Short Description
ALBA Musik is the creation of the dynamic duo: powerhouse vocalist Bárbara Martínez and virtuoso guitarist Albert Alabedra. This vibrant project from NYC blends personal stories with universal themes, capturing the essence of Flamenco/Latin fusion. They compose their songs together and tour nationally and internationally, joined by a team of world-class musicians and dancers.
LONG Description
ALBA MUSIK is flamenco mixed with a rich variety of musical influences like pop, jazz, funk, Latin and world music. The dynamic duo is based in NYC and is led by powerhouse vocalist Bárbara Martínez and virtuoso guitarist Albert Alabedra. They compose their songs together and tour nationally and internationally, joined by a team of world-class musicians and dancers that include the saxophonist from The Rolling Stones Tim Ries, three-time-Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Gonzalo Grau, Sony producer Arturo Soriano, to name a few. Both of their studio album releases (“Dawn”, 2023) and (“Alma”, 2024) made it to the first round for a GRAMMY nomination in Latin Pop. In just two years, they have performed at The United Nations, Berklee College of Music, the World Economic Forum, The US Conference of Mayors and for the President of Spain! ALBA songs are poems and stories crafted in Spanish woven into a rich landscape of emotions whose expressiveness captivates audiences of all cultures. ALBA makes you want to listen all day and clap and move and shout OLE!
Quote
ALBA captures the heart and soul of these times — the aching beauty of possibility, the rhythm of hope. It’s flamenco fusion at its best. Just as I need hope every day, I need ALBA Musik!" -Kristin Conklin (KristinAMusings.com)
Bárbara Martínez
Bárbara Martínez grew up performing in New York City. Originally from Venezuela, she is the grand-niece of famed Argentine tango singer Libertad Lamarque. For more than 20 years she has worked as a dancer and singer with numerous flamenco dance companies and world music ensembles, and danced with the Metropolitan Opera, where she also sang as a child. In 2010, Bárbara performed at Carnegie Hall/Weill in a solo concert to a sold out house.
She appears in the documentary “Sobre Las Olas – A Story of Flamenco in the U.S.” by Carolina Loyola-Garcia and the photography exhibit entitled “100 Years of Flamenco in New York” at the NY Performing Arts Library. She is a Brown graduate and is completing a Masters in Songwriting at Berklee College of Music in 2025. Bárbara teaches music at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. One of the biggest joys of her career has been launching the ALBA Musik project with guitarist Albert Alabedra, co-composing songs that pull from a lifetime of work in flamenco and a rich variety of other musical styles.
Albert Alabedra
A native of Barcelona, Spain, Albert Alabedra has self-taught guitar since the age of 14. Albert was exposed to flamenco at an early age, with a mother from Córdoba and grandparents from Sevilla, the southern Spanish province of Andalucía where flamenco originated. In addition to the traditional flamenco, popular throughout Spain, Albert grew up with the global influences characteristic of cosmopolitan Barcelona, especially the rumba Catalana.
Later formally trained in classical and electric guitar and then in jazz and flamenco, Albert has used his versatile repertoire to create his own unique “fusion” style. His musical career consists of performances with various pop, rock, jazz, funk, acoustic, and flamenco bands throughout Spain and New York. “Everything changed when we had the idea to write music with Bárbara Martínez, resulting in the birth of ALBA Musik!”