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The Times & The Sunday Times
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Gipsy Kings

The Times
The Times

Pasajero

(Tinto Tinta/Sony-BMG)

So who is the bestselling world music act yet? The answer is a surprise, for it’s not Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club but the Gipsy Kings from France, with global sales of 18 million and counting.

Their approach has changed little in two decades, and Pasajero is driven by the same jazzy, rumba rhythms and percussive flamenco guitars, topped with their robust vocals and raw harmonies. La Vida de Gipsy reflects on the pressures on gipsy life in the 21st century, and there is a nod to the Buena Vista phenomenon with a cover of Chan Chan. Otherwise, there’s no attempt to modernise their sound — and when the appeal lies in its timelessness, there is no reason why they should.

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NIGEL WILLIAMSON