Rosalía – El mal querer
It's been a long long time since the last time I participated on an "Albums of…" thread, exactly five years ago (see
here). This doesn't mean that I don't follow these threads (that by the way are the ones with more visitors), in fact I'm going to seize the opportunity to congratulate Nick for his excellent reviews on these threads.
So my first recommendation in five years is the second album by Spanish singer Rosalía, an album that set fire to the social networking sites and the media in Spain during the last week. In fact Rosalía has been so ubiquitous during this last week in Spain that right now there are so many jokes about it along the lines of "yesterday I lost my car keys, I looked under the couch cushion and there was Rosalía." Spain suddenly has been divided in half between supporters and detractors of Rosalía.
But, what's the reason for all this buzz? Let's begin with the detractors. I haven't analysed deeply their reasons but I can detect mainly two criticisms:
a) Rosalía has been immediately accused of cultural appropriation, in fact since the very release of "Malamente," the first single. Rosalía is not gypsy, she is
paya (a pejorative expression meaning non-gypsy, just like "whitey"). She was born in Catalonia, not in Andalucia, the cradle of flamenco music. She has been criticized for using gypsy slang (
caló) or Andalusian accent and for betraying the flamenco roots fusing it with contemporary sounds in order to reach massive audiences. The same old (and boring) debate between pure and impure with race implications, not too different to the recent controversy with the Grammys on the Blues category going to white musicians (see
this) but taken to the Spanish current reality and replacing the black/white controversy by an even older gypsy/payo controversy. Two quotes of Rosalía on the subject (translated from an interview for Rockdelux): "Flamenco has been my school voluntarily and I will continue to study it deeply, but there are other music styles that are also part of me and I want to include them. It hurts me to know that somebody can think I disrespect flamenco when it's my root and my main inspiration." "I don't believe in cultural appropriation or cultural expropriation because I don't believe in cultural property. What about Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"? Someone's going to argue the he appropriated African art?"
b) The second criticism is even more absurd and probably difficult to understand for the non-Spanish people. It's related with success itself. Many Spanish people despise the artists when they gain huge popularity, especially if they achieve international recognition. This a country where actors like Javier Bardem or Penélope Cruz receive enormous backlash instead justified praise. Milestones for a Spanish artist like receiving an 8.8 and BNM (Best New Music) in Pitchfork or making an impressive performance on the MTV European Music Awards are being received in Spain with more raised eyebrows than genuine happiness. Words like overrated, hype or marketing product are flowing freely on social networking sites and people are making jokes of her habitual presence in the media and criticisms about the financial support from her record company (when all she is doing is promote her work, just like any other artist). Another quote from the same interview when she is asked about the marketing: "But, if all that was done by myself! Only my mother and my sister help me because I have very ambitious projects that I can't do it alone. I didn't even have a manager! But I'm aware I am the best A&R for myself, maybe because I am a musician and I know what to do. I have to confess that I always had a clear intuition of every step I had to take."
And she's absolutely right, she is very smart and she knows how to manage her own career perfectly. Probably she had in mind from the very beginning a bold move like her second album, fusing flamenco and trap. But she opted to debut with an album like "Los ángeles" ("The Angels"), an album of (almost) traditional flamenco with a minimalist approach with mainly voice and guitar and traditional songs about death. But it was not a strictly traditional album, she was not accompanied by a flamenco player but by Raül Fernández, a performer (under the stage name Refree) and producer with background on indie folk and indie rock whose unpolished playing took a fresh view to an old style. Probably this first step aimed to gain the respect of rock critics and flamenco purists, like trying to prove to everyone that she had a deep knowledge of tradition before jumping unashamedly into mainstream.
Because yes, suddenly she is mainstream right now. And not only in Spain. Her first single ("Malamente" / "Badly") had more than 30 million views on You Tube while the Spanish population is 46 million people (the second and third single got 20 and 5,5 millions respectively). Praise from Pitchfork and The Guardian may produce that "El mal querer" could be the first Spanish album appearing on high positions on the Album of the Year lists. And a careful attention to the visual packaging including a) a powerful live act with a small band (two backing singers, two handclappers and El Guincho playing keyboard, samples and percussion) but a large group of dancers and b) imaginative video-clips that also fuse Spanish tradition (religious icons or bullfighting) and contemporary visuals with suburban stylings are achieving the magic trick of conquering the casual listeners and, more important, the support of the younger audiences, people that never or rarely have listened to flamenco before.
If you want to see a sample of the Rosalía visual work I include links to some of her video-clips (my Top 5) and some live performances:
- Her performance on the
MTV Awards.
- Her
whole show (stunning!).
-
Antes de morirme (duet with C. Tangana, 2016).
-
De plata (2017).
-
Malamente (2018).
-
Pienso en tu mirá (2018).
-
Di mi nombre (2018).
But maybe it's time to talk about the album. First about the lyrics (something that the English-speakers may find useful) and then the music.
The lyrics develop a story, that's why every song has a subtitle representing the chapters of the story. It's a concept album about a toxic relationship ("El mal querer" can be translated as "The Bad Loving") based on an anonymous romance from the XIII Century, "Le Roman de Flamenca." This romance tells the story of a woman locked up in a tower by her husband. Based on this romance (sadly still relevant on these current times) but incorporating some autobiographical experiences from her failed relationship with C. Tangana (a popular Spanish trap singer that collaborated on the album) she wrote the songs. The chapters are called "Omen," "Wedding," "Jealousy," "Argument," "Lament," "Cloister," "Liturgy," "Ecstasy," "Conception," "Sense" and "Power." Particularly important is the last chapter, when she sings "A ningún hombre consiento / que dicte mi sentencia" ("I don't give my consent to any man / who dictates my sentence") or "Yo era tuya compañero / hasta que fuiste carcelero" ("I was yours, my partner, / until you became my prison guard"). This last track was significantly the first recorded and the one that gave sense to the whole project, ending the album with a strong commitment on women empowerment (there is an
article including 16 quotes from the album as a statement against machismo). The lyrics and the concept are brilliant but, in my opinion, maybe too obviously inspired by Beyoncé's "Lemonade."
The album mixes flamenco and trap from the very first second, opening the album with syncopated handclaps and a loop of three chords on electric piano. Later a bass line and some electronic percussion. And that's all. Only some meticulously placed effects and voices (with diverse equalizations, reverbs and sound levels) creates the magic of the first track. The second song ("Que no salga la luna"/"May the Moon Not Rise") is only one of two songs featuring a Spanish guitar, the most archetypical instrument of flamenco, but in this case it's a sample from a tune by La Paquera de Jerez (on the other track, "Preso"/"Prisoner", the guitar was played by Rosalía herself). The third track and second single, "Pienso en tu mirá" ("I Think of Your Glance") features imaginative chord sequences and rhythm patterns (I strongly recommend the splendid music analysis made by
Jaime Altozano, sadly without English subtitles). Maybe it' just me (it's one of my favourite flamenco tracks ever) but I can detect some influences on this track of the Lole y Manuel song "Tu mirá," including the children voices and part of the lyrics. Probably I'm not wrong because this song opens the (highly recommendable)
Spotify playlist created by Rosalía herself with her favourite flamenco tracks.
We find many interesting arrangements throughout the album but keeping a quite minimalistic and spacious approach, keeping Rosalía's voice as the main weapon. Some of these arrangements include a beat created from samples of motorcycle sounds on track 4, a full orchestra on track 5, samples from Justin Timberlake and Arthur Russell on tracks 7 and 10 respectively or a-capella voices with harmonizer on tracks 9 and 11. The main responsible for this spare but inventive production is Pablo Díaz-Reixa whose stage name is El Guincho and whose albums "Alegranza!" (2007) or "Pop negro" (2010) also received international acclaim. But mainly, as I told before, we have the gorgeous Rosalía's voice, displaying a lot of resources and emotion throughout the album, although maybe not reaching the heights of "De plata" from her previous album.
Well, I'm afraid I talked too much again. It's obvious that I liked the album. Let's hope we can have the first Spanish album ever on the Top 10 of the year on Acclaimed Music. I'll cross my fingers…