Los ángeles (album)

Los ángeles (pronounced [los ˈãŋ.xe.les]; Spanish for "the angels") is the debut studio album by Spanish singer Rosalía, with production and arrangements by Raül Refree. It was released on 10 February 2017 by Universal Music Spain.

Los ángeles
Studio album by
Rosalía
Released10 February 2017 (2017-02-10)
RecordedAugust 2016
Genre
Length49:06
Language
  • Spanish
  • English
LabelUniversal Spain
ProducerRaül Refree
Rosalía chronology
Los ángeles
(2017)		 El mal querer
(2018)
Singles from Los ángeles
  1. "Catalina"
    Released: 19 October 2016
  2. "De plata"
    Released: 26 May 2017

Background

Rosalía began performing in tablaos a decade before the release of her recording debut, gradually becoming a well-known vocalist within Barcelona's flamenco circuit. She worked as a guest artist and supporting act for various artists, including Chicuelo, Enric Palomar, La Fura dels Baus, Miguel Poveda and Rocío Márquez, performing across countries such as Germany, Singapore and Panama and events like the 2015 Primavera Sound and an APAP conference in New York City.[1][2] She told ABC: "I have done many collaborations with other musicians, and I have always tried that they were older than me, in order to learn from them."[3] Rosalía grew up in a family with no artistic background that mostly listened to music in English.[4] She discovered flamenco at thirteen when her friends played Camarón de la Isla while meeting in a park after school, soon becoming fascinated with the genre and studying it on her own.[5] As she immersed herself in the Catalan flamenco scene, Rosalía met local fixture José Miguel Vizcaya "El Chiqui de la Línea", who suggested she started a degree in music.[6][7] "El Chiqui" became Rosalía's teacher for the following eight years, as she studied Interpretation of Flamenco Singing at the Catalonia College of Music (Catalan: Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, ESMUC).[4] The ESMUC only accepts one student of this discipline per year and Rosalía was selected in 2014.[8] The singer has described "El Chiqui" as a fundamental figure in her career, who encouraged her to investigate the genre even further back in time. Speaking with ABC, she stated: "To me, flamenco was Camarón, something of gypsy aesthetics, and when going back I found many other things that I loved. [...] When I discovered cantaores like Niño de la Huerta or "El Gloria", "El Chiqui" taught me to listen and appreciate their singing, because their recordings sound very bad! To people of our age that sound seems terrible to us."[3]

Composition

Los ángeles is a concept album that collects a series of cantes which have death as its central theme.[11] It is a presentation of Rosalía as a soloist cantaora and as such its structure is similar to that of the debut of any orthodox flamenco singer: "a selection of varied palos, often with traditional or popular lyrics, in which the artist shows his or her aptitude and background."[12] In this manner, the singer encompasses several forms of the genre, including alegrías, tangos, fandangos, fandanguillos, seguidillas, tarantas, malagueñas and "more specific" styles like guajira, saeta and milonga.[12] Rosalía felt that in the album "the cantes become songs", and as such did not list the palos's titles in the track listing, explaining that: "It's a way of saying that I am based on melodies and lyrics from cantes, but we turn it into something else. Those who know something about flamenco will be able to identify them, because we are influenced by that, but we do our own thing."[11]

Rosalía told Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo of Jezebel in 2018: "I feel like with Los ángeles, I wanted to establish my musical legacy... and honor the classic sound of flamenco in the most traditional sense, respecting them to the maximum, with a pop and experimental structure, but with very basic instrumentation and a minimalist sound—just guitar and voice."[13]

Release and promotion
Rosalía and Raül Refree performing in Madrid, July 24, 2017.

Los ángeles was released on 20 February 2017 on Universal Music Spain.[14][11] It was released at digital audio stores and streaming platforms,[15][16] as well as a CD and double LP record.[17][18] "Catalina" was released as the album's lead single on 17 October 2016 and presented by Rosalía in Radio 3, after having shared its B side "Que se muere, que se muere" online a few weeks before.[19] Its music video was directed by Txema Yeste and has been described as "a visual translation of the power of this song".[10] An electronic press kit (EPK) featuring English subtitles was published in Rosalía's YouTube channel on 21 April 2017. The video was produced by Yverz and directed by Bàrbara Farré, with photography by Lucas Casanovas and animation by Pepe Gay.[20]

Spanish filmmaking collective Manson directed the music video for the second single "De plata", which features the singer performing the track as she walks and dances in the streets of Los Angeles, California.[21] It was published in Rosalía's YouTube channel on 26 May 2017.[22] Luis Troquel of Rockdelux felt that the clip showed a "facet of Rosalía that was unknown to many", as she dances "with a glowing enchantment and exuberant style."[23] Manson shot the clip in 16 mm film, as they "wanted to portray Rosalía as a classic Hollywood star, but with a contemporary sensibility." The collective told Nowness that they chose the song because it had a "Tarantino-esque vibe" that they thought matched Los Angeles. They further explained: "Her art is very pure and wild and we wanted a video to match—no camera tricks, no VFX, no ornaments, no Tumblr aesthetics, just the pure and raw performance of a new-born classic star."[21] A cover version of Enrique Morente's "Aunque es de noche", which was not included in the album and had only been performed live, was released as a single on 2 November 2017 on streaming platforms.[24][25] Its music video was directed by Ignasi Monreal and produced by CANADA in collaboration with Pink Salt and Collateral Films, with animation by Iria López, Dani Negrín and Bjørn-Erik Aschim from the London animation studio The Line.[26] Filmed as a long take, the video's first two minutes show the inside of a car filled with elements of Christian symbolism, leading the viewer to Rosalía sitting on a chair.[27] The singer then stands up and shows that she is inside a cemetery and in the last minutes, animation appears around and on her.[26][27] According to Rosalía, the music video "intends to be a celebration of death as part of life", and as such has been linked to the concept of Los ángeles.[26] In between recording for the video, Monreal also filmed Rosalía performing an a capella rendition of the track, which was released via Nowness on 14 December 2017.[28]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[29]
Jenesaispop.com8.5/10[12]
MondoSonoro9/10[30]

Los ángeles received several positive reviews from music critics.[29] Spanish magazine Rockdelux called it "one of the most intense and sweeping debuts of recent times", with critic Juan Monge complimenting its mix of tradition and avant-garde.[31] AllMusic's Mariano Prunes highly commended Rosalía's vocals, writing that "her instrument is a tornado capable of sweeping away any cultural or language barriers", while noting that "she does not accomplish this with sheer volume or vocal histrionics, but by reaching almost unbearable levels of intensity and expression."[29] He concluded that Los ángeles "signals the appearance of a major talent in both the flamenco and the world music scene."[29] Writing for MondoSonoro, Yeray S. Iborra felt that with Los ángeles, Rosalía "is posited as the contemporary cantaora who has better understood the current times", noting the difference between the album and her "more American" collaboration with C. Tangana.[30]

Flamenco specialists

In an El Confidencial article, musician and investigator Pedro Lópeh criticized the album, particularly Refree's arrangements, deeming them "artificial" and "wearisome". His views coincided with those of Silvia Cruz, another flamenco specialist. She explained: "I also insist on talking about Refree because the inks are always loaded against her and little or nothing against him, who is the producer and first author of this album. I do not think Los ángeles does any harm to flamenco, but it is a decontextualized product. Apart from the lyrics, I do not hear anything in it that appeals to the history of flamenco, its roots or its referents. For that reason, it does not seem to me a groundbreaking or revolutionary work and if it has come to save something, it is the music industry, not flamenco."[32] ABC's Alberto García Reyes told eldiario.es that while he does not consider Los ángeles to be "an aberration", he feels Rosalía is not suited for the genre. He said: "Rosalía does not sing badly, but in flamenco she does not fit much. She is a very respectful girl, who has not come to invent a revolution for her face. She does not hurt anyone or has proclaimed herself master of anything." He was also critical of the album's promotional campaign, arguing that it installed the unworthy image of Rosalía as "the great revolution of flamenco".[9]

Accolades

Los ángeles ranked highly in the year-end lists of the Spanish specialized press. It was listed as the best Spanish album of 2017 by newspaper ABC and magazine Rockdelux.[33][31] Readers of the Barcelonian edition of Time Out selected Los ángeles as the best album of 2017, with the publication describing Rosalía as "the musical revelation of 2017".[34] The album also appeared at number 6 in the year-end list of Spanish online magazine Jenesaispop.com, which described it as "an unbeatable presentation, up to the expectations, which are even higher in the face of a bright future."[35] CrazyMusic ranked the album at number 8 in its list of the best Spanish albums of 2017.[36] Music critics of El País listed Los ángeles as the 10th best album of the year.[37] Efe Eme selected the album as the 13th best Spanish record of 2017.[38] It also appeared in Hipersónica's and Muzikalia's lists of the best Spanish albums of the year, at number 17 and 18 respectively.[39][40]

In late 2017, Rosalía received the Premio Ojo Crítico in the category of Modern Music, awarded by RNE. The jury highlighted the singer's "artistic projection, her interpretative capacity and versatility, her charisma, capable of transferring flamenco to young audiences."[41] Rosalía was also nominated for Best New Artist at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards, losing to Vicente García.[42] On 17 January 2018, Los ángeles was awarded the Premio Ruido, given to the best national album of the year by the Spanish music press.[43] The album also received a Premio Glamour to "the arts", awarded by the Spanish edition of Glamour magazine in celebration of its 15th anniversary.[44]

Commercial performance

Los ángeles debuted at number 42 on the Spanish Albums Chart on 19 February 2017.[45] A month later, Sebas E. Alonso of Jenesaispop.com noted that the album had remained charting since its release, ascending to number twenty-eight in its third week and maintaining that position the following week. Feeling that it was in its way to becoming the Spanish "sleeper hit of the year", Alonso described Los ángeles's chart run as "totally exceptional", taking into account that most albums "after the hype of the fans during the first week, [fall] slightly on the list until they settle depending on the duration of the promotion of the album or directly collapse."[46] Likewise, Jordi Bardají wrote on 1 November 2018 that the record was "one of the greatest 'sleepers' that Spanish sales lists have known in recent times."[47] Los ángeles reached its peak position of number nine on 11 November 2018 and remained in the albums chart until 9 February 2020, accumulating a total of 116 weeks.[45]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Raül Refree. All lyrics are public domain except where otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Si tú supieras compañero"
6:04
2."De plata"
4:28
3."Nos quedamos solitos"
5:15
4."Catalina"
3:34
5."Día 14 de abril"
6:06
6."Que se muere, que se muere"
  • Rafael Salazar
1:28
7."Por mi puerta no lo pasen"
4:39
8."Te venero"
4:06
9."Por castigarme tan fuerte"
2:08
10."La hija de Juan Simón"
4:09
11."El redentor"
3:01
12."I See a Darkness"
  • Will Oldham
4:08
Total length:49:06

Charts
Chart (2017–20) Peak
position
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[48] 9

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[49] Gold 20,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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See also

References
  1. Yuste, Javier (15 February 2017). "Rosalía y Refree, al flamenco por el punk". El Cultural (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  2. Ortega, Henar (19 October 2016). "Rosalía, la cantaora millenial que revoluciona el flamenco (y agota entradas)". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  3. Serrano, Nacho (28 February 2017). "Rosalía: "Mi primer contacto con el flamenco fue viendo Cine de Barrio con mi abuela"". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. Herrero, Gabriel (26 March 2018). "Rosalía: "En mi casa lo más parecido que se escuchaba al flamenco era Estopa"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  5. Tamarit, Olga (7 August 2017). "Rosalía: "La primera vez que escuché a Camarón, me traspasó"". Woman Madame Figaro (in Spanish). Grupo Zeta. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  6. Sherburne, Philip (18 September 2018). "Get to Know Rosalía, the Spanish Singer Giving Flamenco's Age-Old Sound a Bracingly Modern Twist". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  7. Yalcinkaya, Gunseli (2 November 2018). "Rosalía is the Catalan star reshaping the sound of global pop". Dazed Digital. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  8. Serrano, Álex (30 October 2018). "Estos son los 10 nombre clave de la carrera de Rosalía". Vanity Fair Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  9. Zas Marcos, Mónica (30 October 2018). "El antes y el después de Rosalía: del tablao a Times Square en solo dos años" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  10. Guillén, Raúl (18 October 2016). "Rosalía & Raül Refree dan una vuelta a los tangos en 'Catalina'" (in Spanish). Jenesaispop.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  11. Villanueva, Carlos (10 February 2017). "Rosalía convierte el cante en canción en 'Los Ángeles', su disco debut" (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  12. Guillén, Raúl (1 March 2017). "Rosalía / Los Ángeles" (in Spanish). Jenesaispop.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  13. Caraballo, Ecleen Luzmila (2 November 2018). "Rosalía Is Redefining Flamenco". Jezebel. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  14. Peláez, Sara (20 February 2017). "Rosalía es la cantaora que nuestra generación necesitaba". i-D (in Spanish). Vice Media. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  15. "Los Ángeles (feat. Raül Refree) by ROSALÍA". Apple Music. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  16. "Los Ángeles by ROSALÍA". Spotify. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  17. Rosalía (2017). Los ángeles (double LP record). Spain: Universal Music Group. 0602557392296.
  18. Rosalía (2017). Los ángeles (CD). Spain: Universal Music Group. 0602557392593.
  19. Martí, Max (17 October 2016). "Rosalía estrena single de su debut con Raül Refree" (in Spanish). Indiespot. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  20. "Rosalía - Los Ángeles (EPK)". Rosalía on YouTube. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  21. "Rosalía: De Plata". Nowness. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  22. "Rosalía - De Plata". Rosalía on YouTube. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  23. Troquel, Luis (April 2017). "Rosalía. Cantar a la muerte en la flor de la vida". Rockdelux (in Spanish). No. 360. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  24. Bardají, Jordi (2 November 2017). "Rosalía canta el "deseo abisal" de San Juan de la Cruz (y Enrique Morente) en la escalofriante 'Aunque es de noche'" (in Spanish). Jenesaispop.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  25. Martí, Max (November 2017). "Rosalía emociona con 'Aunque Es De Noche'" (in Spanish). Indiespot. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  26. "Rosalía estrena vídeo para "Aunque Es De Noche"" (in Spanish). MondoSonoro. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  27. N. Warrior (24 November 2017). "Rosalía le pone videoclip a su éxito 'Aunque Es De Noche'" (in Spanish). The Medizine. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  28. "Rosalía: A Capella". Nowness on YouTube. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  29. Prunes, Mariano. "Los Ángeles - Rosalía". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  30. Iborra, Yeray S. "Rosalía, crítica del disco Los Ángeles (2017)" (in Spanish). MondoSonoro. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  31. Monge, Juan (April 2017). "Rosalía. Los Ángeles". Rockdelux (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  32. Lenore, Víctor (15 January 2018). "¿Rosalía antigitana? Arrecia el debate sobre el presente y futuro del flamenco". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  33. "Los diez mejores discos nacionales de 2017, según ABC". ABC (in Spanish). 30 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  34. "Premios Time Out Barcelona 2017". Time Out Barcelona (in Spanish). 13 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  35. "Los Mejores Discos de 2017" (in Spanish). Jenesaispop.com. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  36. "Los mejores discos de 2017 (nacional): del 50 al 1" (in Spanish). CrazyMusic. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  37. "Los discos preferidos de los críticos (I)". Babelia. El País (in Spanish). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  38. "Lo mejor de 2017: Discos nacionales" (in Spanish). Efe Eme. 28 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  39. "Los mejores discos nacionales de 2017" (in Spanish). Hipersónica. Medium. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  40. "Los mejores discos nacionales de 2017" (in Spanish). Muzikalia. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  41. "Rosalía, Premio El Ojo Crítico de RNE de Música Moderna" (in Spanish). RNE. RTVE. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  42. "Residente encabeza las Nominaciones al Latin GRAMMY® con nueve, seguido por Maluma con siete y Shakira son seis; Kevin Jiménez Adg, Juanes y Mon Laferte con cinco cada uno" (in Spanish). Latin Grammy Awards. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  43. "Los Ángeles de Rosalía, Premio Ruido de la prensa al mejor disco de 2017" (in Spanish). EFE. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  44. Fraile Seco, David (15 December 2017). "Rosalía, Premio Glamour a las artes 2017, 15 aniversario Glamour" (in Spanish). LaCajadmusica.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  45. "Rosalía - Los Ángeles". Spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  46. Alonso, Sebas E. (16 March 2017). "'Los Ángeles' de Rosalía, camino a ser el sleeper del año en España" (in Spanish). Jenesaispop.com. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  47. Bardají, Jordi (1 November 2018). "Rosalía publica al fin 'El mal querer'" (in Spanish). Jenesaispop.com. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  48. "Top 100 Albumes: Semana 45". Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  49. "Rosalía – Los ángeles" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
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