The latest offering from Australian guitarist Gerard Mapstone is Flamenco Cuerdas, an explosion of flamenco, dance and world music with a contemporary twist.

At the tender age of seven a young Gerard heard Serranito perform at Expo 88, which inspired him to learn guitar at eight. He hasn't been able to take the guitar out of his hands since. These days he's working on Flamenco Cuerdas, a new show presented by the Queensland Music Festival which sees a collision of flamenco dance and guitar for what is a truly unique experience. He's bringing with him violinist Shenzo Gregorio, flamenco dancer and choreographer Jessica Statham and percussionist James Hauptmann.

“Shenzo's just got a really natural arranging ability and he can improvise on anything so he really brings a really interesting aspect to our style. I found Jessica Statham in Sydney; [she] is definitely one of the most knowledgeable flamenco artists in the country. I've also got a percussionist coming up from Sydney as well who works with her quite a lot so we do have someone who knows her feet, because her feet put out these amazing rhythms and it’s like another percussion instrument in a band,” Gerard explains.

So where did a Brisbane boy learn the art of flamenco guitar? After graduating from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, a teenage Gerard received the University’s guitar prize before moving to Jerez de la Frontera in Spain in his 20s. It was there he met Jose Ignacio Franco, a local man who became his mentor.

“It was an interesting way to learn music where they don't show you notes on a page; he'll just sort of play you a phrase and you sort of have to play it back to him until you get it and then you've got to remember it. It was a really great way to get into the style.”

After learning classical guitar at university in Australia, Gerard appreciated this organic approach to learning.

“He started teaching me famous pieces but I didn't want to learn that, you know? You can buy that stuff in a book.”

Although his time in Spain may make you think otherwise, Gerard isn't confined to one genre. He prefers to describe his style as world music with flamenco at the centre.

“We've got heaps of influence from Cuban music and there's an element of Central America and South America that influences flamenco music today. I've just spent a month in Mexico and I really got into that kind of style and that affects the writing and the kind of music we do.”

With a career that has seen him collaborate with some of the top names in world music, including the Buena Vista Social Club, Tomatito and Estrella Morente, Gerard is so much more than a flamenco artist. A true musical chameleon, he's also dabbled in jazz and classical and has worked with the likes of The Camerata of St John's (Chamber Orchestra).

“Growing up I listened to rock & roll and heavy metal and just the things that really move me.  Orchestral music as well. Just a whole lot of music. I kind of went for the songs that had the biggest impact and had something really beautiful to say,” he explains.

It seems though there is something extra special about flamenco music for Gerard, and it shows when you speak to him about it.

“I suppose the journey of a musician is always a learning process. You never stop learning as a musician and flamenco always has new challenges and new directions I can take — either writing for an ensemble or writing for dance.”

What can one expect from a flamenco guitar, flamenco dancer, violin and percussion collaboration?

“I have to sit down when I play flamenco guitar because there's so much going on. The violinist is going berserk; having a dancer creates such a beautiful focus point in the music; because dance is such an artistic (discipline) you really have to put so much time into that. It’s really hard to describe.”

Flamenco Cuerdas is at the Brisbane Powerhouse as part of the Queensland Music Festival July 26.