Last year, Natalia Lafourcade released a sumptuous live album recorded at Carnegie Hall. Now, the Mexican artist returns to the haunting moods of her previous studio effort — 2022’s De Todas las Flores — with a new single, “Cancionera,” that gathers together and cherishes her own identity as a spiritual songstress.
“This song came to me one morning before my 40th birthday,” says Lafourcade. “It speaks to me about the importance of being, of existing both in this world and in my own world, walking my truth — without fear, without repressing anything. It sings to that something that we should never allow to fade within us.”
Just like the material she released in recent years, “Cancionera” favors a warm acoustic feel with an austere arrangement, a reverence to the golden era of boleros and Latin folk, and delicate touches of piano, strings, and wind instruments. It was recorded on analog tape and mixed live, produced by De Todas las Flores helmer Adán Jodorowsky.
“Contrary to other producers, I look for imperfection in my work,” says Jodorowsky from his home base in Paris. “If we recorded Natalia and started editing her takes in search of some elusive sense of perfection, then the music would lose its soul. On this record, we went even further than in De Todas las Flores. We had 18 musicians playing together with Natalia in a live setting. There are no tricks, no contrivances of any kind.”
The single is accompanied by an experimental visual shot in saturated colors by Mexican director Bruno Bancalari.
Lafourcade has just announced the Cancionera Tour — her biggest North American trek since 2018. It opens April 23 with two sold-out shows in Xalapa, followed by several stops in Mexico City, and more than a dozen U.S. cities.
“Natalia is fun, she is deep, she embraces the spirit of punk – all at the same time,” adds Jodorowsky. “Since De Todas las Flores, I feel that she finally got to know her own voice. She has connected with a mystical, spiritual energy. It’s almost like sorcery.”
