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Again in 2022, Álvaro Díaz launched Felicilandia, an album named and impressed by a fictional amusement park he dreamed up that represented a protected, euphoric world. Earlier this 12 months, when he shared the paintings for his newest LP Sayonara, followers have been stunned to see that the quilt illustration depicted Felicilandia, with all its rides and cheerful mascots, utterly destroyed.
Each albums – and the 2 universes on them – are intrinsically linked, exhibiting that Díaz methodically deliberate Sayonara with the discharge of Felicilandia. Whereas Feliclandia was a narrative rooted to find happiness and having fun with the highs that include love, Sayonara explores the hardest components of romance and the painful journey of letting go.
“Sayonara is about saying goodbye to the happiness you thought you discovered,” Díaz tells Rolling Stone. “It is a couple of Puerto Rican-style break up as a result of as quickly as you are single once more, individuals in PR will say, ‘Neglect about that, vamos pa la calle!’ and also you in the end find yourself distracting your self and ignoring how you’re feeling. That is what I seize within the album: The primary half is all perreo and attempting to disregard the ache however the second half will get extra emotional and is about selecting to maneuver on.”
Díaz had initially teased Sayonara two years in the past, however there have been a lot of obstacles that brought about the album to be delayed. Pissed off, Díaz did not wish to sit round and look forward to his subsequent transfer. As an alternative, he spent the previous two years writing music for Karol G and Daddy Yankee, touring by way of Latin America and Spain with sold-out reveals, and even joined Tainy’s unforgettable live performance at El Choli in Puerto Rico. He additionally scored gold and platinum certifications for Felicilandia in addition to his singles “Problemón,” that includes Rauw Alejandro and “A Donde Van,” that includes Sebastián Yatra.
“I hoped 2023 could be a superb 12 months however I did not count on it to be nearly as good because it was. I have been doing music for a very long time, and I really feel like individuals weren’t prepared for my sound beforehand – however timing is lastly on my aspect,” he tells Rolling Stone.
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Sayonara brings collectively an all-star forged of producers, like Tainy, Yensanjuan, Caleb Calloway, Kenobi, Orteez, Hassi, and plus artists resembling Paopao, Feid, Rauw Alejandro, Nsqk, Quevedo, and extra. Díaz stood on the helm of all of it, drawing on his personal experiences as a songwriter and a inventive thinker to unite the undertaking. “I ensure to maintain myself concerned in each step of the method when creating an album,” he says. “The producers that I work with are very receptive after I ask to vary small particulars or after I wish to experiment with sounds, I feel it evokes them to do one thing completely different. That is the trick to holding my sound distinctive.”
Usually, Sayonara feels prefer it was pulled out of a classic arcade, crammed with colourful neon Eighties sounds, anime references, and heavy synth experiments all on the similar time. It is also full of old-school, drum-heavy reggaeton, early hip-hop, various and punk rock, Latin lure, and home. The album opens with “Te Vi En Mis Pesadillas” the place Díaz makes use of blaring, alarm-like noises and distortions to create a melody that resembles emotional panic, representing an outdated romance that is haunting him. From there, Díaz provides listeners a continuous parade of variety of perreo tracks to get individuals on the dancefloor, heartbroken or not. “I normally think about who every music is for and create them as if I am chatting with that particular particular person. Then, I embody a film or sport reference of who they remind me of. I additionally take into consideration my youthful self and marvel ‘What might an artist do or embody of their music that will get 16-year outdated Álvarito excited?'”
Throughout the course of of making the album, Díaz linked up along with his good pal Nsqk. It wasn’t till he was explaining the undertaking to Nsqk that Díaz realized that the album was a dwelling documentation of his life. Some tracks, like “Lentito,” “1000 Canciones,” and “PLN,” return a number of years, serving as markers of serious moments he went by way of. “Finally, I felt like these tracks have been a part of this story. I feel that when individuals enter the Sayonara universe, they’re going to be capable to recognize them extra as a part of the entire undertaking,” Diaz explains. The album chronicles numerous tough moments and challenges. (The rollout was additionally fraught: Singer Audri Nix took to social media in Could and accused Diaz of psychological, emotional, and bodily abuse throughout their relationship a number of years in the past. Diaz denied the claims on Twitter, calling the claims “completely false” and citing longtime authorized disputes with Nix. Diaz declined to remark additional.)
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To inform his story, Díaz labored with artists like RaiNao, Taichu, Kenia OS, and Papi Sousa. A few of these collaborations have been a very long time coming: “The music “Suki” with RaiNao was extra of a state of affairs the place we stored working into one another and felt prefer it was about time we made a music collectively. However it was a technique to preserve individuals engaged and excited and likewise to collaborate with cool rising artists on the similar time,” Diaz says.
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“Golden Gun” is a particular dedication to supervisor and promoter Alex Malverde, who handed away in 2021 resulting from problems from COVID-19. Malverde was one in all Díaz’s very first supporters and ultimately turned a really shut household pal. “(Malverde) at all times liked after I would freestyle within the studio, he’d be the primary to say, ‘Yeah, speak your shit!'” The music ends with a voicemail message from Malverde playfully begging Díaz to get again within the studio by no matter means essential.
He is nonetheless drawing consideration with the album. Simply this week, he launched a Tiny Desk Live performance that delighted followers, and he’ll spend a while taking part in reveals in Spain and Mexico this summer season earlier than touring within the US Proper now, Díaz is not serious about making music for the second, ” I wish to make music that can make my children proudly say ‘yeah, that is my dad!’ in class. I wish to make music that may be revisited in 10, 20, 30 years and nonetheless join.”
Álvaro Diaz Talks About Making ‘Sayonara,’ Collaborating With RaiNao
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