‘Motomami’ by Rosalía Review

[Teletubby 121,600]

Rosalía’s latest record takes her background in flamenco and mixes in 21st-century technology and far-flung sounds to create something thoroughly modern.

Most tracks on “Motomami” credit multiple producers alongside Rosalía herself-contributors include Pharrell, James Blake and the Spanish studio wizard Pablo Díaz-Reixa, aka El Guincho, her primary collaborator on her previous album.

The arrangements are often spare but also complex-rhythmic elements and the singer’s voice are forward in the mix, but there are all sorts of odd noises happening in the background, from silly buzzes to distant murmurs that sound like a commotion in the street happening a block away.

“Candy” begins quietly, almost a cappella, and her phrasing borrows from American R&B while the music contains a sample of the atmospheric British dubstep producer Burial. As on much of the record, everything on “Candy” feels intimate and close to the microphone, and the track keeps its delicate bearing even when the syncopated reggaetón beat kicks in.

Both “Hentai” and “Bizcochito” find Rosalía’s voice pulled apart like taffy, pitch-shifted to sound robotic and alien, her warm and studied vibrato augmented by electronics.

The lyrics in “Diablo” mention God and the way money corrupts, and the structure of the arrangement-a stunning mix of delicate piano and explosive industrial percussion - mirrors the portrayal of good and evil.

“Sakura,” is a flamenco number that’s in part about how fame never lasts and shouldn’t be the measure of an artist’s ultimate worth. 
She compares her time as a star to a cherry blossom, and notes that her moment in the spotlight will probably have a lifespan just as short as that of the flower. 

The lyrics throughout the album- all are in Spanish- dwell on sensual pleasures. Bodily urges for food and sex are continuous threads, and so is conspicuous consumption of high-end fashion. The record’s most prominent theme, though, is the wonder of creative expression and the eventual hollowness of fame.

Going back to that first track, about the joy of self-contradiction, Rosalía wants to live large and hang out with the rich and powerful, but she also wants to be taken seriously as an artist.

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[COOOK 76,406]

4 minutes ago, Teletubby said:

Rosalía’s voice pulled apart like taffy, pitch-shifted to sound robotic and alien, her warm and studied vibrato augmented by electronics.

[alsemanche 88,577]

9 minutes ago, Teletubby said:

“Sakura,” is a flamenco number that’s in part about how fame never lasts and shouldn’t be the measure of an artist’s ultimate worth. 

But I thought there was only 1 flamenco song on the album 

[papergangster 2,713]

This review makes me excited again 

[BlingNotTheMusic 27,670]

36 minutes ago, Teletubby said:

The record’s most prominent theme, though, is the wonder of creative expression and the eventual hollowness of fame.

Truly ha ARTPOP 

[BlingNotTheMusic 27,670]

I cannot wait!!!! A Palé is one of my fav songs of hers and I'm so glad she's experimenting more because some of her songs sound samey. Truly a risk-taking, bold queen!

[Arcadia 1,366]

4 hours ago, WheresMy911Alice said:

I cannot wait!!!! A Palé is one of my fav songs of hers and I'm so glad she's experimenting more because some of her songs sound samey. Truly a risk-taking, bold queen!

Ugh I also adore A Palé

[ELECTROHEART 6,444]

5 hours ago, WheresMy911Alice said:

Truly ha ARTPOP 

The nerve to compare a true masterpiece with something by this woman 

[Morphine Prince 96,961]

Like she said this is “el mal desear”