album rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Flamenco / world music / Andalusian / Moorish-medieval / North African / folk. Cruzando el Río ('Crossing the River') is the third and final studio album by Radio Tarifa, the Spanish ensemble that created one of the most distinctive and haunting sounds in European world music of the 1990s. The group's core trio consisted of vocalist Benjamín Escoriza — a troubadour flamenco singer raised by Gypsies — wind player Vincent Molino, and guitarist and oud player Fain Dueñas. Dueñas and Molino had previously founded Ars Antiqua Musicalis, a group dedicated to late medieval and Renaissance music, before joining with Escoriza to form Radio Tarifa. Their debut album Rumba Argelina was recorded in 1993, released in Europe by World Circuit in 1996 and in the United States in 1997 via World Circuit / Nonesuch, and achieved considerable critical and popular success. The second album, Temporal (1997), moved toward the roots of flamenco and was also well received. Cruzando el Río was recorded and produced at Local No. 5, and mixed at Sonoland in Madrid. It was released in spring 2001 on World Circuit / Nonesuch / BMG Spain. The album contains eleven tracks running 36 minutes. The Apple Music biography notes that each Radio Tarifa album brought a touring ensemble 'that has crossed both Europe and the United States.' Cruzando el Río features the first appearance of a woman vocalist in the group's history, on 'Ramo Verde', a Castilian folk song. The title track is described by AllMusic as 'a primitive tango.' The tracklist includes: 'Sin Palabras', 'Ramo Verde', 'Cruzando el Río', 'El Viaje de Lea', 'Alab', 'El Quinto', 'Niña', among others.
Label: World Circuit (UK) / Nonesuch (US) / BMG Spain, released spring 2001.
Producer: Recorded and produced at Local No. 5. Mixed at Sonoland, Madrid.
Recording studio: Local No. 5 (studio location not individually specified). Mixing: Sonoland, Madrid.
Critical reception: An eBay seller's catalogue describes it as 'a frothing fusion of flamenco and Arabic rhythms and sounds, blending an even more heady mix of folkloric traditions', rated four stars. AllMusic critic Kurt Keefner observed that the group 'seems to have dug deeper into music of the modern Spanish countryside', singling out 'Ramo Verde' and the title track as 'two of the album's most intriguing tunes.' His main reservation was the brevity of the album: eleven tracks in 36 minutes, 'allowing too little time for development.' An eBay reviewer called it 'recommended equally for fans of spaghetti westerns and belly-dancing.'
Commercial success: Cruzando el Río was the final studio album from Radio Tarifa, who did not release further material after 2001. As a farewell album by a group with an established international following built through three albums and extensive touring across Europe and the United States, it maintained the audience cultivated since Rumba Argelina. Radio Tarifa's music brought the Strait of Gibraltar — the meeting point of Europe and Africa, of Christian, Muslim and Jewish Iberian cultures — into the global world music conversation of the 1990s and 2000s.
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