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Cuatro caminos 2003
Album · by Café Tacvba ↗ View artist

Cuatro caminos

This album arrived at a time when Café Tacvba had already changed direction several times, but Cuatro caminos marked a distinct turn: it was the first where they left behind drum machines and recorded with real drums and percussion. The sound feels more organic, with layers that intertwine without haste, as if each instrument breathed at its own pace. The band chose the album's name after Cuatro Caminos, a crossroads in Naucalpan that for them was always a meeting point: they rehearsed there, made decisions there, and even the nearby metro station became part of their story. But there’s also a play with perspectives: each member brings a different way of understanding music, and that’s evident in how the album moves between playful rhythms and melodies that stretch like shadows at midday.

Year
2003
Songs
14
Duration
53 min 13 seg
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About the album

Cuatro caminos, according to DoReSol

Of the fourteen tracks, three stand out for how they condense that blend of tradition and experimentation. Eres, for instance, begins with an almost folk air that fills with strings until it becomes something bigger, as if the song grew before you. Mediodía has that rhythm that seems to stop time, with drums hitting just where you don’t expect them. And Desperté closes the album with deceptive calm, like a whisper after an intense day. The pseudonym Rubén Albarrán used in this work —Élfego Buendía— was already a hint that there was no room for predictability here.

The production was handled by Gustavo Santaolalla, who made the album sound fresh even years later. There was no rush in the recordings, and it shows: every note feels deliberate, yet without losing that spark of spontaneity. The result was an album that, without aiming for it, ended up being one of the most listened-to in their career in Mexico, though they never set that as a goal. It simply happened that way, as if the songs had found their own path.

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