By José Gandue @Gandour Lido Pimienta archive photos
Let's start by saying something that may sound exaggerated, but I'm invoking the privilege of using grandiloquent adjectives that music critics have when they encounter a sonic gem of this kind, such as... Miss Colombia, the latest album by Lido PimientaThis may be, if not the best, one of the most remarkable albums made by any artist of Colombian origin in recent years. Now the writer must take responsibility for his words and justify this admiration to his readers. And I begin with a phrase I've only used once before on this page, more precisely when describing what listening to some of the songs from the first two albums by the Spanish artist Rosalía produced in me: Here is a beauty so powerful that it hurts, and more precisely in the pit of the stomach, which is where resonant beauty moves the most.
Lido Pimienta, a musician from the Atlantic coast who has lived in Canada for several years, is a flamenco singer of the twenty-first century, A woman who knows how to use the vocal heritage of her predecessors in the region, but who manages to evolve her style beyond traditional brands and integrate into contemporary popular tastes. Lido carries the weight of the Colombian Caribbean on his shoulders and returns to his roots with the utmost respect, but with a deep desire to take the fusion of these rhythms with current technology to the next level. And it all stems from one essential concept: Instead of arriving and overloading each recording included on this album, he gives each sound more room to expand and occupy its true space., relating to silence in a more elegant way. While other recordings that achieve this type of blend are at times too full, because they seek to shake the listener, forcing them to dance, What Lido has done relates to emptiness, that which he barely fills at times with the reverberations on his voice and with a few instruments, achieving a more emotional impact on the audience. This is an album to initially listen to alone, with headphones, to let yourself be swept away by its tenderness, its directness, its unsettling nature. This is material to surprise yourself by repeating the exquisite melodic variations of songs like That thing you do, I loved you o Coming Thru and, perhaps, to let oneself be captivated by the tear that may appear on the cheek, a necessary and healing tear.
A touch of subtle coquetry, which clearly establishes that Lido Pimienta is not a tourist in foreign territory: Here the artist opens the microphone to Rafael Cassiani Cassiani, from the Tabalá Sextet, to give us context and, as if necessary, confirm the authenticity of the work, and then sing with Pimienta and his group, in a raw, recorded performance, I want you to save me.
Anyway, here's my case: Miss Colombia It is a splendid, vibrant production, worthy of remaining for a long time in the memory of those who appreciate good music from the hemisphere. I insist, one of the best albums I've heard so far this century around here.