Brilliant young star of the “timple”, Germán López touches audiences with original instrumental music from the Canary Islands. On stage with guitarist Antonio Toledo, Germán López harnesses the grit of spanish flamenco, the structure of west african rhythms, the flourishing spirit of jazz, and an innovative 21st century approach to performing “island music.” His principal instrument is one of the grandfathers of the ‘ukelele’, and part of the same instrumental family that includes the cavaquinho, the cuatro and the charango. Germán López’s music has been praised for “entrancing” performances of “delicately rippling notes” (Huffington Post), notes that flow from musical traditions uniting Spain, Africa, and the New World.

BEGINNINGS

Germán López was born in Gran Canaria in 1982. His musical studies begin at an early age, where he was accepted to study at the Conservatory of Music in Las Palmas at seven years of age. In the conservatory, Germán studied piano, music theory, and jazz studies. At the ripe age of ten years, he began to concertize publicly, notably collaborating with legendary timple virtuoso José Antonio Ramos. It was around this time that Germán developed a keen interest in the timple and other traditional Canary Island instruments. In addition to duo and ensemble concerts, Germán Lopez has also collaborate with symphony orchestras, including the Philharmonic Orchestra of Gran Canaria in the “Teresa de Bolívar” festival. As both an educator and performer, Germán López has been awarded public prizes by the government of the Canary Islands on several occasions.

TODAY

At the end of 2007, the illustrious Womad festival shone a bright spotlight on Germán López, inviting him to take part on that year’s festival program held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Since then he has continued to perform concerts all over the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, and continental Europe, including WOMEX (2014 and 2015), the Zaragoza International Exhibition (2008), Vic’s Live Music Market (2008), Womad Cáceres (2014) and Womad Fuerteventura (2014), to name a few of them.

Germán López has released three studio albums, including: “Timplissimo” (2006), “Silencio Roto ” (2009) and “De Raíz” (2013). A new album with guitarist Antonio Toledo will be released on June 2016. Germán López has also recorded with bands like The Lost Fingers, Mestisay, Taburiente, Totoyo Millares, Luis Morera and a variety of esteemed songwriters such as Sergio Alzola, Diego Ojeda and Luis Quintana. He has shared the stage with renowned musicians including Pancho Amat, Troveros de Asieta, Mestisay, Jorge Pardo, Antonio Zambujo, Nancy Vieira, Celina Pereira, Sidiki Toumani Diabate, Budiño, Andreas Pritwittz, Victor Merlo, Antonio Toledo and The Lost Fingers.

THE TIMPLE

The “timple” is a diminutive 5 stringed instrument intrinsic to music of the Canary Islands. Of all the hypotheses that exist about the origin of the “timple”, the most widely accepted is that it descends from the european baroque guitar, smaller than the classical guitar, and with five strings.

Unlike the ukulele that it resembles, the timple has a full resonance despite its high timbre, possibly due to its rounded back. The timple is related to other “travel guitars”, including the “cuatro” from Venezuela, the “charango” from Andean countries, the “cavaquinho” from Portugal or Brazil, and, of course, the Hawaiian “ukelele”.