Rosalía, the visionary Spanish pop star, is no stranger to dramatic artistic shifts. Over the past decade, she has evolved from a groundbreaking flamenco scholar to a leading avant-gardist, masterfully blending diverse musical influences.
Her highly anticipated fourth album, “Lux,” is set to release next week. Much like her previous works – from her radical pop breakthrough “El Mal Querer” challenging her debut “Los Angeles,” to the industrial rhythms of “Motomami” pushing against “El Mal Querer” – “Lux” serves as a bold new statement. With its astonishing formal ambition and playful spirit, it’s not just a response to her past, but a significant ascent in her musical journey.
“Lux” explores profound themes like the feminine divine, faith, and the harsh realities of romance. Remarkably, Rosalía sings in 13 languages on the album, including her native Spanish, Catalan, English, Latin, Sicilian, Ukrainian, and Arabic. This ambitious undertaking required over two years of dedication, largely focused on mastering the nuances of writing and performing in these diverse tongues.
“It’s a deep dive into understanding how other languages function,” the 33-year-old artist explained during her interview on The New York Times’s Popcast, speaking in English seasoned with Spanglish. “It’s largely intuitive, experimenting with how lyrics would sound in different languages.” She meticulously utilized translation tools, consulted professional translators to ensure rhyming and meaning aligned, and worked with phonetics coaches.
The impressive result is a testament to her human skill; she confirmed that no artificial intelligence was used in her intricate linguistic performances. “It’s all human—very much human,” she stated.
The album itself is described as a “puzzle, a labyrinth,” drawing heavily from operatic and classical traditions alongside its pop foundations. The London Symphony Orchestra features prominently, with arrangements by acclaimed figures like Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw. Produced by Rosalía herself, alongside Noah Goldstein (known for his work on “Yeezus”) and Dylan Wiggins (who has collaborated with SZA and Justin Bieber), the sound is a powerful blend of roaring intensity, jagged edges, and ethereal moments, seemingly trampling over past expectations and personas.
Just as she immersed herself in flamenco studies to master and then reimagine the genre, Rosalía approached this linguistic endeavor with profound cross-cultural respect and as a bold assertion of her artistic command and insatiable curiosity.
“It stems from a place of love and curiosity – a desire to understand others more deeply,” she explained. “As Simone Weil noted, love involves embracing the distance between ourselves and the beloved. I believe this holds true: by understanding others, we can better understand ourselves and learn to love more completely.”
This article contains edited excerpts from Rosalía’s Popcast interview.
Is Rosalía the World’s Most Ambitious Pop Star? ‘Lux’ Makes Her Case
The Spanish musician discusses her ambitious new album, ‘Lux,’ and the two-year journey of incorporating 13 languages to explore themes of the feminine divine and the complex nature of romance.
JON CARAMANICA: Each of your projects feels like a complete reinvention. Do you ever feel apprehensive facing a blank canvas?
ROSALÍA: A blank canvas is terrifying, like staring into an abyss. I get cold sweats just thinking about it. But what frightens me even more is the idea of remaining static, of not evolving.
CARAMANICA: Does this drive for change come from a rejection of your previous work?
ROSALÍA: Absolutely, 100 percent. Everything is constantly in motion, isn’t it? I am always changing, so why shouldn’t my music evolve with me?
JOE COSCARELLI: It feels like this isn’t just a departure from your past work, but also a statement to the wider pop music scene, suggesting that perhaps more innovation is needed.
ROSALÍA: I don’t focus too much on external trends. Instead, I ask myself: What haven’t I explored yet? What more can I achieve? I believe the greatest artists deliver not what you expect, but what you truly need.
Ultimately, creating albums is my way of pursuing what I truly desire. For this project, that meant dedicating myself to extensive reading.
COSCARELLI: What inspired your reading choices?
ROSALÍA: I delved into hagiographies – so many! – and the works of thinkers like Simone Weil and Chris Kraus. I found immense inspiration in historical figures like Hildegard of Bingen, a true polymath who excelled in numerous creative fields. There are so many incredible women throughout history whose stories and contributions remain underappreciated.
My aim is simply to be the best musician I can be, constantly pushing the boundaries of experimentation. Whether that means spending a year at home solely focused on lyrics, or waking up before dawn to spend 14 hours in the studio relentlessly perfecting mixes – even if they never quite reach “perfect” – that’s my commitment. Ultimately, it’s a craft, a job.
CARAMANICA: Your last two albums explored the tension between honoring rich cultural traditions and breaking their rules, grappling with newfound fame and responsibility. While those felt more outward-looking, ‘Lux’ seems to reflect a deeper, more internal focus.
ROSALÍA: I recently realized this album comes from a profoundly different place than anything I’ve created before.
I heard someone discuss two forms of confidence: one rooted in the conviction of guaranteed success – a relentless drive, as we say in Spanish – pushing you to achieve whatever you set out to do.
The other confidence, perhaps, is the absence of fear of failure. There’s a sense of surrender in this method. I believe this is the first time I’ve truly allowed myself to create an album from that space – a complete surrender to what I genuinely needed to express through song and art.
COSCARELLI: Björk is a featured vocalist on “Lux.” How did your collaboration with her come about?
ROSALÍA: She is my ultimate favorite woman and artist. We connected through Pablo, El Guincho, my former producing partner. We shared tapas in Barcelona, and I was immediately captivated; her way of thinking was unlike anything I had ever encountered. It was an instant bond of admiration.
We kept in touch, and I realized that if this album, a truly intense and demanding musical exercise, reached a sufficiently high standard, I would send it to her. I hoped that at that level, she wouldn’t be able to refuse a collaboration.
COSCARELLI: Your previous album, “Motomami,” which embraced Caribbean music like reggaeton, had a noticeable masculine energy. Do you view “Lux” as a predominantly feminine project?
ROSALÍA: Feminine mystique is the primary inspiration, so yes, there’s definitely more feminine energy at play. It also ties into the concept of being a vessel – ‘ser un receptaculo.’ I recently read Ursula K. Le Guin, who suggested that perhaps the first cultural tool wasn’t a weapon, but a vessel to gather things. She distinguished between masculine and feminine writing: masculine writing focuses on the hero, their triumphs, and narrative conflict, often asserting that without the hero, there’s no compelling story.
In contrast, feminine writing, she argued, emphasizes an ongoing process rather than a singular climax and resolution. It explores individuals with delusions, transformations, and all the inherent losses, moving beyond a self-centered ‘me, me, I, I’ narrative.
COSCARELLI: This album is grand, filled with elaborate string arrangements. It truly sounds operatic.
CARAMANICA: And thundering.
ROSALÍA: There’s a clear intention for verticality here. Some of my previous projects felt more horizontal, embodying a more earthly energy.
CARAMANICA: When you refer to verticality, are you talking about a connection between the material and something more astral and spiritual?
ROSALÍA: Yes. I’ve always felt a yearning to connect with the divine, to feel closer to God. This spiritual inclination has always been present, though I hadn’t previously articulated or intellectualized it.
COSCARELLI: Is there a hint of mischief in your linguistic approach on this album? Many have anticipated your crossover to English, while others have criticized you for cultural appropriation. Is this album a rebellious retort to that criticism?
ROSALÍA: I am inherently rebellious, let’s establish that! But I see it more as belonging to the world. That’s how I feel – “I am not as much mine as I am the world’s.”
I cherish traveling and learning from diverse people. So why wouldn’t I strive to learn and perform in different languages, expanding my artistic expression as a singer and musician? The world is undeniably interconnected.
CARAMANICA: I can only imagine the costs. How far over budget did this ambitious project run?
ROSALÍA: Let’s just say we are *very* over budget. I’m content that the artistic vision was realized, even if my team might not share the same tranquility.
COSCARELLI: How do you manage to pull that off?
ROSALÍA: I simply follow my instincts in each moment. Anyone who knows me understands that. My ultimate priority is freedom!
COSCARELLI: I have a theory: because you maintain such a prominent pop star image publicly, you’re granted greater creative freedom in your music. You excel at the celebrity game – appearing in Calvin Klein ads, the ‘WAP’ video, and socializing with the Kardashians.
ROSALÍA: For me, it’s all about enjoyment. If I’m offered a chance to be in the ‘WAP’ video? Let’s do it! My sister believes my music isn’t pop, though she says I am a pop star – I’m not sure I agree with her on the music part.
I disagree. I want my music to be considered pop. It’s simply an alternative approach to the genre. There *must* be other ways to make pop music – Björk and Kate Bush both demonstrated that. I need to believe what I’m creating is pop, otherwise, I feel I’m not achieving my goal. My intention is to make music that many people can enjoy.
CARAMANICA: So, to you, “Lux” is just as pop as “Motomami?”
ROSALÍA: One hundred percent. They simply operate with different artistic codes.
COSCARELLI: Even for Spanish speakers, your average listener might not grasp every lyric. Are you asking a significant amount of your audience to engage with an album like this?
ROSALÍA: Absolutely, I am. In an era dominated by instant gratification and dopamine hits, I crave the opposite. Sometimes I manage to disconnect completely, settling into a dark room to simply watch a movie.
COSCARELLI: Even that can be challenging without distractions from your phone.
ROSALÍA: It’s incredibly difficult. But that’s precisely why I believe there needs to be something that compels us to engage deeply. I hope this album can be that, a work that draws you in and holds your focus for an hour, fully present. I know it’s a big ask, but that’s my aspiration.