Composed during pandemic, “Over low heat and with a lot of time”As the singer acknowledges, Alejandro Sanz’s new album – the twelfth of his career – has been cooked between his home in the luxurious La Finca urbanization (in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid) and a nearby recording studio, and seasoned at Abbey Road Studios in London. The album, which goes on sale on Friday, December 10, is made up of a dozen songs including romantic ballads, slow tempos and the characteristic Latin and flamenco echoes that define his style. Alfonso Pérez, Javier Limón and the singer himself have been in charge of the production.
‘Bio’
Business card and declaration of intentions at the first exchange: Alejandro Sanz opens the album by stripping like never before. Through a succession of phrases with the rhythm of rap on a background of violins, guitars and pianos, the artist recounts his life, from his childhood to the conquest of success, stopping in the evocation of his parents, the years of school, the adolescent suspicion of being “a freak” and his persistent dream of dedicating himself to music. Released on October 5, the song was the first preview of the album to be released.
‘Iba’
In the second cut of the album, the personal confessions of Sanz, whispered to the rhythm of downtempo, are wrapped in careful orchestral musical arrangements that add epic to the song until it becomes an exciting melody with anthem aspirations. “I don’t know how to live,” concludes the musician at the end of the song.
‘I don’t want luck’
Classic and canonical romantic ballad composed in the ‘Sanz style’, with its usual turns and changes of rhythm and voice in its songs. The song treasures a chorus – “I don’t want luck, I have you” – that sticks to the roof of the palate from the first listen. Hit wood that will sound from now on on radio formulas and will be chanted over and over again by its most loyal fans.
‘The Rose’
Timpani, pianos, Spanish guitars and guaguancó rhythms add flamenco and Latin tones to a song that hides a surprise. It requires attention to notice it: in the chorus you can hear the guitar and, oh surprise, also the voice of Paco de Lucía. The guitarist left the recorded verse before he died and Sanz has recovered it to use it as the basis of the song.
‘If I wanted and you could’
Balada brand of the house with all the characteristic seasonings of the sanz style. Declaration of love sung in the first person and directed live and without intermediaries to the loved one like a romantic epistle.
‘Seas of honey’
Second single from the album, released on October 15. Classic amorous ballad from the Sanz factory. “For the first time I meet you every day and I feel your joy as mine, the same that lit my path yesterday, you are the light that guides me. For the first time I love you every day, girl, for the first time and I feel your joy as mine ”, recites the chorus that ends up immersed in an ocean of wind instruments that add elegance to the song. The musician has confessed that ‘Mares de miel’ is the song that cost him the most to compose of the entire album.
‘One nothing more’
Sanz has declared that this album has meant for him a search for the roots and a return to the origin. Proof of this is ‘Uno nada más’, where the keys of a piano frame a new romantic ballad marked by orchestral arrangements reminiscent of the first Sanz.
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me’
Not all the new album of Alejandro Sanz invites to be listened to in a horizontal position. The most pop, rhythmic and danceable song of the compilation breaks with the downtempos of the rest of the album and proposes another more dynamic tonality to insist on love as a plot theme. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, don’t tell me anything, I’m coming to this stage to take you home,” repeats the chorus as a ditty.
‘Geometry’
Along with ‘La Rosa’, the penultimate cut on the album is the other song with a marked flamenco accent on the compilation. The musician plays with geometric shapes – “I circle you and you square me,” he repeats the melody like a rattle – to compose a new romantic statement on a background of pianos, palms, guitars and cajons.
‘And I already loved you’
Alejandro Sanz’s new album closes with another unprecedented milestone: for the first time, the musician and composer agrees to perform a song that is not signed by him. The occasion deserves it: after a long time of personal and professional distance – they had not seen each other since Sanz’s baptism – the singer and Manuel Alejandro met again in the last year and the author promised to dedicate a song to him. The result is a slow, deep and heartfelt ballad, one of those that draws tears from the first listen, which plays against a background of violins recorded by the Bratislava Philharmonic.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.