{"id":343702,"date":"2019-02-28T17:59:13","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T16:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=343702"},"modified":"2019-04-23T09:02:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-23T07:02:47","slug":"hit-the-tone-rosalias-el-mal-querer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/gear\/hit-the-tone-rosalias-el-mal-querer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hit The Tone! Rosal\u00eda’s “El Mal Querer”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rosa who?<\/h3>\n

Rosal\u00eda,<\/strong> surely there hasn’t been another name uttered in Latin music<\/strong> (in the Spanish-speaking<\/strong> world, if you prefer) during the last few years and especially in the last 6 months.\u00a0Rosal\u00eda Vila Tobella<\/strong> (San Esteban de Sasroviras, Barcelona, 1993) is a singer<\/strong> and producer<\/strong> who published her first album in 2016. Los Angeles\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(Universal) was produced by a guru -who moves between tradition and experimentation<\/strong> – called Ra\u00fcl Refree<\/strong> (Christina Rosenvinge, Lee Ranaldo, Josele Santiago, Silvia P\u00e9rez Cruz) and paints a very interesting picture for us of\u00a0flamenco<\/strong> music; like a view of flamenco from the outside, from the perspective of folk musicians.<\/strong> Imagine someone like Nick Drake<\/strong> singing flamenco, to put it into perspective. Although Los Angels<\/em> sometimes shows off of bit aesthetically<\/strong>\u00a0it definitely shows us that Rosal\u00eda and her music are taking a very adventurous<\/strong> and exciting direction.\u00a0<\/strong>She is a diligent student of flamenco singing<\/strong> and culture,<\/strong> which she claims to work on everyday. The opportunity arose to do something with her gifts and hard-working character and flamenco is where her heart landed.\u00a0You might say “typical” in a country like Spain<\/strong> full of flamenco purists.<\/strong> But time has told us that she is far more progressive<\/strong> than we imagined…<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/a> <\/div>\n

Unblock this content<\/a> Accept required service and unblock its content<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

What is “El Mal Querer<\/em>” anyway?<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s Rosal\u00eda’s second album<\/strong>, of course. The literal translation of the title to English is something like “Evil Loving” but it should be something closer to “Toxic Love<\/strong>“. Produced by herself<\/strong> and El Guincho<\/strong> (of whom we’ll talk about later), it’s a step beyond her previous album, in every sense. If in that album we were talking about an approach to flamenco,<\/strong> in El Mal Querer<\/strong> <\/em>Rosal\u00eda delves entirely into the ethos<\/strong> of the genre, both in form<\/strong> and in content.<\/strong> But what needs to be emphasised\u00a0is that even though the album goes deep into flamenco music and culture it is not necessarily a flamenco album<\/strong>. Let’s illustrate this better with another example: The Hindu<\/strong> influences on\u00a0The Beatles<\/strong> didn’t turn Sgt. Pepper’s<\/strong> into a Hindu album.<\/p>\n

Rosal\u00eda makes pop<\/strong>, 21st century pop<\/strong>, with flamenco reverberations, rap, trap,\u00a0<\/strong>R&B<\/strong> and even soul.<\/strong> But what her music is, her character, everything that accompanies her image, her way of colonising spaces, is pure pop<\/strong> (which, throughout history, never had any intention other than to conquer the world<\/strong>). All right, let’s move on. El Mal Querer<\/em> is a conceptual work<\/strong> inspired by “Flamenca<\/strong>“,\u00a0<\/strong>an\u00a0Occitan novel<\/strong> from the 14th century<\/strong> written by an anonymous author<\/strong>. “Flamenca” tells the story of Archambaut and his wife, Flamenca and revolves around the analysis of jealousy<\/strong> as the main theme . Toxic love,<\/strong> does it ring a bell? Precisely, one of the questions that Rosal\u00eda puts on the table is: “Eight century later, do we still want (or love) in the same way?” Each song corresponds to a chapter in the book. And there is lots to talk about when it comes to the music:<\/strong> El Mal Querer’<\/em>s big feat is to make flamenco, trap<\/strong> and R&B<\/strong> work together. Not an easy task.<\/p>\n

\n

Did I read that correctly? Mixing flamenco and trap?<\/h3>\n

Correct. Rosal\u00eda embarked on a very ambitious project.<\/strong> This album\u00a0could have easily been a complete disaster but no, they have made all the right moves, enough so that critics even call it a masterpiece.<\/strong> Although only time and perspective can place an artist in this category, Rosal\u00eda has executed an excellent, imaginative<\/strong> and innovative record <\/strong>which is charmingly\u00a0suggestive<\/strong> in substance and form. In “Malamente\u00a0(Cap.1: Augurio)<\/a>“<\/strong>, the\u00a0 album’s\u00a0opening<\/strong>\u00a0song<\/strong>, you will know what I mean:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube<\/strong>. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.<\/p>\n

More Information<\/a> <\/div>\n

Unblock this content<\/a> Accept required service and unblock its content<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The flamenco hand claps<\/strong> (which rhythmically occupy the space of the typical hi-hat<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0trap<\/strong> and R&B<\/strong> compositions) punctuate the pad<\/strong> of a\u00a0synth chord progression<\/strong> and rhythm<\/strong> of a\u00a0drum machine.<\/strong> And not just any drum machine: you guessed it, the famous Roland TR-808<\/strong>. It’s the same one used on countless hits you have surely heard by the likes of\u00a0Marvin Gaye,\u00a0Beastie Boys, Kanye West, Diplo, David Guetta or Jamie XX<\/strong>. Check out this article<\/strong><\/a> for a history lesson about the TR-808<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s not an easy unit to find these days and if you do find one (used)<\/strong> it’ll cost you<\/strong> an arm and a leg but, of course, there are some alternatives:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roland<\/strong><\/a> offers these “successors” of the 808<\/strong> for you: The TR-8<\/strong> <\/a>and the TR-8S<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t