Will Smith's comeback is getting a little help from virtuoso Marcin Patrzałek – who showcases his boundless talent on First Love, Smith's Valentine's Day drop alongside Spanish flamenco and pop singer India Martínez.
“So you reached out to me and you wanted me to come on your track, and do something on the guitar in a Spanish style, I thought, ‘Okay, I have to show him how I do it on the whole guitar,’” Marcin tells Smith in a new Instagram video breaking down his (genuinely impressive) guitar parts.
The foundation is a one-handed “bassline” that Marcin's playing while casually chatting to Smith – upon which further rhythmic and melodic layers are added, making the resulting track sound almost orchestral in nature.
“This thing is called a golpe – means punch in Spanish,” he says, demonstrating the flamenco guitar percussive technique, which involves tapping the guitar's soundboard with his fingers – or, in the case of a proper flamenco guitar, the golpeador.
“So what does this sound like to you? It's kind of like tap dancing,” he comments as he continues tapping his soundboard in a way that almost mimics traditional flamenco hand claps, before swiftly incorporating two-handed tapping.
As for how he manages to add all these layers in an almost nonchalant manner, Marcin explains, “So do you think that what I just did was multitasking? It is not multitasking – because I'm not thinking about this [fretting] hand.
“If I was thinking about every note I was playing, how can I have a conversation with you right now? Maybe it's like on a movie set – when you want to say your lines, you don't want to think about every single one.”
To which Smith replies, “Yes. In acting, they say, you learn your lines so well that you forget them when it's time to play them.”
Marcin then launches straight into a full showcase of his technical prowess as the astounded actor stares at him in awe, before wrapping up with what all of us are thinking: “That is amazing! Geez!”
