image source, Getty Images
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- author, mark savage
- author title, BBC music correspondent
Throughout her short recording history, Rosalía has never encountered a convention she can’t break.
The Barcelona-born singer has spent the past seven years innovating at a pace that makes contemporary artists look comically lazy.
His follow-up, 2022’s “Motomami,” became a highly innovative pop hit that intertwined Latin American genres like cumbia and reggaeton with the sharp rhythms of hip-hop and its upbeat, rolling melodies.
With lyrics about fame, sex, and self-awareness, “Motomami” debuted at the top of Spotify’s global hit album chart, won Album of the Year at the Latin Grammy Awards, and became the highest-reviewed album of 2022 on Metacritic, surpassing even Beyoncé’s famous “Renaissance.”
Three years ago, after Rosalía finished a musical tour for her acclaimed album, fans were anticipating what would happen next.
The answer is revealed with his fourth album, Lux, released this Friday.
image source, Rosalia/Columbia Records
Rather than following in the footsteps of its predecessors, ‘Lux’ forges its own idiosyncratic path. Rosalía received her classical training at the prestigious Conservatoire Supérieure de Catalunya.
Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and featuring arrangements by Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw, it is a radical, rebellious piece of opera unlike any other in the pop world.
The first single, “Berghain,” is an improvised rendition of Verdi’s Requiem “Dies Irae,” with serrated knives playing the strings and a German choir singing about fear and anger until Björk arrives and lets everyone know. “The only way to save yourself is through divine intervention.”.
In another standout, “Reliquia,” in which the sounds of a chamber quartet are cut and edited into unrecognizable electronic patterns, Rosalía embraces the idea that she loves herself too much and finds beauty in her vulnerability.
“Take a piece of me/Save it for when I’m gone/I’ll be your legacy.”
Fellow pop iconoclast Madona has already declared himself a fan, posting a message to Rosalía on Instagram, admitting: “I can’t stop listening! You’re a true visionary!!!”
“Emotional Terrorist”
Assembled over the course of three years, Lux is a reflection of a personal and tumultuous time for the 33-year-old artist.
During that period, Rosalía ended her engagement to Puerto Rican reggaeton star Rau Alejandro, fired her manager and hired Adele’s Jonathan Dickins, and landed her first lead role in the teen drama Euphoria.
Her breakup with Alejandro seems to have inspired some of the album’s most heartbreaking lyrics. “The Pearl” is directed at a man he calls an “emotional terrorist” and “the worst asshole Olympic gold medalist,” and in a lively waltz arrangement, it’s clear how much he enjoys his endless insults.
The cathartic “Focu’ Rani” (available only on CD and vinyl) combines dark melodies with jumbled vocal fragments. It reflects the emotional turmoil of a bride whose wedding was canceled at the last minute.
In an interview with a French newspaper Le Mondecommented that the song was inspired by her namesake, Saint Rosalia of Palermo, who abandoned the altar to dedicate her life to God.
“I thought that coincidence was pretty crazy,” Starr said, declining to elaborate, saying only that it was “a long story.”
image source, Getty Images
The search for spiritual fulfillment underlines the rest of the title, “Lux,” which means “light” in Latin.
“Sauvignon Blanc” is a great ballad with a self-deprecating promise: “I listen to God/I throw away my Jimmy choices.”while the dizzying dopamine rush of “Divinize” finds her, in Loki’s words, tasked with a glorious purpose.
“Hurt me and eat all my pride/I know I was made to be sanctified.”
But it’s the more meditative moments that leave you breathless. The final track, “Magnolia,” is a delicate acceptance of death. “And what you did not do in my lifetime, you will do in my death.”
And the gentle, calming “La Jugular” expresses gratitude for the divinity on earth, celebrating our shared humanity.
“I fit into the world/And the world fits into me/I take over the world/And the world takes over me.”he sings with surprised eyes.
The song ends with a 1976 Patti Smith recording, encouraging artists to defy expectations.
“You have to force entry to get to the other side,” shouted the legendary rock star. “It’s not enough to go through one door. It’s not enough to go through a million doors.”
As a distillation of Rosalia’s creative impulses, it is almost too perfect.
image source, Rosalia/Columbia Records
Ahead of the album’s release, the singer advised fans to listen to “Lux” with headphones in a dark room, claiming it was an antidote to TikTok trends and viral videos.
“The more we get into the age of dopamine, the more I want the opposite,” he told the newspaper. new york times. “I know there’s a lot to ask, but that’s what I want.”
Anyone who accepts the challenge will receive rich rewards.
Despite the heavy orchestral presence, Lux is a thoroughly modern album, featuring cutting-edge production and hip-hop phrasing that sneaks into Rosalía’s dazzling, operatic voice.
Inspired by the mystical writings of French philosopher Simone Weil, she manages to avoid falling into the trap where a lesser artist might be overwhelmed by the conceptual weight of the work, which spans four movements and is sung in 14 languages.
“I just want to enjoy making music,” she told Nick Grimshaw on BBC 6 Music. “And the only way is to always try to do it differently. You want the extremes, you want the opposite.”
“It’s like a pendulum. In ‘Motomami’ it was about inventing words; in ‘Lux’ it was about trying to find a way to write letters that could be carved in stone.”
The result is an album that is both bold and approachable.
Turn off the lights, give her your all, and discover one of the most unique and original artists of our time.
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