TAIFA - review added 22nd October 2009
Album Review: Alhambra (2008)
For fans of: Heavy Rock... and Flamenco...!
This is one of the maddest concepts I have ever heard for an album. Take heavy rock - big bass sound, lots of crashing drums and some potent overdriven electric guitars - and sprinkle liberally with traditional Flamenco influences - complex classical guitar infusions and quintessential Spanish language singing. It sounds terrible in theory, but works a lot better than I could have ever imagined.
Taifa is Luís Massot (vocals, bass and samples), Martí Riera (guitar) and Antonio Medina (drums). Their roots stretch back to the late 1980's/early 1990's when Luis played with various other bands and got caught up in an idea of fusing the two genres. The first actual Taifa album, Más allá del Sur, was released in 1999.
The sound is surprisingly metal-inspired and symphonic. Take away the trad influences and Taifa would be comparable to bands like Within Temptation, even Iron Maiden in places. But...with the heavy ethnic input, this is unlike anything I've ever come across.
I'm not an encyclopedic knowledge-base on Spanish music, but the stuff on this album obviously references that classic Flamenco style. There is also a blatant Middle-Eastern tinge to the sound. The singing often comes across like minaret-top chanting - the type that radiates out over north African cities. Spanish culture is obviously influenced by the Moorish culture, so perhaps this style is now as Spanish as it is African. Whatever, the result is massively atmospheric and more enjoyable that it has any right to be.
There are no real highlight tracks, but Alhambra as a whole is bordering on breathtaking. The performances are all phenomenal and, whilst the album isn't by any means perfect, it's the best pile of madness I've heard for ages. Buy this; it may surprise the life out of you!
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
1. El Color De La Libertad
2. Las Torres De Babel
3. Alhambra
4. Nada Que Perder
5. Nunca Es Tarde
6. La Casa Del Olvido
7. Fe
8. Sin Saber Por Que
9. Por Un Trocito De Cielo
10. Mendigos De Una Ilusion
Artist's website(s): Taifa , MySpace
