The Japan Times - Spanish star Rosalia reaches for divine in new album

After the acclaim for her breakthrough album, El Mal Querer, which fused flamenco with R&B rhythms, and her genre-defying follow-up, Motomami, Rosalia offers an orchestral meditation on faith and femininity.

Lux -- the Latin word for "light" -- features lyrics sung in 13 languages including German, English and Sicilian in addition to her native Spanish.

"I love travelling, I love learning from other humans," the 33-year-old Grammy-winning singer told the New York Times.

"Why would I not try to learn another language and try to sing in another language..? The world is so connected," said the Catalan.

The album features collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic singer Björk and the youth choir of the Montserrat Abbey in Catalonia, whose performance moved Rosalía to tears during a recent visit.

"That spiritual feeling has always been there, it's just that I haven't rationalised it or intellectualised it," she added in the interview.

- Rave reviews -

Early reviews have been rapturous. Rolling Stone hailed Lux as "a truly timeless work of art", while music magazine NME called it "arrestingly beautiful".

The album's release was preceded by a series of major promotional appearances. Last month hundreds of fans crowded Madrid's central Callao square after Rosalía invited them online to join her.

Dressed in white, with a rosary hanging from her car's rear-view mirror, the singer drove through the city but became trapped in traffic.

Videos posted on social media showed her suddenly opening her car door, bolting into the street and running as fans cheered and followed.

Fans who had hoped for a surprise concert were instead rewarded with only a brief glimpse of Rosalía waving from a cinema window.

The incident made headlines in Spain, and Madrid city hall said it is reviewing whether a fine is warranted for holding the event without a permit for public space.

On Wednesday night, Rosalia reappeared in more serene form at a listening party at Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Lying motionless on a stage draped in white fabrics, she let the album's ethereal soundscapes wash over a silent audience.

Spain's Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun praised Rosalia as "one of our country's foremost musical talents" in an interview with Cadena Ser radio on Thursday, noting her influence on both national and global stages.

Rosalia is scheduled to perform tracks from "Lux" live for the first time on Friday night at a radio gala in the eastern city of Valencia, an event that is expected to draw significant media attention.

K.Okada--JT