Biography
Benjamin Escoriza achieved his introduction to global world-music listeners chiefly through his position as frontman and chief songwriter for the groundbreaking ensemble Radio Tarifa, despite maintaining an artistic presence in periods both preceding and following that affiliation. Born in Granada and immersed from childhood in Spain’s Roma neighborhood, he absorbed the deep flamenco and Andalusian folk currents sustained through the community’s oral heritage. Already established as a troubadour and specialist in the Moorish and Arabic lineages of Spanish music, Escoriza linked up with Faín Sánchez Dueñas and Vincent Molino of Ars Antiqua Musicalis to launch the wide-ranging pan-Mediterranean project Radio Tarifa.
From the early 1990s into the early 2000s he served as the band’s lead vocalist and shaped a substantial share of its songs and lyrics. Radio Tarifa attained notable underground prominence, appearing throughout Europe and the States while ranking among the most esteemed acts in its field across more than a decade of activity. The group issued three albums from 1993 to 2001 that examined the layered influences running through Mediterranean music. Although Radio Tarifa dissolved in 2006, Escoriza immediately turned to solo work.
Drawing on his longstanding Spanish and North African wellsprings together with further sources, he assembled material intended to feel recognizable to Radio Tarifa listeners yet to articulate his own artistic profile. Alevanta! appeared in 2007 and received strong critical notice along with rapid chart placement. Escoriza sustains a demanding concert calendar in support of that debut album and his continuing aims as a solo performer.
From the early 1990s into the early 2000s he served as the band’s lead vocalist and shaped a substantial share of its songs and lyrics. Radio Tarifa attained notable underground prominence, appearing throughout Europe and the States while ranking among the most esteemed acts in its field across more than a decade of activity. The group issued three albums from 1993 to 2001 that examined the layered influences running through Mediterranean music. Although Radio Tarifa dissolved in 2006, Escoriza immediately turned to solo work.
Drawing on his longstanding Spanish and North African wellsprings together with further sources, he assembled material intended to feel recognizable to Radio Tarifa listeners yet to articulate his own artistic profile. Alevanta! appeared in 2007 and received strong critical notice along with rapid chart placement. Escoriza sustains a demanding concert calendar in support of that debut album and his continuing aims as a solo performer.
Albums
