Rosalía has surprised fans with an album that is hardly danceable, but captivates listeners with sensual soundscapes and profound lyrics about sex, longing and God. A risky venture. Barcelona (dpa) – Spanish pop icon Rosalía has publicly premiered her new album "Lux" in Barcelona, inviting fans to hear the 18 tracks at the Palau Nacional – rather than on social media, where the leaked album had appeared. Lying on a platform of white tulle like a kind of Snow White in the snow, the 33-year-old listened as the music played. She then left the neoclassical hall smiling but without a word, slipping out through the rows of applauding guests. Musically, the album is no easy fare, scarcely danceable and certainly not full of earworms. The Spanish newspaper El País described it as an "anti-commercial album," a "sensual adventure." The audience was spellbound by the bold music, listening in amazement and moved by Rosalía’s voice and its great emotional expressiveness, framed at times by delicate violin accompaniment and at others by the almost bombastic sound of the London Symphony Orchestra. The profound lyrics, projected onto a huge white curtain, speak of sex and violence, of this life and the afterlife, of longing and love, of Jesus and God. "First I will love the world, and then I will love God," reads one line. Another: "I'm not saint, but I am blessed." Retreat, silence and pausing are recurring themes too. "I want to renounce this world entirely." The languages switch almost as quickly as the tracks. Rosalía sings in Spanish, Catalan, French, German, English, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic. The track "Berghain" had been released a few days earlier, seeing the Catalan musician collaborate with Icelandic artist Björk and US producer Yves Tumor, with vocals in three languages: Spanish, English and German. Fans were already ecstatic after this first taster. The video alone racked up more than 18 million views on YouTube in nine days.There has also been speculation online and in the media about the extent to which "Berghain" is a homage to the world-famous Berlin techno club of the same name. The entire album was not meant to be commercially accessible to the wider public until Friday. But then "Reliquia" and later the whole album were leaked online. The artist’s label then sent a stream of the songs to many music journalists shortly before the event in Barcelona. Rosalía has achieved international success with her blend of flamenco, Latin pop, R&B, reggaeton and Latin urban music. She won a Grammy in 2020 for her album "El mal querer" and received the award again three years later for "Motomami". She also acts, and appeared in Pedro Almodóvar’s film "Pain and Glory" and is set to join the upcoming season of the much-lauded series "Euphoria". The following information is not intended for publication dpa er ro xxde coh
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