Natalia Lafourcade Un canto por México
Natalia Lafourcade Stages a Stirring Benefit to Rescue Mexico's Musical Heritage
Marty Lipp
07 May 2020
Photo: Courtesy of Sony Music Mexico
Un Canto Por Mexico may be a true labor of affection. Natalia Lafourcade led together with her heart and was elegantly guided by her refined musical intelligence.
Un Canto por Mexico, Vol. 1
Natalia Lafourcade
Sony Music Latin
8 May 2020
You know times are challenging for an area when a concept album comes out, and it must be explained that it is not for the present catastrophe, but the last one. within the current moment of ubiquitous fundraisers to assist those littered with the coronavirus pandemic, Natalia Lafourcade's latest project is raising money for El Centro de Documentacion del Son Jarocho, a cultural center that was damaged by a devastating earthquake in 2017. She and other stars staged a benefit in Mexican capital in November 2019 and have now released an accompanying album to assist rebuild the middle in her beloved home state of Veracruz.
Though Lafourcade rose to fame as a singer-songwriter of sophisticated modern musical style, she decided to try to to something fitting to the cause at hand and build an album that celebrates the folkloric music of Mexico. The album explores classic Mexican songs, beloved by generations, but also cleverly reconstitutes many of Lafourcade's hits with varying degrees of traditional elements. The result's an earthy, rousing collection of songs brimming with heart and soul, yet also one with several moments of sublimely romantic music.
She starts with an enormous mariachi sound, singing "El Balaju/Serenata Huasteca", two old Mexican tunes. The track begins with the ambient buzz of cicadas and other night creatures, but the son jarocho song, a conventional type of Veracruz, soon takes wing to the picking and singing of Los Cojolites, who are then sent airborne by ebullient blasts of a chorus, strings, and brass. Lafourcade's international hit "Nunca es Suficiente (Nothing Is Sufficient)" recreates the easy-going electro-cumbia version she did with the group l. a. Azules. Soaring over the groove, Lafourcade sings of unrequited love: ''It's never enough on behalf of me / Because I always want more of you / Although you are doing me wrong, i would like you here / My heart explodes with pain."
The album's first single may be a newly written song, "Una Vida", which is about embracing life for the great and bad. The song starts with a haunting, subdued guitar, then effortlessly slides into a lush production of strings, acoustic guitars, and mariachi brass flourishes, while Lafourcade's versatile voice goes big: "There is merely one life / To forgive us / there's just one life to offer everything." With swooning strings, Lafourcade refashions her lovely "Mexicana Hermosa" for a duet with Mexican singer and actor Carlos Rivera, among a tootling button accordion and folkloric stringed instruments.
The rousing anthem, "Un Derecho de Nacimiento", was recorded in 2012 with other popular singers as a call to action as a part of the #YoSoy132 youth crusade. Here she collaborates with Panteon Rococo, a Mexican ska band. However, the result's not a ska song, but more in line with how she initially recorded it as a strong crowd-chanting protest song calling for young Mexicans to become politically active and demand their human rights. "I wasn't born / Causeless / i used to be not born / Without faith / My heart strikes hard / To scream at those that do not feel."
The album also features several songs with lush, retro orchestrated arrangements, none more so than the recasting of Lafourcade's duet with the late Mexican star Juan Gabriel, "Ya No Viver Por Viver (I now not live to live)". The swiftly but softly sung lyrics spill over with barely contained emotions: "Little by little, little by little, I fell dotty / i could not help it. i really like you most. i would like to be yours. i'm visiting be yours / the best and sweetest love." She also steams up her "Para Que Sufrir", with glistening strings and wind instruments circling a whispery duet between Lafourcade and singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, a song about two lovers who find one another after a false start. "Why suffer if it's not necessary? / Why be cold if the planet makes us feel at home?"
A perfect song for this project, her "Mi Tierra Verucruzana", was originally through with a spirited small acoustic combo from her first "Musas" album. The lyrics, a paean to Veracruz, are crammed with bittersweet searching for the sights and tastes of her home. Here she starts it delicately with a harp but builds on the inexorable rhythm to a grand sound with billowing strings, bright mariachi brass, woodwinds, and a children's chorus.
Un Canto Por Mexico may be a true labor of love: in making it, Lafourcade led together with her heart and was elegantly guided by her refined musical intelligence. Buyers is also helping an honest cause but are going to be treating themselves to a singular trip through a beautiful musical landscape.
Related Articles round the Web
Marty Lipp
07 May 2020
Photo: Courtesy of Sony Music Mexico
Un Canto Por Mexico may be a true labor of affection. Natalia Lafourcade led together with her heart and was elegantly guided by her refined musical intelligence.
Un Canto por Mexico, Vol. 1
Natalia Lafourcade
Sony Music Latin
8 May 2020
You know times are challenging for an area when a concept album comes out, and it must be explained that it is not for the present catastrophe, but the last one. within the current moment of ubiquitous fundraisers to assist those littered with the coronavirus pandemic, Natalia Lafourcade's latest project is raising money for El Centro de Documentacion del Son Jarocho, a cultural center that was damaged by a devastating earthquake in 2017. She and other stars staged a benefit in Mexican capital in November 2019 and have now released an accompanying album to assist rebuild the middle in her beloved home state of Veracruz.
Though Lafourcade rose to fame as a singer-songwriter of sophisticated modern musical style, she decided to try to to something fitting to the cause at hand and build an album that celebrates the folkloric music of Mexico. The album explores classic Mexican songs, beloved by generations, but also cleverly reconstitutes many of Lafourcade's hits with varying degrees of traditional elements. The result's an earthy, rousing collection of songs brimming with heart and soul, yet also one with several moments of sublimely romantic music.
She starts with an enormous mariachi sound, singing "El Balaju/Serenata Huasteca", two old Mexican tunes. The track begins with the ambient buzz of cicadas and other night creatures, but the son jarocho song, a conventional type of Veracruz, soon takes wing to the picking and singing of Los Cojolites, who are then sent airborne by ebullient blasts of a chorus, strings, and brass. Lafourcade's international hit "Nunca es Suficiente (Nothing Is Sufficient)" recreates the easy-going electro-cumbia version she did with the group l. a. Azules. Soaring over the groove, Lafourcade sings of unrequited love: ''It's never enough on behalf of me / Because I always want more of you / Although you are doing me wrong, i would like you here / My heart explodes with pain."
The album's first single may be a newly written song, "Una Vida", which is about embracing life for the great and bad. The song starts with a haunting, subdued guitar, then effortlessly slides into a lush production of strings, acoustic guitars, and mariachi brass flourishes, while Lafourcade's versatile voice goes big: "There is merely one life / To forgive us / there's just one life to offer everything." With swooning strings, Lafourcade refashions her lovely "Mexicana Hermosa" for a duet with Mexican singer and actor Carlos Rivera, among a tootling button accordion and folkloric stringed instruments.
The rousing anthem, "Un Derecho de Nacimiento", was recorded in 2012 with other popular singers as a call to action as a part of the #YoSoy132 youth crusade. Here she collaborates with Panteon Rococo, a Mexican ska band. However, the result's not a ska song, but more in line with how she initially recorded it as a strong crowd-chanting protest song calling for young Mexicans to become politically active and demand their human rights. "I wasn't born / Causeless / i used to be not born / Without faith / My heart strikes hard / To scream at those that do not feel."
The album also features several songs with lush, retro orchestrated arrangements, none more so than the recasting of Lafourcade's duet with the late Mexican star Juan Gabriel, "Ya No Viver Por Viver (I now not live to live)". The swiftly but softly sung lyrics spill over with barely contained emotions: "Little by little, little by little, I fell dotty / i could not help it. i really like you most. i would like to be yours. i'm visiting be yours / the best and sweetest love." She also steams up her "Para Que Sufrir", with glistening strings and wind instruments circling a whispery duet between Lafourcade and singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, a song about two lovers who find one another after a false start. "Why suffer if it's not necessary? / Why be cold if the planet makes us feel at home?"
A perfect song for this project, her "Mi Tierra Verucruzana", was originally through with a spirited small acoustic combo from her first "Musas" album. The lyrics, a paean to Veracruz, are crammed with bittersweet searching for the sights and tastes of her home. Here she starts it delicately with a harp but builds on the inexorable rhythm to a grand sound with billowing strings, bright mariachi brass, woodwinds, and a children's chorus.
Un Canto Por Mexico may be a true labor of love: in making it, Lafourcade led together with her heart and was elegantly guided by her refined musical intelligence. Buyers is also helping an honest cause but are going to be treating themselves to a singular trip through a beautiful musical landscape.
Related Articles round the Web
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