iLe - iLevitable

iLe is Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar, known as PG-13 when she performed with her brothers in Calle 13.

. . .[A] knowingly retro survey of Latin music’s past, full of romance and a longing that can turn despondent. She sings richly orchestrated boleros, delicate ballads and percussive boogaloo and mambo, without a hint of either irony or naïveté.

The easy way to make an album like “iLevitable” would be to revive old Latin hits. Instead, iLe wrote her own material, often with members of her family or Calle 13. The exceptions are two songs by her grandmother, Flor Amelia de Gracia. One is “Dolor,” a luxuriantly mournful bolero from 1955; she shares it with the revered Puerto Rican salsa singer Cheo Feliciano, in one of his last recordings before his death in 2014.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/arts/music/ile-ilevitable-review.html?_r=0

What needs to be emphasized is that these songs aren't simply exercises in recreating older sounds. They are real songs (ok then). Save me, youtube links!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPZ9ibcuCIM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiHK139OTM0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyrCD4Nd2K0

My favorite album so far this year, despite some choppiness. I've already posted about this on the rolling Afro-Latin thread and on the world music thread, and when I thought about starting a stand-alone thread about the album, I thought: who on ILM would be interestd in this if they aren't checking those threads? But it's fun to start threads about single albums, even if virtually nobody responds (which is what I expect).

(No this is not a thread about ILE! How did that not occur to me.)

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/7378244/ileana-cabra-calle-13-new-solo-album

Videos Shiina Ringo wishes she had made for one of her songs: iLe's "Canibal."

I heard some of this and need to listen to it more

[Expletive deleted] this album is so good. It's a grower, but a rapid grower. I'm even getting to like the English-language "Out of Place" which contains a pretty great transition about way through. This also reminds me of something really specific but I don't know what:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiOYitFgQfw

I admire the production more on repeated listens, too, though I'm hardly listening on real audio equipment.

I predict at least one Latin Grammy for this (not that I pay much attention to the Latin Grammys any more).

I wonder if you put (PG-13 from Calle 13) in the title of this thread whether someone other than me and you would post here?

I should have given it a title other than just artist and album title, but I say just leave it as is at this point. It's still going to be kind of a niche thing, if not as much as a salsa album would be. People may get curious when it turns up on year end lists, but even those will probably tend to be Latin/world-ish year end lists, so maybe still niche.

On the Natalia Lafourcade comparison someone (maybe Moka or you?) made somewhere, I mostly don't hear it. I reminded myself of what Lafourcade sounds like, and her vocals are much more wispy. Ile spends most of her time working out of the musica antillana, intentionally theatrical tradition. Not as over the top as a La Lupe, but closer to that end of the spectrum than to light Latin indie vocals. Even when she is doing something lighter, I find her voice fuller than Lafourcade's (although I admit I haven't listened to the latter much).

(As far as the thread: possible that people are boycotting me too, which is ok.)

Anyway, I don't think there's been much interest in Calle 13 here in recent years, and solo iLe sounds mostly nothing like them, so even if someone gets hooked in thanks to that angle, they might go away disappointed.

I hope you will comment once you've listened more, even if it's negative. I do think think there are some weaknesses in the album, as much as I like it overall. Very strong debut though. I'm looking forward to her next album. I'm hoping she'll move away from being quite so overtly retro. I think she could keep some of the older musical forms but update the sound more than she has here. Or go off in her own direction.

OTOH, if she keeps putting out "retro" material as great as "Rescatarme" and "Danza Para No Llorar," I will be listening.

I admire the production more on repeated listens, too, though I'm hardly listening on real audio equipment.

For instance, when the guitar drops away and the accompaniment is just a cymbal sound (I think), but one that seems altered a lot, at around 3:20 on "Qué Mal Que Estoy."

I suppose it could be anything. Sounds like something slowed down.

(No this is not a thread about ILE! How did that not occur to me

See I was going to ask.

Nice pretty album even if some of these songs sound retro, and the tempo rarely speeds up

I think the songwriting is more than simply pretty. Tempos stay more or less the same, I guess, but I find a lot of variety in her delivery from song to song. Plus the rhythms don't stay the same. I admit I'm sometimes starting to find it sags in the middle again for me, but there are also still details that draw me in at those points.

"Extraña de Querer" might be my least favorite cut on the album. It is draggy and I don't find anything in it special enough to fully redeem it. Thank goodness "Rescatarme" kicks in right afterwards.

I don't have any problem with the return to a slower tempo in "Danza Para No Llorar" given the perfect angles from which her vocals approach the song. Really gorgeous song. Okay, maybe "pretty" it is. But prettiness busy creating a specific emotional space.

(Also: she recorded a new danza! That doesn't happen that often these days, I don't think.)

Anyone else listened to this?

This album sounds perfect so far this very overcast, rainy November morning. (Doesn't seem like normal Albuquerque fall weather at the moment.)

sounds really nice to me, i'm not much an expert in this type of music but i like it

First track is quite strong too. Sometimes I forget because it's over so quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLkaXwEPfeE

Grammy.

About time this won something.

Yay!

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/7686448/ile-grammy-win-ilevitable-album-ileana-cabra-interview

I didn't know a video for Triángulo shortly after the last post I made to this thread. Still sounds great, though I can't decide if I am hearing some slight differences in the video version (aside from the audience and ocean sounds).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvSJW6UnSsA

Sounds better without the extra video sound effects, but that's pretty typical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk2fSNC83aw