At this stage, no one can doubt the role of Nuevos Medios in the recent development of flamenco. One could even say that it has played a role as important as that of Blue Note Records in jazz. Like Alfred Lion, the founder of Blue Note, Mario Pacheco provided fresh air for an art form bordering on stagnation, giving new artists free reign to channel their creativity and to seek new forms of expression. His direct involvement provided help for the artists and ensured a coherent overview of his project, based on originality and quality. The results speak for themselves. The label is credited with a large part of the most important flamenco recordings of the last two decades. This includes the work of the guitar greats Pepe Habichuela, Rafael Riqueni, Tomatito, Cañizares, Carles Trepat and El Viejín.

To celebrate its twentieth year, the company has reissued in CD some of its best recordings. Those that haven’t heard Rafael Riqueni’s ‘Juego de niños’ (many of these tracks are included in his volume of series ‘Nuevos Medios Colección’) now have a chance to appreciate Rafael’s impact on contemporary flamenco guitar.

All of the tracks deserve mention, but let’s have a look at three. The first is his bulería ‘Mañana por la mañana’ that kicks off the recording. The introductory chords and the minor-key modulation that precedes the resolution in E major (the main key of the track, with clear references to bulerías de Cádiz) create an unusual atmosphere and a relaxed vibe not frequently heard in flamenco recordings of the period. Rafael’s subtle and delicate playing lend to the sensation of tranquility. This is reminiscent of New Age jazz, in fashion at that time, and is indicative of Rafael’s open-minded approach.

The second is his fandango de Huelva, dedicated to the legendary Niño Miguel. The intro to this track set a milestone in the style, once again using a series of minor chords before leading into the Andalusian cadence. The third is his soleá ‘Monte Pirolo,’ in which he creates an unsettling atmosphere of instability. Manuel de Falla pointed out that one of the characteristics of flamenco music is the obsessive repetition of a single note. Rafael is flamenco’s great creator, and one example of his genius is the place he chooses to emphasize this new note. This is minimalist art par exellence, expressing so much with so little. Rafael chooses the tonic of the Andalusian cadence as the point to inject tension. He knows that we always expect to hear it at the end of a falseta or a llamada, and uses this to his advantage. He alters the cornerstone of a classic structure, the tonic of the cadence, but keeps it from falling into a disarray.

‘Juego de niños’ offers a new interpretation of the musical structure of flamenco. Rafael’s attitude in this recording heralds the neo-romanticism of his generation: artists eager to deconstruct the classic elements of flamenco while avoiding the chaos of a complete rupture, in order to establish new forms of expression. A less aggressive approach to the guitar, based on "suggesting rather than saying", is a large part of the current shape of things, and Rafael stands out as one of the most brilliant precursors of this trend. Essential listening.