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One suspects that for every winged horse that emerges there are a hundred wretched monsters quietly despatched in the dead of the night. Radio Tarifa is, at heart, the musical proclivities of Faín Sánchez Dueñas and Vincent Molino (who I spoke to) plus the energy and passion of their singer and frontman Benjamín Escoriza. “In the 80s, we were a group of three friends: (Faín, Benjamín, and me) fans of music and with the same musical taste (medieval, Arabic-Andalusia, flamenco, etc.) After years of musical projects we shared, we decided to record something we could remember and keep as a memory.”

The reference point we generally work from (traditional Spanish music) is in itself a millennial fusion of Mediterranean and European culture

The band very nearly began and ended with their debut, Rumba Argelina made with Juan Alberto Arteche and mostly assembled on an 8 track in Faín’s bedroom. To the nascent group member’s surprise it got picked up, and became a sensation when released by World Circuit. This would force the group to assemble a wider range of musicians and evolve a live sound. To see the band today, it is hard to believe how difficult this was at the time.

To this day, the dichotomy of core and extended group exists: “We’ve always separated the work in studio, where Benjamín, Faín and me work principally, with collaborations punctuated by guests with the band, with 6 to 8 musicians, where there is freedom for each one to develop his style. In our study, we spend hours recording and investigating. Live, we try to stay with a stable band with the same musical tastes and our style and we leave space on each song for improvised parts where each can express themselves.”

Vincent continues to draw the distinction, “in a homemade studio, we have all the time in the world to develop our ideas to arrive at the most intimate and poetic interpretation possible. Live, many factors and many people intervene in a short space of time and it is impossible to control everything. You have to have a good band, good public, and excellent technical conditions and, moreover, a magical day. If everything comes together (and it’s difficult) the result will be much better than any studio recording — above all in emotional intensity.” Fans of the live sound will love the album Fievre.

we use instruments considered Arabic but really they are part of the heritage of all Mediterranean cultures: lute, tambourine, reed flute, etc

“The reference point we generally work from (traditional Spanish music) is in itself a millennial fusion of Mediterranean and European culture, directly related to Magreb music, with medieval European music and Arabic-Andalusia, and through the Magreb, with African music. More than cultural fusion, what we do is to rediscover in some musical forms (in their rhythms and melodies) the trace others left.”

I wanted to know more about their method of working so I probed Vincent further, “Many times we start from a traditional melody that we’ve heard somewhere, generally in a recording. Sometimes we play it with some arrangements but often without the harmony added as with most early Spanish traditional music. It’s a style that seduces us because it was the common language of the European and Mediterranean sphere music until the Renaissance and it’s still the base of Arabic music, and lots of traditional music from the north and south Mediterranean.

The great ideas do not come often (at least in our case). Also we are lazy

“Generally, we use instruments considered Arabic but really they are part of the heritage of all Mediterranean cultures: lute, tambourine, reed flute, etc. Later we try to go further with these elements and, at this point, we allow our imaginations and personal tastes into play. In this sense, we do not want to stick with particular sounds, instruments, or arrangements. For us, there are no inherently ugly sounds. We can choose whatever we like, from a Chinese flute to an electronic bass.

This painstaking way of working is time consuming and Vincent blames touring and promotion for taking them away from their precious laboratory. The result is a long time to wait for fans between albums. Pressed, Vincent concedes two further reasons: “The great ideas do not come often (at least in our case). Also we are lazy.”

our common history is so important that the bonds that tie us together will bring down this wall sooner or later

As for new releases by the band, there is nothing on the horizon. “Benjamín is in the preparation of a new solo work. Faín and me are collaborating on different projects. We really do not know when the next Radio Tarifa album willl be released, but I am sure that it will arrive…”

Although deeply fertile, the interplay of Arabic and European culture that defines Spain as a whole and Radio Tarifa in particular, has been brought into sharp relief in recent times by the Iraq war and the Madrid bombing, which turned Spain on its head. “I believe that despite the creation of a political, economic and cultural ‘Iron Curtain’ between the north and the south of the Mediterranean, our common history is so important that the bonds that tie us together will bring down this wall sooner or later. As musicians, we are happy to contribute to the growth of this common historical culture between the Mediterranean’s villages.”

Photo by Damian Rafferty