Lee Ranaldo and Raül Refree Performance with Niño de Elche

Alegrías song of infinite sadness…
Thursday, May 15, 7pm

Join us for a performance by ex-flamenco cantaor Niño de Elche with experimental musician and producer Raül Refree and co-founder of Sonic Youth Lee Ranaldo. Alongside frequent collaborators Refree and Ranaldo, Niño de Elche will animate the histories explored in Sadopítna, o sea, antípodas, puesto del revés y boca abajo (Sedopitna, or antipodes, turned inside out and upside down), 2023–ongoing, a sonic and sculptural work by Pedro G. Romero and Niño de Elche on view at CARA through May 18, 2025 as part of the exhibition continents like seeds.

Considering the soundtrack of the 1961 film Ein No Hito (Immortal Love a.k.a. The Bitter Spirit)—directed by Keisuke Kinoshita and featuring the music of Chuji Kinoshita, played by flamenco guitarist José Shoda—the artists will stage a performance that combines drag expression and atmospheric guitar crescendos. They will explore the queer histories found in both flamenco and Kinoshita’s filmography, culminating in a melancholic ambience that gestures toward the sorrow of Ein No Hito.

VI. “Alegrías song of infinite sadness, as heard on the soundtrack of Ein No Hito-Immortal Love, also known as The Bitter Spirit, an emotional drama by Keisuke Kinoshita—Japan’s first openly gay film director—with music by Chuji Kinoshita played by José Shoda, the first Japanese flamenco guitarist (a way into better understanding the flamenco fiesta in Shôhei Imamura’s The Eel), who strums and embellishes the sound of his guitar with infinite depth, like that of the smoking volcano crater that compels all the protagonists to grapple with the past in lives marked by tragedy.”

Musician, visual artist, and writer Lee Ranaldo (lives and works in New York City) co-founded Sonic Youth in 1981, and has been active in New York City’s downtown community and internationally as a composer, performer, and producer since that time. He has also exhibited visual art and published several small-press books of journals, poetry, and writings on music. He records for Mute Records.

Raül Refree is one of the most acclaimed producers of the last decade. He often collaborates with experimental artists like Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. He revisits the fados of Amália Rodrigues with Lina. He works with innovative artists like Rosalía and Niño de Elche, unwittingly placing himself at the forefront of the so-called “new flamenco” movement and the revival of roots music. He is also a prominent composer and musician who publishes under his most personal project, Refree, and creates soundtracks for film and TV. Raül understands music as an exercise in creation, research, and freedom.

Niño de Elche (b. 1985, Spain; lives and works in Madrid) and Pedro G. Romero (b. 1964, Spain; lives and works in Seville and Barcelona) are Spanish artists whose collaborations examine and reframe the traditional forms of flamenco music. Trained as a cantaor (flamenco singer), Niño de Elche pushes the boundaries of the art form by incorporating spoken word, electronic music, and multimedia elements into his performances. Romero is an accomplished visual artist and filmmaker who has collaborated extensively with Niño de Elche. He creates immersive and thought-provoking audiovisual experiences that explore themes of identity, culture, and societal norms. Taking inspiration from a variety of cultural contexts, together they create a flamenco that is both familiar and inverted, signifying the world seen from an alternative perspective.