Radio Tarifa

Formed by Fain Duenas, Benjamin Escoriza and Vincent Molina in the late 1980s, Radio Tarifa represent all that's inclusive about Spanish culture. Years of cross-pollination with North Africa, Moorish culture, Gypsy immigrants and Sephardic Jews (among many other influences) have made Spanish culture -- and Spanish music -- feverishly mongrel, and Radio Tarifa dedicated themselves to unraveling and following the country's many musical threads. While its jumping-off point is flamenco, the band has ventured as far afield as Japan for inspiration, and it has brought a cornucopia of instruments to the table -- from Middle Eastern instruments like the ney and oud to India's bansuri and the medieval cromorno. Through all its explorations, the group maintains a sense of mystery and an instrumental fire that made it one of the most sought-after live world music acts in the 1990s.