Rosalía: Lux

Anyone who feels that contemporary pop music is formulaic, shallow, or not as good as some other era gone by, should give Rosalía’s new album, Lux, a listen. This is a very ambitious and challenging album with many moments of amazing beautiful music. It will take me quite a few listens before I think I will fully “get” this record if I ever do, but I’m really enjoying the journey. If nothing else, Rosalía sings in 13 different languages on Lux, so I’m pretty sure this record will always feel a bit mysterious to me, and I like that about it. 

Larry interviewed Manny Marroquin in Tape Op #109, who mixed most of Lux. Tom Elmhirst mixed three tracks, and, intriguingly, Nigel Godrich (with Jake Miller), mixed a few tracks. The track “Porcelana” even has a mix collaboration between Marroquin and Godrich. This LP has a huge list of contributors, including people like Caroline Shaw, Björk, Yves Tumor, Pharrell Williams, several choirs, and the London Symphony Orchestra!

Hats off to Rosalía and her contributors for realizing such an ambitious and uniquely individual project.