Estopa

Estopa are a popular Spanish rock/rumba duo from Cornell?, Spain. The band consists of the brothers Jos? and David Mu?oz, who sing a unique blend of sounds reflecting many generes, including rock, rumba, flamenco, and a "sonido callejero" that does not easily fit into categories. The band has commented on such difficulty by stating "We don't like to be easily categorized." They are similar to the band Los Chichos, a rumba band from Spain, popular in the 1970s.

The band famously made a cameo appearance in the Spanish film The 4th Floor.

Band History

Jos? Mu?oz,was born November 13, 1978; and David Mu?oz,was born January 10, 1976;they are brothers, born and raised in Cornell? de llobregat, Spain, a suburb of Barcelona. The brothers grew up listening to such bands as Los Chichos, Los Chunguitos, and Bord?n on their trips with their parents from Cornell? to Zarza Capilla, where their parents were from.

As they grew up, Jos? and David attended college for some time before deciding that it was not suited for them. After quitting their studies, they worked for a factory manufacturing automobile parts for the company SEAT. This is also where they got the band name "Estopa": from the expression used by their boss to keep everybody on task, "Dale Estopa a la maquina." It was in that factory that they began composing their earliest songs and they began to play in local bars.

After playing a song for the bosses at BMG Music Espa?a, Estopa was given a record deal and so began their rise to fame, a rise which has happened extremely quickly.

Their first album, "Estopa," was released October 19, 1999 and one of its songs, "La Raja de Tu Falda" became an instant hit and an Estopa classic. Other songs such as "Tu Calorro," "Suma y Sigue," and "El Del Medio De Los Chichos" (an ode to Los Chichos the band), have also remained steady favorites of fans.

Estopa followed the release of "Estopa" with their next album "Destrangis" in 2001, which sold 250,000 copies in its first two weeks. The album also enjoyed a huge welcome from fans, both old and new, and it opened the doors for the band to tour in Latin America. The Mu?oz brothers later released a second Destrangis album including three live bonus tracks. That was entitled "M?s Destrangis."

After a couple of years, their fourth album, "?La Calle Es Tuya?" was released in 2004. Though it did not receive such good ratings as "Estopa" and "Destrangis" it still became an immediate hit with songs like "Fuente de Energ?a" and "Apag?n." The band experimented with more rock-orientated sounds on this album, while still maintaining their unique rumba and flamenco flavored sounds that they had formed in their first albums.

In late 2005, the band released their highly-anticipated album "Voces de Ultrarumba" which has been considered Estopa in its purest form. The disc includes many songs that Estopa had written many years before, but were not able to record due to limits on each disc. Of particular popularity were the songs "No Quiero Verla M?s" and "Malabares." The album was released as a special dual-disc CD/DVD set.

Estopa have been working on their next album, titled "Allenrok" (their hometown Cornell? spelled backward and with a "k"). It will be released in Spain on the 26th of February. They are also working on a music video for "Voces De Ultrarumba"'s song, "Lunes."

Members

Jos? Mu?oz is the younger brother, born in 1978. He plays guitar for Estopa and sings backing vocals, as well as lead vocals on a few songs. He is not married.

David Mu?oz is the older brother, born in 1976. He is the lead singer and also plays some guitar. He is generally the more outgoing of the two, and likes to read. He is married.

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estopa