Courtesy of HIP

Tokyo comes alive to the sounds of Spain when the Gipsy Kings bring their brand of pop-oriented flamenco to town for two nights of engagements at the cathedral-in-glass, the Tokyo International Forum.

Formed in the southern French village of Arles near the Spanish border, the Gipsy Kings were the creation of brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, sons of renowned flamenco artist Jose Reyes, who teamed up with cousins Jacques, Maurice and Tonino Baliardo. Originally called Los Reyes, they started out as a journeymen band playing weddings, festivals, and in the streets.

Changing their name to Gipsy Kings to suit their itinerant lifestyle (and ethnicity - they speak the gypsy dialect Gitane), the band didn' attract much notice until they teamed up with visionary producer Claude Martinez. Martinez saw the potential in Nicolas Reyes' powerful voice and Baliardo's masterful flamenco guitar, and encouraged the Kings to add elements of rock and world music to their traditional sound.

The first results of the collaboration were the unforgettable singles "Djobi Djoba" and "Bamboleo," which took Europe by storm in 1988 and led to the Gipsy Kings signing with Sony. The rest, as they say, is history. The Kings went on to conquer America and other parts of the world, topping it off with an invitation to perform at the presidential inauguration of George Bush in 1989.

The Gipsy Kings' most recent album, the first featuring all new material since 1993, is Tierra Gitana, released recently on Nonesuch.

Gipsy Kings play Tokyo International Forum on May 12-13. See listings for details.