Soleado is the duo formed by Juanma Latorre and Ester Rodríguez that joins the recovery of the Castilian tradition. Their self-titled debut was released this Friday through Esmerarte, a label that has released works by Xoel López and Marilia Monzón.
No member of Soleado is new to the industry: Latorre is known for playing guitar and keyboard in Vetusta Morla, and Rodríguez has been part of Pájaro Sunrise and developed a solo career that has led him to publish the album ‘Café de chinitas ‘ (2022), to compose the soundtrack of ‘Wednesdays don’t exist’ (2015) or to collaborate with artists like Tulsa. He already collaborated with Latorre, signing the soundtrack of the film ‘Teresa’ (2023) by Paula Ortiz.
Together, Latorre and Rodríguez, under the name Soleado, review Spanish folklore using coplas, tangos, boleros and popular melodies. Their vision is probably the most pop of all, even when they are inspired by the jota, as in ‘Los amores Perros’, or by the festival song, as in ‘Your shadow in my reja’. The production can be as bombastic as in the great ‘Vestida de Domingo’, but it never opts for pop, folk, or electronic, but instead seeks a balance between all styles, always offering a type of large and bright composition, like its name.
Soleado’s debut album was presented with the aforementioned singles and, on the day of the album’s release, the featured song was ‘Añoranza’, today’s Song of the Day.
‘Añoranza’ is the type of song that defines Soleado’s style, with its mix of guitars, percussion and synthesizers. The song “has traditional instruments like the square tambourine or the guitar, but also a lot of electronics and highly processed sounds,” describes Latorre. Rodríguez adds that ‘Añoranza’ “has what we could call the leitmotif of the album, both in the songs and in the design: the fan. Iván Mellén recorded blows, openings and drags of different fans that almost seem like electronic sounds. ‘Añoranza’ is, beyond its rich instrumentation, an exciting song about nostalgia that longs for the return of “spring.”
Soleado will present the songs from the album live on December 12 at the Galileo Galileo room in Madrid.
