REZELO

This project came into being through the passion of REZELO’s members for Spanish popular music and their interest in updating its possibilities through different genres. The work that REZELO will carry out in Matadero Madrid is the production of Vol. III: LA TIERRA, a 4-song EP that completes the trilogy of this up-and-coming Madrid group’s first project: the updating of the album Colección de canciones populares españolas, recorded in 1931 by Federico Garcia Lorca on piano and Encarnación Lopez, “La Argentinita”, on voice. The 12 tracks of the album are being transformed into 3 EPs, each with its own personality, atmosphere and specific themes. REZELO rethinks the songs recorded by Lorca and “La Argentinita” from an original perspective, with regard to both the lyrics and the music, experimenting with the possibilities of offering new ways to approach these flagship themes from the popular repertoire through genres such as pop rock, electronics and urban music. From this standpoint they seek to create musical pieces that find their place in the music panorama and pay homage to the richness of Spain’s musical tradition. The first EP of the trilogy was published in September of this year and the second is in production; REZELO intends to complete its project in the Matadero Madrid’s Centre for Artists in Residence.

BIO
REZELO is a group with Andalusian roots residing in Madrid. It was born in 2023 with a clear objective: to put a traditional repertoire back at the heart of the music scene. To do this, María Bartolomé and Miguel Barrientos, the group’s members, are immersed in the re-reading of a specific songbook: the one recorded by Federico Garcia Lorca and La Argentinita in 1931 that is titled Selección de Canciones Populares Españolas. Influences such as contemporary punk, trap, flamenco or electronics mean that song creation in REZELO is defined by the construction of beats and addictive basslines that bring together 808 and vocoder with samples of clapping and castanets; and by the recovery of honest lyrics, using traditional resources to talk about current problems without forgetting to add a critical touch. Last September, REZELO published its first EP, Vol. I: LA CARNE, the first of a trilogy with which they will complete the rereading of Lorca’s songbook. This work includes its first 3 singles (“Zorongo del Alto”, “Nana Yerma” and “Romanze de los Anjalicos”) as well as an unreleased song, “Convento”.