Born Concha Buika in Palma de Mallorca on the Balearic island of Majorca in 1972, the Spanish vocalist of Equatorial Guinea descent first drew widespread attention as a jazz-tinged flamenco fusion artist when her second solo release, Mi Niña Lola, reached mainstream audiences in 2006. Her father had fled political exile from the West African nation, and her mother’s affinity for jazz shaped an early path that began with club performances across Majorca and the neighboring island of Ibiza before extending to a stint singing in Las Vegas.
Her first commercial recording arrived in 2000 via the little-noticed vocal-jazz collection Mestizüo, shared with Majorcan pianist Jacob Sureda. Around the same time she contributed guest vocals to several electronic dance tracks, most prominently Smurf & Perry’s 2001 club staple “Lovin’ You,” which later appeared on numerous house compilations. A major-label deal with Dro Atlantic followed, yielding her self-titled solo debut in 2005.
Working again with Latin Grammy-winning producer Javier Limón, she delivered Mi Niña Lola in 2006; the album’s stylistic blend earned both critical praise and strong sales, climbing to number 11 on the Spanish albums chart and finding receptive listeners in neighboring France. The Limón partnership continued on Niña de Fuego (2008), another well-received effort that earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
Buika next reached the Spanish Top Ten with El Último Trago (2009), a Cuba-recorded homage to Mexican singer Chavela Vargas featuring pianist Chucho Valdés and his band; the project received the 2010 Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album. She moved to Miami, Florida, in 2011, the year her U.S.-issued retrospective En Mi Piel: The Best of Buika appeared. After extensive touring and a period away from the studio, she resumed recording in 2012 across Madrid, Miami, and New York with her core trio of pianist Ivan “Melon” Lewis and percussionist Ramon Porrina, plus guests that included guitarist Pat Metheny. Those sessions produced her most wide-ranging work to date, La Noche Más Larga, issued in June 2013.
