el douje

El douje was born Douglas Smolens in Guadalajara Mexico in the early 1970's. From an early age, he was exposed to and sought out a diverse range of musical styles. In high school, he started playing drums in a band that would go on to become Don Salsa and record the legendary cult phenomenon, Kool-Aid Moustache in Johnstown. It wasn't until after that album was finished that he really heard flamenco music for the first time, and his life would be changed forever.

It wasn't until after that album was finished that he really heard flamenco music for the first time, and his life would be changed forever. For whatever the reason, this particular form of artistic and emotional expression resounded so powerfully within him, he resolved to absorb this exotic music that seemed to cut deeper into his soul than anything previously felt.

And so, at age 20, he started playing flamenco guitar. Having dabbled in guitar for a long time, this new, challenging music inspired the young artist to throw himself completely into it. Enraptured by the powerful rhythms, haunting harmonies, and heart wrenching singing, he gradually absorbed the repertoire.

Having come from California, worlds away from the flamenco homeland of Andalucia, it was only natural that el douje's interpretation of this music would have a decidedly different feel. Early experiments in combining flamenco guitar with more modern electronic music elements such as drum and bass and techno proved quite successful and would lay the ground for what would later culminate in the album, ?Worlds Collide'. Though the album was written, produced and performed by el douje as a solo artist, it contains a wealth of collaborations with artists such as Dave Weckl, bassist Tom Kennedy and members of Fishtank Ensemble as well as the gypsy/metal fusion band, Estradasphere.

In early 2004, as the album was coming to a close, a chance meeting at the Oakland California performance warehouse, The Fishtank, would spawn the creation of gypsy/folk/flamenco super-group, Fishtank Ensemble. After only three weeks together as a band, they recorded their debut album, ?Super Raoul'. Fishtank Ensemble is made of gypsy fiddler extraordinaire Fabrice Martinez, sublime singer and musical saw player Ursula Knudson, the worlds best slap bass player Djordje Stijepovich and of course the one and only ?el douje'. The band combines the strengths of the individual members to forge unique and innovative approach to the folk music of the gypsies. The second album from Fishtank Ensemble, ?Samurai Over Serbia' came out in early 2008, and band is currently touring extensively as well as working on a new CD due out by early 2010.