Rosalía has revealed that she spent months studying saints while writing her latest album, Lux.
The Spanish singer has opened up about the extensive research that went into her fourth studio album, which was released in November.
Before making Lux, which features her singing in 14 languages alongside background vocals from the Escolania de Montserrat, one of Europe’s oldest boys’ choirs, she spent a year researching and writing in near isolation.
Fifteen of the 18 tracks on the album were inspired by the stories of female saints and mystics, which is why she chose to sing in multiple languages. For example, to channel Saint Olga in Kyiv for her song De Madrugá, she sang in Ukrainian. Meanwhile, Berghain, inspired by Saint Hildegard of Bingen, required her to sing in German.
In a recent interview with Vogue, Rosalía reflected on her fascination with the saints.
“So many of these saints were nuns, and I found it so amazing to learn about their lives, learn about how they would express themselves,” she said. “They would have an experience of God, and they would explain it with words. Just speaking. It was another way of knowledge, no? Another way of understanding lo divino.”
The singer went on to note that contemporary creative works often reference celebrities.
“And I feel like nowadays a lot of people reference celebrities, and celebrities reference celebrities,” she stated. “I prefer to reference saints.”
Rosalía also discussed her decision to wear a headpiece resembling a nun’s habit, designed by Maison Margiela, along with a white garment by Alainpaul that resembled a straitjacket, on the album’s cover.
“I was trying to find an image that would symbolise feminine spirituality,” she told the publication. “To me, this was the one that could translate how this album sounds, what this album is about, where I’m singing from, and the inspiration behind it.”
