The singer Pablo Alborán addresses themes such as freedom and his commitment to music in his most recent album “La cuarta hoja”, which brings him closer to electronic and danceable rhythms, in addition to having collaborations with artists such as the Argentine María Becerra, the Mexican Carin León and the Spanish Ana Mena.
His album, released in recent days, arose from the good vibes that being in contact with the public aroused in him after the separation due to the pandemic, he explained.
“I began to study piano and guitar again, I began to clearly prepare myself for a theater tour,” Alborán added in an interview by video call from Miami with AP.
«All of this has suddenly made me start writing non-stop again, it inspired me to try new sounds, to have fun, to celebrate, because in the end returning to the stage and returning to my professional life has made me very happy,” he said.
This year, Pablo Alborán visited all of Latin America and also had sold-out performances in Miami and New York.
“The public is super excited, the truth is that I am super grateful for the love of the people, they are following all my steps,” he said.
celebrate life
«La cuarta hoja» is, so far, the album that delves more fully into the fields of electronic music but without neglecting the guitar and piano to celebrate love, friendship and, above all, being alive “after what we have been through,” he said. Leo Rizzi, Aitana and Álvaro de Luna are other of his guests.
“It is a record that does not have prejudices, that I do not consider what genre I play or what genre I do not play,” he said. «That is why it is an album that has collaborations… in which one has better fun being accompanied than alone».
With the urban artist Becerra he interprets “Amigos”, one of the first songs he released from the album with a video that was filmed in a bar in the old San Telmo neighborhood, in Buenos Aires.
Regional Mexican music star León lent his voice to “Journey to Nowhere.” Alborán and León found a good middle ground in which the Mexican sounds like a kind of mischievous twin of the Spanish, since his voice has a similar tone, but is hoarser. To achieve this effect, they analyzed how to mix his voices with instruments such as the tuba, the requinto, the vihuela and the guitarrón, adding electronic touches from urban genres such as trap.
Pending task
For this collaboration, Alborán had been trying to contact the Mexican musician for about a year and was surprised to find out that he was his fan.
“Suddenly, at one of my concerts in Barcelona on this tour, I see that it appears in his stories (social media posts) that he has been at the show,” he recalled. “I called him and said ‘bastard, what have you come to a concert?'”.
The next day they met and that same week León sent him proposals for the topic. They finally sealed their friendship when León was a guest of Alborán at his concert in Monterrey, Mexico.
“To beat the wings” is one of the songs in which Alborán is most sincere. He talks about the contrast between private and public life, constant exposure and navigating a music industry that, according to the singer-songwriter, is increasingly fast-paced.
“I have always considered that music is not about competing, but about sharing… it doesn’t have to be something that pulls us, but rather that it goes with us,” he considered. «You have to keep thinking about making music for yourself and then for others, because music frees us and if it frees you it will free another».
Four Leaf Clover
“Ave de paso” with Mena, is the favorite of Alborán’s nieces and one for shedding tears on the disco’s dance floor.
“It is a song above, very strong, very dancing and I already imagine it at concerts jumping around the world,” said Alborán, who stressed that Mena’s voice contrasts with this rhythmic impulse. “Her voice of hers is like fragile, very feminine, in a position where everything seems to flow, but at the same time it is tearing apart inside.”
Mena is originally from Malaga, like Pablo Alborán, who was recently able to meet his countrywoman, as he revealed on his Instagram account.
“The fourth sheet” is the sixth album by the singer-songwriter. His title has to do with the signs of good luck that he found when doing it, one of them the four-leaf clover.
“You can’t spend your life looking for a four-leaf clover to bring you good luck… because in the end, the fourth leaf is you,” he concluded.