If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a lutenist from the Elizabethan era stumbles into a flamenco bar, Martin Howard’s new solo guitar piece might give you a pretty good idea, and “Hidden Andalucia” opens in a cool, measured style that owes a clear debt to John Dowland, all careful fingerpicking and that slightly melancholic mood Dowland practically owned. Then, about halfway through, flamenco takes over, and the shift is both surprising and totally earned.
The Dowland-influenced passages frame the piece like a door you walk through to get somewhere warmer and more urgent. The flamenco section has real drive to it, and you can hear Howard leaning into it rather than just referencing it from a safe distance and the whole thing is recorded on what he describes as a fifty-year-old hand-built classical guitar, and that instrument has a character all of its own, a slightly dry, woody resonance that suits both halves of the arrangement.
Martin has a background in folk, blues, and rock too, and you can feel that broader experience in how relaxed the playing is. Nothing here is trying to show off. It just flows. At around three minutes, it’s exactly as long as it needs to be. Follow Martin Howard on Instagram to keep up with new releases.
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