I thought there should be an appreciation thread for Rosalía as she is absolutely amazing. Has anyone seen her live yet? I’m going to see her in Madrid on Wednedsay night and mega excited. Seems like a new album will be along pretty soon too.
For anyone who has not heard her yet, here are some of my favourites:
Best cut from her first record:
This track is just incredible:
Probably my favourite tune so far this year, gutted I missed her and James Blake perform it together at Primavera:
Saw her at the Mad Cool welcome party in Madrid last night, in front of a rapturous 40k strong crowd. Utterly amazing performance, completely flawless. Emotional accapella version of Catalina reduced me to tears. I also like the way that she uses (superb) live backing singers instead of a backing track (on several songs at least).
@Sgreen - I was speaking to a Spanish girl about El Mal Querer and I was completely oblivious to the story / concept behind the album. Apparently it is an exploration of a toxic relationship, based on an obscure 14th century novel. So yeah, I hope she continues with this sort of experimental approach to her work despite also thoroughly enjoying the recent bangers.
Love her, though really enjoyed but wasn’t blown away by her performance at Primavera if I’m really honest, as many seem to have been here. Felt she was still cutting her chops as a live performer, but given the reviews here, maybe it was the sheer size of the stage and the audience that meant it didn’t land as well?
Also possibly spoiled for massive performers on that stage, people like Janelle, Erykah and even J Balvin, tbf to the lad, put on huge big stage shows and I just thought she was a bit shy of that (not a criticism of a 25 year old who just broke through to the big time by any means).
Still, love the albums, love the new poppy singles, was still very good live. Can’t wait to see what she does next.
She’s great, though I’ve Spanish friends who find her a bit problematic. This is my favourite, an absolute banger she released last year. Sounds like Forest Swords meets Aphex or something
@otto@megalithicrock - I wouldn’t want to try and explain it fully because I’m not totally educated on it as an English person with no Spanish roots, but this article sums it all up quite well. She utilises lots of cultural affectations that aren’t “hers”, which Spanish people are extremely proud and protective of, and there are issues around her and Catalan independence.
I mean - yeah, when my friends were complaining about it I was a bit like “huh?” but Spanish culture and heritage is processed completely differently to how we perceive ours. It’s impossible for us to comprehend how offensive it is to them, really.
I like her music, but it’s definitely made me view it slightly differently.
