There's this euphoria, that of finding something unfamiliar, being adventurous and delving deep into its nooks and crannies, and making it your own. Growing up in the East, half a world away from anything remotely Flamenco, my early exposure to the music was through the movies and the odd audio cassette or LP of Flamenco greats. I was instantly smitten with the energy and the passion it exuded. The rapid, impressive flourishes, the passionate rhythms and distinctly staccato style mesmerized me. Though I never had the chance to formally learn this style, I listened to all I could get hold of. A large part of my musical career has been rock-and-roll which ultimately defines my personal style as an artist. I've known musicians to often start with what they know best and incorporate influences from the unfamiliar, but my fascination with Flamenco made me decide to shift gears by starting with the unfamiliar and to put together an ambitious worldbeat project which I'd always dreamed of creating - a cross pollination of contemporary popular music with Spanish Flamenco. That, in short, is how "Rumbadoodle" was conceived. The Flamenco repertory is vast. It incorporates many meters, simple and complex, and there are over 50 different palos, or musical styles. The focus in this record is on the Flamenco Rumba, also called Gypsy Rumba, Spanish Rumba or simply Rumba. At the expense of sounding academic, it's one of the cantes de ida y vuelta, referring to the round-trip the music and songs took, jaunting to the new world, then making their way back to Spain in a few form, having evolved, ever so slightly. This Afro-Cuban influence is visible in the title track of this record and many others. Unlike traditional flamenco, the Rumba may be played in any key - major, minor and modal. This made it more appropriate in fusion with not only Western contemporary pop and rock music, but also the odd traditional influence like Celtic or Arabic sound that appear occasionally in the record. This fact, and the fact that 4/4 meter with 4 beats per bar, make the musical pieces accessible to a much wider and mainstream audience is my belief. These compositions have been painstakingly recorded and brought to life by a brilliant cast of musicians from all over the world. many of them have contributed to the process of songwriting, helping me with new, fresh ideas that I, on my own, could never have imagined possible. This wouldn't have seen the light of day without the support of all these guys as well as the engineers, artists, and other personnel involved. For this I am eternally grateful. This record was a personal journey, a jaunt, un viaje de ida y vuelta, at the end of which, much like the round tripping songs, I've also evolved as an artist. I hope you enjoy listening to this music as much as I enjoyed creating it. Arun Shenoy