Razón de Son

Seville-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Raúl Rodríguez is familiar to flamenco fans through his Cuban-inflected fusions with the group Son de la Frontera, as well as turns with a variety of flamenco and non-flamenco artists from Kiko Veneno to Carlos Núñez and Chavela Vargas. Explorations in rock and blues and a mentoring by Diego del Gastor have endowed Rodríguez with a soulful, song-led style notable for its dramatic force. His rough-edged voice suits the chanting repetitions and intimations of his highly poetic songs. A lot of flamenco is angled inward, but Rodríguez's hybrid music is more worldly, more expansive.

The cadences of the genre are there, but they flit around the storytelling, and percussion and guitar often stray away from any formal structure. Some of the songs featured on Razón de Son are pop ballads, such as ‘Romance de Tus Nombres’, penned by Cuban trovadora Marta Valdés. This CD comes folded into a small hardback book instead of a plastic case and sleevenotes. Photos and text tell a story about songs of ‘ida y vuelta’ – coming and going, to-ing and fro-ing. Raul Rodríguez is continuing his cross-border celebration of flamenco's immigrant soul with some style.