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The first chapter of Rosalias world-altering second album,El Mal Querer, is an omen.
The Catalan songwriter warns us as much in the songs title (Malamente Cap.
The woman in question disregards these premonitions, though something bad is coming up very fast along with them.
Its the sound of someone who realizes that she has to go forth and figure it out for herself.
The way that Rosalia Vila Tobella has reworked flamenco is brilliant to some and blasphemous to others.
Not everyone has to feel it,she toldBillboardabout the criticism.
Clearly, there is an audience that doesnt enjoy what I am doing because it isnt traditional.
But I do it with respect and love for the tradition.
Its music that Ive studied and that I made my own decision to immerse myself in.
At the moment, though, theres no one in the world that sounds like Rosalia.
And it took her almost a decade to get to this point.
To be a part of something so affective involves reconfiguring parts of yourself as well.
Last year, Rosalia released her debut album,Los Angeles.
In it, her distinctive, spine-lilting vocals pair chillingly with Raul Refree Fernandez Miros lone guitar strums.
In early November, Rosalia releasedEl Mal Quererto much acclaim.
Around then, Rosalia went into the studio with Pharrell Williams, after heinvited her to record.
Its hard to not hold your breath watching this video, just shy of three minutes long.
Shortly after the videos wild success, Rosalia started to bring outEl Mal Quererlive.
The song, which probes how jealousy manifests itself between a couple, is a gripping ride.
It ends with her atop an overturned truck on its side.
In mid-November, Rosalia gave an absolutely commanding performance of Malamente at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas.
She took home two awards for that song, Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance.
And just the other week she unveiled the video for Bagdad Cap.
7: Liturgia, the part of this bad romance when things begin to turn (albeit slowly).
Rosalias videos are often loaded with Spanish symbolism and religious iconography, and also with cars.
But they also suggest flamencos mobility, and how its still evolving in real time.
My favorite flamenco singers, theyre not trying to look pretty, she toldthe New YorkTimesearlier this year.
Theyre trying to put truth in what they do, in the way they express themselves.
Sometimes thats not beauty, but itsbeautiful.
Everything seems fine until the wedding celebration itself, when Archimbaut suddenly goes apeshit with jealous rage.
The manuscript is only related to flamenco by name, but it stuck with Rosalia nonetheless.
Its hard to say.
Its especially evident in how Rosalia viscerally conceptualized De Aqui No Sales Cap.
4: Disputa, a chapter in the saga that disturbingly details an episode of domestic violence.
Using the rhetoric of abusers, she sings: This hurts me more than it hurts you.
It traps you without you realizing it, she says of a poisonous love.
You realize when you get out of it.
You think,How have I gotten here?
Its part of why this record, and its feeling, has captivated so many people.
El Mal Quererdoesnt exactly end without pain, but it does find the narrator in control of her life.
Fittingly called A Ningun Hombre Cap.
The reminder of what she went through will propel her and by association, us forward.
