and describes the sweet moment that the artist from La Linea de la Concepcion is experiencing and in which authenticity is like the flu in the sense that it's catchy.

Juanito Makande is destined to become one of the most important names in the new generation of flamenco that is more open-minded. His astounding level of talent and class is combined with lyrics that go straight to the heart and stir up something inside you. He is the type of artist who, as he tours the UK and Ireland, won't need a translation because although audiences may or may not understand the words he sings, everyone is able to capture the magic. And the authenticity.