When I was very young, and I was very sad, I played a record of my older sisters with which, if there were tears inside, you definitely took them out, like someone who pulls out a hedgehog's quill with tweezers: 'Autumn ballad ', by

Joan Manuel Serrat.

Since then, as happens to many people, music lovers or not, my repertoire of songs 'to cry' has grown a lot, because it is always good to have a good supply of tear gas detonators, as well as a well-stocked box of clínex.

If you're one of mine, the new album by

Alba Reche

is a great investment, starting with 'As if it didn't matter' (single that he presented in April) -"The sorrow sticks in me, the cold corners me..."- or 'That was me too' -"They forced me to want inside a room. I still blame myself for dedicating a whole fucking song to you."

In 'Don't change your walk' sadness gives way to self-knowledge -"I don't have time to feel what I once was"- and the very brief 'Sincera' is a cry of rage with which half of humanity will empathize.

In short: I accept my sadness but I will get ahead.

And I will laugh again.

Well of course I do.

Alba Reche

(Elche, 1997), who left 'Operación Triunfo' in 2018, has made a name for herself in a short time, including a Latin Grammy nomination.

Universal signed her with great skill, and whether you like the music she makes or not, the truth is that she makes it with great pleasure, apart from the fact that her whispery voice (despite being capable of heartbreaking Sia-style screams, if she puts on), in the

Billie Eilish

style ,

one hundred percent in tune with the taste of the time.

We talked to her just before the release of her fourth album, 'Honestamente triste'.

Alba, why an EP (five songs) and not an album? The truth is that from the beginning I had planned to make an EP, a slightly shorter work because the concept that we were going to work on, this 'honestly sad', It made me feel that there had to be a few songs, so as not to delve too deeply into that feeling.

They finally turned out to be five, when you start composing you suddenly realize that those songs are part of this work, and that's how it was. You made half of Spain cry with your 'As if it didn't matter'.

Is it necessary to explore sadness in order to be able to deal with it? Hahaha, the truth is that I am happy because that means that the message has managed to reach the recipient and I am very grateful that he empathizes with the songs, I think that in the end it is because what we have done.

Being aware of yourself and the moment you live in is essential so that your day to day makes sense to you.

What I mean by this is that, in the end, sadness is one more moment, one more stage of life that is often treated with fear.

But working with her has served me well.

Thanks to that I've realized that I don't always want her by my side, although sometimes it's inevitable, to know what will happen. reflects it ['Honestly sad'].

It is a journey through my own diary, it shows you moments that I have been going through over time, long ago or recently.

I try to make musical journeys assimilate as much as possible to the inner journey, otherwise it would be impossible for me to defend it. Alba, fame...,

Does it add to or subtract from happiness?

I have always considered fame a consequence, not a purpose.

That helps me to objectify her and to have perspective on what she gives me and what she takes away from me.

It is true that you are more exposed, both professionally and personally, which creates more insecurities (because the judgment is greater than when your life is one hundred percent private).

But it is also true that thanks to her I can dedicate myself to what I want and it gives me the impact I need to share my work with many people.

And what about that 'loneliness of fame' that is always talked about, that one becomes more distrustful and more alone...? I don't think I've experienced it that much... Fame implies loneliness sometimes yes (suddenly you have a huge audience cheering you and then you go back to a hotel alone at night),

but I am lucky that my family and my lifelong friends have stayed by my side (and I hope they continue to be).

Musically, what step in Alba Reche's evolution constitutes this album? It's another stage, I feel like I'm constantly evolving.

It is also liberating the fact that these songs finally see the light, they are the ones I like the most in my entire repertoire, and being at peace with that is even fun for me.

With a lot of desire to enjoy it. After so much sadness poured into the album, let's embrace joy: what is for you the epitome of happiness? I sincerely believe that happiness is based on tranquility and peace with yourself and with your surroundings.

So my idea of ​​happiness is to be calm with the people I love.

And love?

It is the basis of everything.

For me, that of any act.

I recently read ('Reinvent love', by Mona Chollet) that romantic love faces a paradox these days: that it can hardly coexist in equality (our traditional romantic ideal is based on unequal roles).

Is it necessary to reinvent love, adapt it to the new times?

Of course yes, absolutely.

I think that romantic love, as we understood it before under a totally patriarchal and homophobic situation, should already be outside of society.

But I also believe that this process is something with which we must have a lot of patience, because it involves re-educating ourselves after having received that education and lived through those experiences.

But of course it is something that we must begin to dismantle, and from below, teach it to the children and teach it to us,

with our new limits, with our partners and with any type of relationship we have, always basing them on absolute respect for the other person and our own dignity.

What year awaits you? I hope it will be a year of personal and professional enjoyment.

We have a national tour that has been incredible and that I am very excited to be able to do, to be able to take these songs to the

from you to you

with the audience.

I also hope to make some more music that we can enjoy throughout the rest of the year. How much does the music you listen to have to do with the music you make?

I listen to music of all kinds, I think that's what makes references and contributions rich.

I couldn't even tell you a favorite music genre right now, my playlists are usually pretty chaotic. And who do you listen to?

Any recent finds you want to share?Lately I've been listening to a group from my hometown, Los Manises, also Depresion Sonora, who are now releasing a new project, Ponme, I'm back to Shakira, Julieta Venegas... It's amazing that time goes by whatever happens, in Spain the melodic song continues to be hegemonic (with the permission of certain urban music artists, if anything).

In the end, is it going to turn out that we Spaniards are romantics through and through?

Or is it that we replace the psychologist with the songs that talk about our problems? Hahaha, I would rather say that it is evident that art, and within it -luckily- music, is part of a kind of therapy, both individual and group that we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy.

At the end of the day I listen to all kinds of music and each one brings me something different for different types of situations, among them the melodic song, which I enjoy because it gives me time to sing it, understand it and feel it.

So I guess that will be it and that I am just another romantic.

music is part of a kind of individual and collective therapy that we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy.

At the end of the day I listen to all kinds of music and each one brings me something different for different types of situations, among them the melodic song, which I enjoy because it gives me time to sing it, understand it and feel it.

So I guess that will be it and that I am just another romantic.

music is part of a kind of individual and collective therapy that we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy.

At the end of the day I listen to all kinds of music and each one brings me something different for different types of situations, among them the melodic song, which I enjoy because it gives me time to sing it, understand it and feel it.

So I guess that will be it and that I am just another romantic.

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