Thursday 6 February 2020

ALBUM NEWS: Malena Zavala - 'La Yarará'

Almost exactly two years ago I had the pleasure of catching Malena Zavala at a show in London where she was opening for Sivu. It was my first time hearing her music and I was instantly mesmerised. She soon released debut album Aliso and toured around Europe and the UK with the likes of Lord Huron and Blanco White before heading to southern Spain to write her second album. The result is La Yarará, which is due for release via the lovely folk at Yucatan Records on April 17th.

La Yarará was recorded last Sepember at Urchin Studios, with Malena herself producing and Dani Bennett Spragg (Baxter DuryThe Amazons) engineering. Malena describes Urchin as "a really beautiful, all wooden studio, which was really important for the sound of this album [...] I wanted it to feel like Buena Vista Social Club. I wanted to play the room, to feel the walls and wooden floors." 



While the first record was about "expressing [her] emotions", Malena describes the new record as being "about exploring and overcoming my identity issues - about not knowing where I belong. That's something I've felt my whole life." Born in Argentina to parents with Italian passports, and raised in the UK, Malena's rich heritage feeds beautifully into her art, with elements of Latin music and culture throughout, and a mix of Spanish and English lyrics representing Malena's own fragmented identity.

While recent lead single En La Noche was sang in Spanish, latest single I'm Leaving Home is sung in English. Malena explains that "I don't make a conscious choice to sing in a particular language [but with this track] the rhythm isn't so Latino, plus it's about my parents and how I feel about home, so it feels like it should be in English." For me, the track evokes a sense of nostalgia, it's like a warm hug on a cold day. I'm excited to hear more from the record!

Malena Zavala headlines London's Courtyard Theatre to celebrate the album release on April 23rd - tickets available here.

Follow Malena Zavala - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

No comments:

Post a Comment