Amir John Haddad – Video-Interview
Today is the day, and after waiting for a long time, the latest James Bond movie ‘No Time to Die’ is finally opening in theaters.
To celebrate it, Rafa Melgar from SoundTrackFest brings to you an exclusive video-interview with the guitarist Amir John Haddad – El Amir, who has participated in the soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer for the movie.
Many of you may be familiar with the name Amir John Haddad – El Amir, as he has been part of the successful The World of Hans Zimmer tour since its inception in 2018.
In this video-interview conducted exclusively for SoundTrackFest, they talked about how being born in Germany and with Palestinian-Colombian ancestry El Amir ends up living in Malaga (Spain), his first steps in the world of guitar, his arrival on ‘The World of Hans Zimmer’ tour and how does it feel to wake up every day in a different country, working with Hans Zimmer and his contribution with the Spanish guitar to the soundtrack of ‘No Time to Die’, his recent album ‘Andalucía’, and about his latest project: an online flamenco guitar course.
This article also includes an exclusive photo report elaborated for SoundTrackFest.
Here is the video interview with Amir John Haddad – El Amir, which we hope you will enjoy:
Interview, video & pictures: Rafa Melgar
Digital Art: Sandra Sánchez
Amir John Haddad – El Amir
OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
He has been playing the guitar since he was seven years old and has been on stage since he was twelve. El Amir is considered to be one of the most talented and creative flamenco guitar soloists of his generation. A great artist internationally recognized, as well as a virtuoso guitarist and an exceptional multi-instrumentalist.
He has been collaborating with Hans Zimmer for three years as his new solo guitarist in the fascinating show “The World of Hans Zimmer”, touring the best and largest arenas in Europe and Spain (O2Arena, Wembley Arena, Wizink Center, Palau Sant Jordi, …), a full-fledged symphonic celebration.
He appears on some of the latest soundtracks of famous Hollywood movies such as The Rhythm Section (Jude Law), The SpongeBob Movie – Sponge on the Run, The Boss Baby 2, and most recently The Army of Thieves (Netflix).
El Amir was invited to participate in this magnificent James Bond musical production when he was on Guy Laliberté’s (Cirque du Soleil) private island in the South Pacific. There he received a call from Hans Zimmer to fly directly to London to record his flamenco guitar for the new James Bond film – No Time to Die.
It seemed like an impossible mission. Storm in the Pacific, cancelled flights, delayed flights, and once in Paris his boarding pass did not show up missing his connection, and yet El Amir managed to get a “mission accomplished” arriving just at the last minute to meet the whole team at the recording studio.
Hans Zimmer introduced him to director Cary Fukunaga with whom he had just met to decide the final aspects of the soundtrack. Hans Zimmer and El Amir discussed the emotions of the scenes and the musical elements that would be most appropriate for the soundtrack. El Amir was inspired and recorded several scenes with his flamenco guitar in the studio of renowned producer Stephen Lipson.
His “Secret Weapon” was his own model of flamenco guitar “El Amir”, built by luthier Jose Salinas. A beautiful cypress body guitar with a cedar top that sounds powerful, warm, and bright. The old and noble woods of yesterday are the ones that make the sound of today.
In this soundtrack, El Amir is surrounded by renowned artists such as Arturo Sandoval, Billie Eilish, and Johnny Marr (The Smiths), becoming the first flamenco guitarist to appear and record in a James Bond saga soundtrack.
Throughout his extensive career, El Amir has collaborated, recorded, or performed with the most renowned artists from around the world such as: Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Juno Reactor (Matrix), Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), Shankar Mahadevan (John McLaughlin), Radio Tarifa, Lisa Gerrard, Maria Dolores Pradera, Joaquin Sabina, Miguel Poveda, Estrella Morente, Antonio Canales, Gavin Greenaway, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra among many others.
El Amir has appeared live on BBC TV with Radio Tarifa, on CNN in a documentary on his own about the music he has influenced in Andalusia, as well as on PBS in the US in the series “Now Hear This” with virtuoso violinist Scott Yoo and this year collaborating with another virtuoso violinist, Daniel Hope on ARTE TV.
He has been awarded for best original composition in the National Contest of Choreography and Dance of Flamenco in 1999. He has Latin Grammy nominations with Radio Tarifa (2004) and with Chambao (2012). Silver Medal at the Global Music Awards 2019 and in 2020 for his new album released on February 28, 2020, “Andalucía”.
El Amir brings all his knowledge in his new Flamenco Guitar Method (FGM) in an online video course format that will be released at the end of October of this year. A complete method to reach the total transformation without the need to know about music, guitar, or flamenco.
