{"id":2144469,"date":"2025-11-09T12:57:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T12:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2144469"},"modified":"2025-11-09T12:57:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T12:57:21","slug":"lux-4-collaborators-unpack-rosalias-monumental-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/lux-4-collaborators-unpack-rosalias-monumental-new-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Lux: 4 collaborators unpack Rosal\u00eda\u2019s monumental new album"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In many ways, Rosal\u00eda<\/a> is Spain\u2019s first true pop star \u2013 not just in the sense of her ability to generate a charting hit, but, more importantly, in her ability to speak to the Spanish cultural zeitgeist. The former Dazed cover star<\/a>\u2019s first two albums, <\/span>Los \u00c1ngeles<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and <\/span>El Mal Querer<\/span><\/em>, transported Andalusia\u2019s traditional flamenco music into a modern pop context \u2013 the latter in particular, replete with homages to Justin Timberlake and Destiny\u2019s Child, creating a Spanish pop moment that had never quite been seen before. Rosal\u00eda\u2019s 2021 follow-up, <\/span>Motomami<\/span><\/em>, saw the Catalonian star turn inward as she reflected on her newfound mantle, but on today\u2019s release, <\/span>Lux<\/span><\/em>, Rosalia levitates into something more abstract.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an ambitious record, featuring compositions entirely performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, Rosal\u00eda singing in no less than 13 languages, and each track being inspired by a different Catholic saint. \u201c<\/span>There\u2019s a whole intentional structure throughout the album, I was clear that I wanted four movements,\u201d Rosal\u00eda told Billboard<\/em><\/a> earlier this year. \u201cI read a lot of hagiographies \u2013 the lives of the saints \u2013 and it helped me expand my understanding of sainthood. But what surprised me a lot was that there\u2019s a main theme, which is not fearing, which you can find shared across many religions.\u201d<\/span> Elsewhere, she described <\/span>Lux<\/span><\/em> as a \u2018human album\u2019, rejecting the use of AI (or much digital production at all, for that matter) and effectively positioning the project as antithesis to today\u2019s era of digital slop and disposable media. <\/span>Lux <\/span><\/em>certainly rewards careful listening, that\u2019s for sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics have long accused Rosal\u00eda of cultural appropriation for basing her early career on flamenco \u2013 a culture which originated in the marginalised gitanos (Romani) communities of Andalusia, while Rosalia herself is from the wealthier region of Catalonia \u2013 and rapping in Japanese on <\/span>Lux <\/span><\/em>probably isn\u2019t going to help these allegations. But, to a certain extent, all this talk of Rosal\u00eda\u2019s 13 languages and orchestral compositions is slightly misleading \u2013 <\/span>Lux <\/span><\/em>still has all the hallmarks of a great pop record.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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