Radio Tarifa
Encyclopedia
Radio Tarifa was a Spanish
World music
ensemble combining Flamenco
, Arab-Andalusian
music, Arabian music, Moorish
music and also influences of the Mediterranean, of the Middle Ages
and of the Caribbean
. The name of the ensemble comes from an imaginary radio station in Tarifa
, a small town in the southernmost Spanish province of Cadiz, Andalusia
, the nearest part of Spain to Morocco
. Instead of simply fusing musical styles as they currently exist, Radio Tarifa goes back in time to the common past of those styles, back to before 1492 when the Moors and Jews were exiled from Spain. This invented style sheds light upon the real styles of Spain, most notably flamenco although the band rejected all musical purism, preferring to mix arrangements of traditional compositions with their own melodies and combining instruments from Ancient Egypt, classical Greek and Roman times with modern saxophones and electric bass.
. Together they founded an early music group playing music from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance called Ars Antiqua Musicalis, although this group was unable to find commercial success. When they met Benjamin Escoriza (Granada), a troubador flamenco singer raised by Gypsies, in Madrid in the late 1980s the last piece was in place. Their first recording together, Rumba Argelina, was recorded in 1993 and became a sensation in Europe when it was released in 1996, and again when it was issued (through association with Nonesuch Records
) in America in 1997. The critical and financial success of that disc made it possible to put together a full-fledged touring band which played Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Canada and the United States". After nearly 20 years together, according to their website their farewell performance occurred November 2006, in Barcelona.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
World music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
ensemble combining Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, Arab-Andalusian
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
music, Arabian music, Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
music and also influences of the Mediterranean, of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. The name of the ensemble comes from an imaginary radio station in Tarifa
Tarifa
Tarifa is a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, on the southernmost coast of Spain. The town is located on the Costa de la Luz and across the Straits of Gibraltar facing Morocco. The municipality includes Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe. There are five...
, a small town in the southernmost Spanish province of Cadiz, Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, the nearest part of Spain to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Instead of simply fusing musical styles as they currently exist, Radio Tarifa goes back in time to the common past of those styles, back to before 1492 when the Moors and Jews were exiled from Spain. This invented style sheds light upon the real styles of Spain, most notably flamenco although the band rejected all musical purism, preferring to mix arrangements of traditional compositions with their own melodies and combining instruments from Ancient Egypt, classical Greek and Roman times with modern saxophones and electric bass.
History
Both Fain Dueñas (percussion, Spain) and Vincent Molino (flute, France) were students of Moroccan multi-instrumentalist and composer Tarik Banzi of the Al-Andalus EnsembleAl andalus ensemble
Al-Andalus Ensemble is a contemporary Andalusian musical ensemble whose core members are husband-wife team Tarik Banzi and Julia Banzi. They combine the music of Arabo-Andalusian, Spanish Flamenco, Medieval Spanish cantigas, Ladino melodies, Arabic rhythms, and vocals in Spanish, Arabic, Ladino...
. Together they founded an early music group playing music from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance called Ars Antiqua Musicalis, although this group was unable to find commercial success. When they met Benjamin Escoriza (Granada), a troubador flamenco singer raised by Gypsies, in Madrid in the late 1980s the last piece was in place. Their first recording together, Rumba Argelina, was recorded in 1993 and became a sensation in Europe when it was released in 1996, and again when it was issued (through association with Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
) in America in 1997. The critical and financial success of that disc made it possible to put together a full-fledged touring band which played Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Canada and the United States". After nearly 20 years together, according to their website their farewell performance occurred November 2006, in Barcelona.
Discography
- Rumba Argelina (1993)
- Temporal (1998)
- Cruzando El Rio (2001)
- Fiebre (2003) (live at the 2002 Toronto Small World Music Festival)
- Live 25 July 2004 - Ramallah, Palestine
Personnel
- Benjamin Escoriza - vocals
- Fain Sanchez Dueñas - darbuka, plato, backing vocals
- Vincent Molino - ney, crumhorn, poitou oboe
Guests
- Jaime Muela - flute, soprano saxophone
- Pedro Esparza - soprano saxophone
- Amir Haddad - oud, backing vocals
- Wafir Sh. Gibril - accordion
- Ramiro Amusategui - buzuki
- Jorge Gomez - flamenco guitar, electric guitar
- Sebastian Rubio - pandereta, bongos
- David Purdye - electric bass, backing vocals
- Peter Oteo - electric bass