ROSALÍA joins Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 for an extensive conversation about her third album ‘Motomami’ due out this Friday. She tells Zane about needing to "disappear" to focus on making the album, why it was the hardest album she’s ever made, the personal and playful nature of the project, and growing as a producer and writer. She also reveals that Pharrell is her all-time favourite collaborator and discusses learning from Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, and more.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music About Privacy and Needing To Focus To Make ‘Motomami'…
I think it depends on the intention of how you move. It depends. Like if you really want to be private, you can be private. That's my point of view. If you want to be low key, you can be low key. Almost feel like I disappear because I needed to. Because then I can focus. So I needed to focus to make an album like 'Motomami'. I needed to focus and put all my energy and get to the centre to create. For sure, my mum worries that I don't take breaks. I did a little bit in 2020. Because we all did. But that's it. I think that's it. I literally don't take breaks because I feel like to work at a certain level to get a certain result, you really need to sacrifice. Like a lot. Like time, relationships. So many things.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music About The Personal and Playful Concept of ‘Motomami’...
It has a personal point of view all the time. I feel like I haven't done that in the other albums. Also, they were much more serious if that makes sense. And I think that in this one, I was like, "I really want to find a way to allow my sense of humour to be present.” Playfulness. Exactly. Yeah. Because also that's how I feel. I used to be a lot like that when I was a kid and I was like, "Why did I forget that I'm very playful?" So it's like this has to be part of an album if I'm making an album right now and that's how I'm feeling. Yeah. And for sure, for sure. There's a concept. This concept as well, because I feel like it's almost like you try to do a self portrait of a moment of who you are, how you feel the way you think. And those are things. Specific things. And I think that is that.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music About About Taking Her Time…
I didn't have no rush, I promise. I didn't no rush. I was like, "God's plan is perfect." And this is how it's supposed to be for me. And I was like, "Oh, I don't know Rihanna, or I don't know how many artists I love." They started their career much earlier. But for me, I knew that it was different. And I accepted it from the beginning. I think it helped me to not do an album that I didn't want to do. It really helped me also to make an album when I really felt like I needed to make an album. And for 'Motomami', it happened the same again. Like I needed to connect with the urge. I didn't want to make an album just because now it's time to make an album. No. Like I don't work like that. It took me forever to mix. To get the mixes exactly where I wanted it to be… And I just feel like I don't feel I'm late if I'm going on my own rhythm, you know? You could feel like that at some point. You feel like, "Oh, everybody's moving, there's so many things happening, blah, blah, blah." But then it's like, whatever. I have my own rhythm. And I want to do an album on my own terms. I don't want to do it like in whatever way. It needs to be like precise, focused.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music ‘Motomami’ Was The Hardest Album She’s Made and Discusses Growing as Producer and Writer…
I'm very grateful to all the people that have been part of the album, but this album wouldn't exist without the sacrifice and the dedication and the blood, sweat, tears, literally. Being far from home for almost two years. Being far from the people I love for almost two years, because I never did that in my life and I don't know if I could do it again because honestly, it was really tough. This is the hardest album that I had to do, for sure. And I had to spend a lot of time writing by myself at home, being in a room just writing, writing, writing, writing, a lot of time in the studio just with David, pushing, pushing, pushing, trying to find the right sounds, trying to find the right production, the right arrangement. And without that determination, without those days of 16 hours working, this album and without the decision of making this album three years ago, that I decided that this was going to happen, this album wouldn't exist. So I feel grateful for everybody who contributed in it, but as a producer, as a writer…because this made me push myself so much. I've learned so much. I feel like I grew as a producer and as a writer in this album.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music Pharrell Is Her Favourite Artist To Collaborate With…
I'm going to be honest. My favourite to work with, it was the first person that gave me a chance here in the US. And that's Pharrell. Yeah. That's Pharrell. And then, two years after, we worked again, we worked on 'Motomami' and ...He did 'Motomami' because I was ...Come on. That sound. That sound, that's his sound. That's Pharrell's sound. And I feel so grateful that there's a part of Pharrell in this album. And I spent time with him in the studio and that's really special how free he is too, again, he's a very free person. He's always very playful too. He's a very playful person, I think. And the way he makes music, you can see, you can tell. Even with his voice, he plays with his voice. He uses his voice as an instrument in so many different ways and it's so beautiful to see him work, it's inspiring and I learn a lot. Not just because he's a great writer. He's a great producer. Also, he's fun to be around. I crack up every time I'm around him. I'm laughing so much and he's always teaching me stuff. He's the best. He's just the best.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music Album Opener 'SAOKO’ Is The Last Song She Made For The Project…
You know that 'Saoko' is the last song I made for the album. Can you believe? I think it's when you really put the pieces together, you understand what you're doing, you understand the palette, you understand the direction. You are clear about what you're doing, and you are freer too because you have the rest of the pieces so it gives you confidence, I guess. So I was in New York, I was working at Electric Lady and it was a night that I remember, I was working with Uzi. Uzi got sick so Uzi left and I was just me and David, the engineer that I had been working with since I started Motomami, and he's been there like nobody else. And then I just went to the piano, I started improvising a little bit. I found the riff and then I was like, okay, let's distort this. Let's distort this. Let's put some distortion, let's make it sound tougher.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music What She Learned Working With Frank Ocean...
I think he's very free in the way he creates, and I think that's exactly how I used to make my albums. And I think that because of this environment sometimes, there's a lot going on at the same time every day and you could forget a little bit of that freedom, that it's usual, that it's natural but maybe at some point, you could forget. And I feel like being surrounded by people that feels free and that is free, for example, my sister, I feel like is a person that's like that too, a lot of my friends are like that and that's always beautiful and inspiring.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music What She Loves About Touring…
I love discovering new things. I love being in different places and discovering, learning. And when I'm traveling, that happens. I want to have fun. So if I'm in Italy and I want to visit this museum, I'll go. And if I have to do whatever, if I want to ride a bike and I'm in Berlin, I'll do it. And if I want to do this and that, I'll do it. Because at the end of the day, you spend maybe two years touring or things like that, and that's so much time. And I don't want to feel like, I don't know, that I'm not living my life.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music What She Loves About James Blake...
He's unique. His sound is unique. When I heard his first album, I was like, this is really honest.I remember riding a bike in Barcelona and listening to James' album, or even when I was taking walks. And yeah, I've heard that album a lot years ago. And I feel like I'm always excited for how he thinks and how is he going to play in this and how what's he going to do? I love the way he kisses the keyboard to how he harmonizes things. He's special.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music Her Favourite Place To Listen To Music...
Yes, in the car. It's the best way to listen to music. I don't like people when they say, "Oh, listening party." No, no, no. That's not a party. Hell, no. That's not a party. That's not funny.
ROSALÍA Tells Apple Music About Her Plans Outside of Music...
I'm excited about it, but I don't anticipate, so... But I know how it looks like. I'm going to be planting things, taking care of animals and planting plants and taking care of that and that's how I'm going to be. I see myself having three, four kids. But I realised I feel so much love for music and passionate about it, so that's why I keep doing it, because even I've realised that I could move in certain way for a reason in the beginning, it still makes sense, though, now, even the reason why I move is different, because now I do it because I cannot imagine one day not making music or not doing this. Oh, yes, when I'm older, but then I'm going to do something else with love. As I was telling you, I'm going to be taking care of other things. I'll put love in other things the same way that I put love into music now.
