After collaborating with C. Tangana and Dillon Francis,
and forming part of the soundtrack for the movie “Alcarràs”
(Golden Bear winner and Oscar nominee),
the Colombian artist releases Tóxica feat. Don Patricio,
the second single from her debut album.
“Bestia” was born a few months ago. It was a first glimpse at Lao Ra’s debut album NU9VE, where the artist cut herself open in order to invite us to reflect on the complexity and simplicity that simultaneously coexist in human beings, in this case, making an allusion to the Superman theory described by Nietzsche. It’s a sensual and sophisticated single that serves as a wake-up call to our instincts.
Now, attuned to the idea of not repressing what stirs us inside, the artist releases “Tóxica” with Don Patricio, a single where both artists narrate from their point of view how a relationship of “neither with you, nor without you” is experienced. As alluring as it is dangerous, as addictive as it is abrasive, a relationship whose end, far from that of a romantic comedy, is already written.
According to Lao Ra: “Patri loved the original song when I presented it to him. I told him a little about what the vallenato was about and that’s how ‘Tóxica’ was born. We wrote the whole thing that same day and later we invited some vallenato musicians to record the accordions and the ‘ayomberos,’ which would be something like the ‘quejios’ in flamenco.”
“Tóxica” is a nod to a Colombian music classic: “Los Caminos De La Vida,” a song originally performed by the vallenato group Los Diablitos, whose sample forms part of the single’s instrumentation.
“’I’ve been wanting to use this song for a long time. There’s something in the melody of the accordions that always moved me. It reminds me of my childhood in the Bogotá of the ‘90s, returning home on the school bus, navigating the capital’s traffic jams, while “Los Caminos De La Vida” played on the radio,” Lao Ra shares.
Created by the Cuban producer Sindicato, the video recreates an aesthetic very similar to that of a work of modern art, to which several elements that symbolize and represent Colombian culture have been added. The aguardiente, the wax palm, Gabriel García Márquez’s famous yellow butterflies, and the artistic universe of the renowned Colombian painter Alejandro Obregon, are perfectly portrayed from which could be without a doubt Lao Ra’s artistic imagination, one where that chic and elegant perspective that defines her music is reflected.
“Click the image to watch the video”
Lao Ra describes her music as elegant pop whose eclectic sound is inspired by the places where she’s lived: London, Los Angeles, Madrid and Bogotá. The result is a multisensory collage where energetic rhythms and powerful lyrics reside at the heart center.
Influenced by Catholic imagery and the memory of the war against drugs that prevails in her natal city of Bogotá, Colombia, she released her first single “Jesus Made Me Bad,” which in addition to drawing comparison to M.I.A., put her music on the map.
Through Latin rhythms and raw lyrics, her vibrant storytelling is a nod to great and empowered female leaders, such as Solange, FKA Twigs, Chavela Vargas or Madonna. In 2018 she released her singles “Me Gusta,” “No Pressure” and “Patrona,” with which, wisely mixing Spanish and English, she further embraced her Latin American roots.
She then collaborated with the renowned producer Dillon Francis on the single “White Boi,” and also formed part of the FIFA 2019 soundtrack with her song “Pa’Lante.” Afterwards, her talent continued to garner the recognition it deserved, this time by C.Tangana, with whom she brought out her more sensual and brooding side on the single “Picaflor.”
The multi-faceted artist has also collaborated and written for other artists such as Guaynaa and Chung Ha on their recent collaboration “Demente,” at the same time that she created Sample Packs for the music library Splice.
In 2022, Lao Ra’s music has continued traveling the world, even arriving on the stages of Rock Al Parque (Colombia), LAMC (New York), and Festival BAM (Barcelona), among others. In addition, as a prelude to her first album NU9VE, she released the first single “Bestia,” followed by “Tóxica,” a song in collaboration with the Canarian artist Don Patricio. Recently, her music made the leap into the world of film, given that “Alcarràs,” the Golden Bear-winning movie by Carla Simón and a representative of Spain at the Oscars, incorporated her song “Patrona” as the star of the soundtrack.
Connect with ANAKENA on:
