Enrique Bunbury has once again embraced roots music and Latin American folklore in his latest album, De Un Siglo Anterior (From a Century Ago), with which the Spanish musician closes an exploratory phase before returning to rock, the genre that has elevated him as one of the greatest figures in the Spanish-speaking world.
“This is my most folk-inspired and traditional phase,” Bunbury tells Billboard Español in Mexico City, where he discussed the new LP, released on digital platforms last week.
Released under Warner Music Spain, the album continues the exploration of traditional Latin American rhythms like bolero and tango, which he introduced a year earlier Cuentas Pendientes. This time, however, the lyrics take on a more introspective tone, delving into the changes happening in the world in this new century, in the age of social media.
“These two albums are part of a joint era or phase,” he explains. “I think keeping these traditional genres alive, which are timeless in themselves, is something beautiful when you look at the already existing songbook.”
Recorded at Desierto Casa/Estudio in the Desierto de los Leones in Mexico City, De Un Siglo Anterior features ten songs where Bunbury brings folklore into different forms, such as zamba, ranchera, tango, son and Peruvian rhythms. Tracks include “Un Brindis al Sol,” “La Voz,” “La Cima,” “Peor Que Como Estamos – Es Difícil Ya Que Estemos” and the title track, “De Un Siglo Anterior.”
For the musician, one of the most symbolic songs on the LP is “La Voz,” a jazzy bolero where the former leader of the now-disbanded group Héroes del Silencio reflects on the vocal cord issues he faced in 2022, caused by an intolerance to glycol, the main component of artificial smoke used in concerts. “I thought I would no longer be able to sing,” he recalls. “This song, on one hand, references that moment, the loss of that power of communication, and it also speaks indirectly about lost friends.”
In the same introspective vein, the song “De Un Siglo Anterior” nostalgically examines how “sometimes we miss the past and what we consider to be a loss when it comes to the technological evolution of the times. Where this new century and millennium are taking us, and what things we might recover from the previous century.” Other tracks on the album include “En El Arcén,” “Zamba Para Olvidar” and “La Cima,” where Bunbury compares fame and success to Everest and other great mountains.
For this project, the artist reunited the same team from Cuentas Pendientes, including the band of musicians with Mexicans Luri Molina and percussionist Johnny Molina, the technical crew and even the cook. “We really enjoyed the human experience of being together, recording, getting to know one another, and talking,” the singer-songwriter and producer says. “So when I finished the last album, I thought, ‘I’d like to find another project to work on with this team.’ I started writing some songs for this album, and everything came together very quickly.”
With this new LP in hand, Bunbury will embark on a tour across Latin America, the U.S. and Spain. Titled Nuevas Mutaciones (New Mutations), it will kick off in Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, on Oct. 10, and conclude in his hometown of Zaragoza, Spain, on Dec. 12. In Mexico City, the tour will mark his return to the iconic Auditorio Nacional after nearly a decade, with shows scheduled for Oct. 12, 15, 17 and 19.
Although he has played on major stages in Mexico — including the Zócalo during an event supporting victims of the 2017 earthquake that struck central Mexico — Bunbury hasn’t given up hope of returning to that iconic and majestic venue for his own show. “I’d like to do one solo and for it to be free,” he expressed. “That would be amazing.”
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