Five of the most prominent musicians in the Canarian music scene have come together to form a supergroup called Rabiche, whose debut album of the same name is being released under a new record label called Lambada Records. Diego Hernández, José Antonio Fajardo, Jorge Hernández, Manuel Campos, and Carlos Pérez will perform these songs live on June 1st, at 8:30 pm, at Arequipa 6 venue.
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What can happen when some of the most interesting musicians from the alternative scene in Canarias come together to record an album together? The result has to be something unique and special. And that is exactly what transpires with the debut work of the collective Rabiche, a band born from the union of five musicians from the islands with extensive backgrounds and numerous parallel projects, who have just released a debut album of the same name.
This is also the first project of the record store and bar-café Lambada, located at 5 Joaquín Costa Street in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as a record label, and also includes RunRun and Hey Boy Hey Girl from Tenerife. The group will perform these songs live on June 1st at the Arequipa 6 venue, starting at 8:30 pm. The album, originally recorded in a country house in Aguamansa, Tenerife, between July 22 and 25, 2022, has the special contribution that each member has exhibited in their respective personal careers.
Thus, the Tenerife native Diego Hernández (vocals, guitars, banjo, lapsteel) has a long solo career coupled with projects like Keiko, Sociedad Liberada, and The Conqueror. On the other hand, the artist from Fuerteventura, José Antonio Fajardo (vocals and guitars), remains a key figure in the island scene as Fajardo, in addition to the albums with the band Conjunto Podenco, or his work with Dragón and collaborations in the band San Borondón. The Tenerife native Jorge Hernández (bass, guitars, backing vocals) currently plays in Blue Rondo but has been a member of Isolina, The Conqueror, and Mentos and serves as a supporting musician for Claudia Basterra. Manuel Campos (piano, keyboards, synth, xylophone) hails from Madrid and is part of the band Rosvita and has also collaborated with Fajardo. And Carlos Pérez (drums, percussion) is also a member of The Conqueror and has worked in the jazz field with numerous artists like Kike Perdomo. The recording was done by Julio Armas and Javier Ortiz took care of the mixing and mastering, adding acoustic piano, Rhodes, and Juno 106, recording them at Estudio Brazil on February 4, 2023. Miguel G. Morales is the photographer and Alejandro González is responsible for the design and layout.
The album includes dub remixes of the original songs by Julio Armas and the band, and so far, they have performed at notable venues such as Boreal, FEX, or Lava Circular. The name Rabiche refers to one of the two endemic bird species of the islands. And I can’t think of a better name since their sound, very elegant and precious, rooted in a mix of folk rock, slowcore, and post-rock, literally transports the listener through bucolic passages. The owner of Lambada, Jordan Santiso, recalls how this adventure began. “Before opening this business, I planned to create a record label, but I postponed it until this venture took off. However, it was a goal I had clear before opening as part of the Lambada concept from the beginning.”
It all began when “I listened to a demo that José Antonio Fajardo passed me of what they had recorded in Aguamansa.” Knowing the musicians they were, “I told him that we had to release it.” In his opinion, the album includes the ideas that each one had “of folk rock with shades of Americana and a slightly Southern blues, which is very noticeable in Diego’s guitar.” All of this combined with some slowcore and that disorganized rock courtesy of Fajardo. Santiso emphasizes that releasing an album involves a rigorous process of recording demos, designing graphics, etc. “We financially participate in the final phase together with the mastering and physical, digital edition.” Indeed, at the end of this month, Lambada Records will release the first single from another band from Las Palmas called Alizulh, who “are two guys who make experimental electronic music leaning towards pop,” and from which an album and a ten-inch with four remixes by four DJs will arise.
Lambada also participates in a music association called Tormento Colectivo that organizes Fanfalate in El Sebadal at a venue on Tormento Street where they bring together various musicians for a live performance.
José Antonio Fajardo, on the other hand, recalls that “the first person I told about this project was Diego.” The musician from Tenerife contributes four songs and Fajardo adds another four “that didn’t quite fit into my repertoire for technical reasons,” while Jorge “composed another one that was very inspiring and that we incorporated.”
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Fajardo acknowledges that “when Diego sings, his style is more evident, and when I sing, mine is, but giving them a different context.” In fact, there are two songs that Diego Hernández has previously recorded in his own versions. The musician from Fuerteventura emphasizes that “all of this was a teenage obsession I had with those albums that were recorded in country houses and acquired special connotations” like Standstill’s Vivalaguerra or those of The Band. “I wanted to live that experience, and the perfect travel companions were these musicians. Since I met Diego, I wanted to do something with him. He brought Jorge and Carlos, and I brought Manuel Campos, whom I admire as a person and musician. The coexistence was great, and in just four days, we recorded nine tracks and had time to do some overdubs, rerecord things.” Each track takes the listener to a different side between slowcore, post-rock, or folk rock. But for Fajardo, each song has a stylistic touch. “Although these influences are present, there are others like Quinquel or Universo fatal that take me to a more Latin point. The five musicians come from very different backgrounds that enrich each other: Carlos from Brazilian percussion, Jorge from nineties rock, Diego from American blues and psychedelia, and me from the more pop-rock side. But in the end, despite many styles, it sounds like Rabiche.” And he concludes: “We don’t embark on any exercise of style, and if we want to do surf music later on, we will do it without any problem.”
