Description
With 'Rio Abajo', Venezuelan singer and percussionist Rebecca Roger Cruz bares her soul, unveiling a debut solo album that lies at the confluence of everything that defines her. Birdsong, poetic incantations, baroque orchestrations, magnetic textures, percussive trance... 'Rio Abajo' is an album deeply rooted in the elements and the spirits of the living world.
Born in Caracas, Rebecca Roger Cruz grew up in a country where music--spanning from the Atlantic coast to the plains, from lush rainforests to Andean peaks--reflects the exceptional richness of a human and cultural melting pot at the crossroads of the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Yet it was the classics of psychedelic rock and symphonic metal that electrified her as a teenager! This passion led her to study classical singing and early music. A precocious talent, she joined the prestigious Camerata Barroca de Caracas as a soprano at the age of just 17.
For the 10 tracks of 'Rio Abajo', Rebecca brought together a close-knit ensemble who together summon seeds, strings, and bamboo into a percussive trance - repertoire from beyond-worlds and deeply connected to the elements and spirits of the living earth.
"Cruz's remarkable soprano voice casts a Venezuelan migratory bird as a metaphor for dislocation while dramatic strings and urgent escalate the passion." - Mark Sampson, Songlines
Rebecca Roger Cruz: vocals
Sylvain Rabourdin: violin, vocals
Leonore Grollemund: cello, vocals
Lena Aubert: double bass, vocals
Juri Caneiro: percussion, vocals, throat singing
