Rosalía (Post-Flamenco Art-Pop From Spain)

I'm still learning how to listen to her if I (still) have trouble finishing her albums.

I do laugh at "BIZCOCHITO," a bit of slang I've heard all my life locally.

Half-way impression: what I imagine Kanye West to sound like when people complain that he does half-finished products. This is mildly annoying, no cohesive sound, ideas scattered, bad choices, and I only wish it was pure reggaeton. Pretty big fall.

La Combi Versace is possibly what I wanted from this album

Whats the interpolation on “candy”? It’s killing me that it’s on the tip of my tongue but the different language is throwing me off.

Oh yes it’s Burial duh

This is actually not as bad as I thought it would be based on “chicken teriyaki”.

I’m actually surprised I’m liking a great deal of it on first listen.

Xpost: don’t agree that it’s a pretty big fall, but otm that more songs like “combi versace” would have been very welcomed.

“Candy” though

I know a big part of why I’m loving that one is the Burial connection but it’s a brilliant reinterpretation imho

great album

it's definitely not 'el mal querer' but that album also feels like such a lightning strike that i'm not sure she could make another album that sounds like it that would actually be better. best just to move on & expand the sound. just generally in terms of artists who are making fringe mainstream experimental pop i think her music is so much more rewarding and fresh than idk fka twigs, charli xcx, arca etc i'm sure there's some other artists i'm forgetting

Now that I've listened to it all the way through it's...nice. The most traditional tracks ("Delirio de Grandeza" and "Sakura") are the only ones that will really stick with me, I think. "Sakura" reminds me of a modern fado album by Lina Rodrigues and Raül Refree that came out in 2020; I interviewed them about it at the time.

do listeners still care about FKA Twigs? No sarcasm -- I don't know.

I'm halfway through this, and I agree it's a more enjoyable listen than the pre-release singles suggested it would be.

Some of these tracks sound pretty cool, actually.

This is gelling more on second listen. Bulerías is another strong connection to her past work (pity it's followed by Chicken Teriyaki), and yeah in general there's a lot of interesting production stuff going on that will take a while to sink in I think

Personally I’d save these ones:

LA FAMA ft. The Weeknd
SAOKO
CANDY
LA COMBI VERSACE
DELIRIO DE GRANDEZA
CUUUUuuuuuute
SAKURA
BULERIAS
BIZCOCHITO

And probably trash the rest.

the album has been out for like 12 hours

It could be 12 years and I still wouldn’t have a positive opinion on chicken teriyaki or think motomami or diablo aren’t disposable

Rosalia interview feature in New York Times:

. A column that ran this year in “El País” included concerns that she had “pulled a ‘Miley Cyrus,’” going from lyrical Lorca allusions to simplistic, dirty rhymes and oversharing on social media.
The truth is, Rosalía wants it all: to be erudite and avant-garde, sexy, silly and absurdist. In intense yet giggle-heavy Spanglish conversation, she drops references to Jung’s “el inconsciente colectivo” — the collective unconscious — and her obsession with TikTok; in lyrics, she pledges allegiance to Niña Pastori, José Mercé and Willie Colón but also Tego Calderón, Lil’ Kim and M.I.A.

s. “I listened to Don Omar, Ivy Queen, Lorna, Yankee, Zion & Lennox since I was at least 13,” she said. “This is part of my experience.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/arts/music/rosalia-motomami.html

modern fado album by Lina Rodrigues and Raül Refree that came out in 2020

haven't listened to the new rosalía album yet, but popping in for an enthusiastic co-sign of the lina_raul refree album

i liked that times piece a lot, i thought it honed in on her as a restless artist who is guided by experimentalism & i thought that was a framing of her that i haven't encountered often, and it clicks w/ the way this album came out

agree w/ the posts in here about how this is way better than expected, don't even mind "Chicken Teriyaki" at this point

Yeah, the Times piece is good. I'm pretty weary of ahistorical Twitter-brain "you can't do that" critiques of music (and movies, and books) and I'm glad to see that she's not letting herself get bogged down in dumb arguments, and is just doing what she wants to do, combining things that excite her in interesting ways. I don't like all of it, obviously, but more power to her.

It could be 12 years and I still wouldn’t have a positive opinion on chicken teriyaki or think motomami or diablo aren’t disposable

Agreed... I think Moka's list of tracks to "save" is a pretty good one

this album is just great

yeah, aoty for me so far but idk if it's bc it's just that great or bc my expectations were so low

I wanna go to her show here but I think even the cheapest tickets are $100+

what the fuck

Yeah even in Mexico her ticket prices are through the roof.

F*cking Money Man

based on ticket prices i’ve seen this year actually seems pretty reasonable. at least you know she’s gonna put on a show

Well she’s at least doing something very unique on the genre and pushing it in a fresh direction. Her international success is great if it pushes more artists to be more experimental on a genre that risks so little.

That said as someone who has a club in the biggest fair in the world (feria nacional de san marcos) this album is way too experimental and melancholic lol, we haven’t been able to play her new album to a good response yet.

You can check steve aoki’s instagram and the building that says FVL! that’s us.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cca-jDdO-dn/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

wow, moka - that's awesome!!

They're advertising her DC show via a credit card company ads on tv here in the Washington DC area, and tickets are about $100

Thanks sean!

After 12+ years doing this I’m feeling like I’m getting too old for it lol. I’m seriously considering early retirement from the club scene, probably just stick to less hectic sort of scenes. It’s a great business but super stressful in this scale.

this album is way too experimental and melancholic lol, we haven’t been able to play her new album to a good response yet.

i feel like "bizcochito" could be mixed into something, right?

i've decided my favorite moment on the album is "sakura," which is probably the most el mal querer-like, but there's a lot to love here and something new to latch onto with each listen.

Long English-language interview. The interview's ok but not on her level; she's really fucking smart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFOp-G04jw8

Took me a few listens to hear, absorb, and appreciate everything going on on this album -- it's ridiculously cool. Opener "Saoko" really sets the tone; here, let's put a jazz piano interlude in a 2:17 pop song that interpolates a Wisin & Daddy Yankee track.

I'm warming up to Motomami, especially on the strength of G3 N15, consecutive to the fun Bizcochito and the fragile feminine beauty and preciousness that contrast her vulgar vocals on Hentai in the middle of the album. The apparent sketchiness of the short songs hide flashes of brilliance, and the fragmentation and attention to detail at least keep you on your toes, even if the overall result is still not totally convincing me. There is a lot more flamenco influence than I thought at first... so I actually see some kind of continuation with El Mal Querer now, even if we are far from a thesis on a medieval romance.

I also like the way her vocals detach themselves completely from the background many times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQiGqGMT8i4

video not available in my country :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ESxHKuSOk

new single is fun

most definitely!