Rosalía: "My grandmother is a motomami, I hope I'm like her when I grow up"

• News All the news about Rosalía in EL MUNDO

• Saoko Rosalía and her conclave of 'motomamis' in Ukraine

Rosalía

says: "Making

I have constantly asked myself, how can I be more free as an artist?"

Decisions are simple for those who do not fear the consequences.

You can lose your head without losing control.

It is the difference between bravery and recklessness, or recklessness.

To maintain control it is necessary to build a strategy and have a plan.

.

There are those who consider that making two-minute pop songs and having a plan is a symptom of a calculating and perverse mind, it's a

product ! They exclaim.

But Rosalia is not afraid of the consequences.

Isaiah Berlin says: Mankind is divided between

.

Hedgehogs reduce the complexity of the world into a single idea;

the foxes are overcome by that complexity and move from one idea to another.

At the end of her third album,

, which is published this Friday, Rosalía says in an alphabet with the aspect of a vital philosophy: "zeta de zarzamora, or

, or vixen."

But

.

She looks like she's losing her mind, but she's in control of herself.

Sun Tzu says: leadership is about detecting simplicity in complexity.

Making this album I have learned that I am more resilient than I thought

Singer, songwriter and producer,

.

Ambiguous, mutant and proud of her strange beauty.

That is why she uses the butterfly as her symbol.

It's Latin music and a bit of flamenco with a sound design so groundbreaking that global modernity is going to pee on it while the rest stare into space not knowing what to think.

Each decision seems the opposite of what common sense suggests.

, with a language that is all code (juvenile), with distorted voices, with structures that shake and jerk.

His musical coordinates are the raucous effervescence of hyperpop, the bubblegum sound of K-pop, American-style computer electronics, and the virtual aesthetics of hypnagogic pop.

There is reggaeton, bachata, flamenco, bolero, R&B and rap for a decidedly youthful pop.

16 songs that are not a trip, but a bubble.

Rosalía knows that

.

This is the plan.

Music for me is mental health

When making the album, what was it that you were clear that you wanted to do and what you were clear that you didn't want to do? Above all, I wanted the album to have energy and freedom.

That I gave myself that freedom as a musician, and that when you listened to the album you could feel that freedom.

That suddenly there are some bulerías like there is a song inspired by bachata, like there is a song inspired by industrial music, like rap... Anything. And what were you sure you didn't want to do? I didn't want it to be honest.

That it was honest, that it had personal and autobiographical material, which I had never done before.

Before all that.

I had to be honest. What's the most honest thing you've said on this album? Well, tell me, you've heard it (smiles), For me this album is a personal diary, it's honest from start to finish.

You can see many of my references there.

There are many experiences written there.

Reflections on transformation, celebration, heartbreak, spirituality, sexuality.

Making room for all of that.

All those themes put on the same level. Why the emphasis on freedom? As an artist I think that, how would I put it?... The ultimate goal,

, but the ultimate goal is to be as free as possible.

I constantly asked myself: how can I use my voice in a way that I haven't done before? How can I produce a song in a different way than I have done

? have i done before?

So always: how can I be freer?

It's about that.

Rosalía, this Thursday in Madrid.Javier Barbancho

Rosalía is

giving interviews like Anglo-Saxon pop stars do.

Great display.

Reception, corridor, door, hallway, waiting room, door, lounge, smile with a butterfly.

Adrenaline flows under the wool rugs.

There's not much time.

The photographers have had 17 seconds to shoot.

Interviews last 20 minutes.

The requests far exceed the time available.

This album is a personal diary, it's honest from start to finish

What have you discovered about yourself making these songs? The context of making these songs has not been easy.

I started it in 2019 while I was on tour and I concentrated between 2020 and 2021 in the US, it was two years away from my family and the place where I grew up, something that I had never experienced before in my life.

And it was a sacrifice to be able to do and finish this project.

I have definitely learned that I am more

, resilient?, than I thought.

There were many times when I wanted to return from the US, because the collaborators of the album were there, but if I went back to Spain I didn't know if I would be able to enter again.

I stayed until I finished it, and that

(deadline) was lengthening and lengthening and lengthening because the album was not as it should be.

Many times I set a

and then delayed it because I thought I had to keep working.

Definitely, resilience. On the record there is an audio message that I understand is your grandmother. Yes (smiles). It says "Family is always important, the most important thing after God."

Why is that message so important as to put it on the album? Because family is very important to me and I kept them very present throughout the process of making this album.

That's why I wanted my grandmother to be on the record.

She is a very spiritual woman, she is a woman who has influenced me, who I admire and love.

She is a

(laughs).

my grandmother is one

, my mother is the same and I am a

because of them. What is the definition of a

? (Laughs) For me

is a feminine energy.

It is the word that I found best that reflected that duality of sound that you can find on the album.

And the one that best represented this moment, because in the end this album is a photo of the here and now, of how I thought and felt at that moment.

in Japanese means 'harder, stronger'.

and

it is the figure of the mother, the woman as the creative force of nature.

I don't know what is stronger than the ability to give life.

I am celebrating that.What is the most important thing that your grandmother gives you?She is a woman who has been able to create a family, a united family, and she is a very affectionate person.

It's really like a grandmother's description.

My grandmother is very grandmother (smiles).

I wish I could be like her when I grow up.

I admire her.

She is a very happy woman, she always hums, and she has given me a lot of love.

She liked Pavarotti a lot, she played it for me at home.

She really likes to cook.

She is a person who likes to share a lot.

I admire her a lot, yes. You sing: "I contradict myself / I transform myself / I am all things".

And you use the butterfly as a symbol, which in psychology is a symbol of rebirth and immortality.

Why are these concepts important? The butterfly seems to me to be an animal that is as beautiful as it is terrifying.

It is an animal that I am passionate about, I see it so beautiful, but since I was little it scares me, I do not like to be too close.

The same thing happens with the stage.

is equal to

and motivating as it gives me respect.

That always happens to me, the things that give me a little respect but at the same time motivate me, here I go!

(laughs).

I've always been a bit like that.

That's why I chose to turn what for me was a butterfly.

I am going to use this thing that attracts me and at the same time scares me as a symbol of the project.

And also as a celebration of transformation and change. As Batman. (Laughs) Well, who knows if

would be a Marvel character, why not?

It's actually about feminine power, it makes sense. Do you contradict yourself? The human being is contradictory, it's something that is part of life.

And things are constantly changing, everything is constantly changing. You've made an album during a pandemic and it's released during a war.

Is it an escape album from that reality? Escape?

For me it's more about trying to write from an honest place and continuing to experiment as a musician, and growing as a musician.

It's definitely not an easy context... Sometimes it seems incredible that things like the ones that are happening continue to happen... As a musician, at least I always try to be in constant growth, I try to share my music that hopefully makes sense to others...

.

But actually, I don't know, music for me is mental health, it's what definitely motivates me in the mornings, it's what gives me center.

My family gives me center.

The place where I grew up gives me center, when I go back there it gives me center.

And music gives me center.

So, I think in the end it's what keeps me going. On an emotional level, what was your spirit when making the album? Well, imagine in three years, three years go a long way.

I'm actually glad I wasn't in a hurry and gave the project the time it needed.

I wish I could have finished the record sooner, of course, but really, even though I was working 16 hour days for months, even though I sacrificed a lot on a personal level to make this project, at the same time I see that there are a lot of different emotions and different energies and thoughts,

and that's also thanks to giving your time. It's a very modern and bold sounding album.

Sometimes it seems that you have been making the opposite decision to what is usually done. Do you think so!?

Jo, seriously?

For me it was the opposite.

At all times when I was producing, the decision to have that kind of sound palette is because I thought, 'how can I express that I'm suddenly in a hostile environment?'

And that's why there are some

which sound distorted and aggressive as well.

'And how can I express an isolation'?

Well, doing a ballad with some harmonies that have to do with that.

I want to say that everything is very intentional to explain my experiences and my emotions and translate them into musical values ​​and songs.

For me, as a musician, each decision and each arrangement and how the voice is used makes a lot of sense. But it is a brave album. As a musician I feel that I have taken a risk, yes. Did you ever think that you were going too far? (Laughs) Me I asked myself, 'Am I doing it from a place that is really born from a need, from a drive?'

'Do I feel like he has emotion or not?'

I valued it that way.

And I don't judge myself, I don't judge myself while I'm in the creative process.

Neither before nor after.

It has more to do with sharing something.

Would you say that musically you are attracted to taking risks? My favorite albums and my favorite artists are the ones that I didn't like the first time I heard them.

They almost made me uncomfortable (smiles).

But that doesn't mean that I want to make music uncomfortable, I keep in mind that I'm going to share that music and that there will be someone on the other side.

I have a commitment to the way I see music and making songs from an honest place.

I can't control what happens to my music after I make it, definitely. In the final part of the album you recite an alphabet with which you define yourself.

Is he

I keep in mind that I am going to share that music and that there will be someone on the other side.

I have a commitment to the way I see music and making songs from an honest place.

I can't control what happens to my music after I make it, definitely. In the final part of the album you recite an alphabet with which you define yourself.

Is he

I keep in mind that I am going to share that music and that there will be someone on the other side.

I have a commitment to the way I see music and making songs from an honest place.

I can't control what happens to my music after I make it, definitely. In the final part of the album you recite an alphabet with which you define yourself.

Is he

.

And in it are e for empress, pe for patron saint, r for queen and te for titanic.

Why is this idea of ​​leadership, of dominance, so important? (Laughs) I am inspired by women who have projected themselves like this.

also has to do with that feminine strength. Is it necessary? My inspirations are those.

My mother is a woman who has inspired me and she is also very strong.

My sister too.

For me it was necessary to express myself from this place.

ends with the z for bitch.

What does it mean to you? What does it mean to you? No, no, the reader doesn't care what it means to me. To me it's… Well, I don't know.

for me

it can be any woman, or even any person.

Anyone who feels like a

is a

.

And that's it.

And that's it.

20 minutes.

End of the interview.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Rosalia

• music

• Latin music

• Electronic music

• Pop

MusicThe best songs of the week: Rosalía's postmodern reggaeton

MusicThe best songs of the week: Resident unchained

MusicThe best songs of the week: ole, ole and ole for the quinquillera rumba of C Tangana and Omar Montes

See links of interest

• Last News

• Where to watch Oscar nominees

• Work calendar 2022

• Lille-Chelsea

• Juventus-Villarreal

• Indian Wells: Rafa Nadal - Reilly Opelka, live

• Arsenal-Liverpool

• Galatasaray - Barcelona