rebe "solo pasiones..." Mini LP 10"

Listening to new music is always an odyssey in search of seduction in its purest, most spontaneous and instantaneous form. Discovering unexplored territory, breathing unknown air. It is an arduous and complex adventure that presents artists with the need to develop a unique musical language all their own. Not many are able to pull it off. But some do it with astonishing ease. The trail of breadcrumbs that rebe has been leaving to lead us to this Mini-LP called “solo pasiones...” makes it clear that we are looking at a great, multi-faceted and incomparable artist.

rebe started out as a member of the group LULI REBE & SUS XOCOLATINAS along with her friend Luli and the omnipresent Cardevore, a travel companion who has helped with production and performances. But she shifted quickly into a solo career, as a result of her curiosity and musical inquisitiveness.

The first official release in physical format was through the Snap! Clap! Club and Jeanne D’Arc labels, and it was a cassette with her debut, “Recuerdos de cuando me aplastó una roca y me morí” (2019) which sold out in a matter of hours, even before being released, and came wrapped in fabric that rebe herself sewed by hand. The vinyl re-release of the album also sold out immediately. On it, we could find authentic sonic and melodic discoveries (and that production work!). One of the things that made her considerably increase her array of followers were her covers. To so carefreely mix it up with songs like “Ni una sola palabra” (Paulina Rubio), “Dama dama” (Cecilia), “El futuro” (Kikí D’akí) and “Ramito de violetas” (she says it is mostly based on a version by Manzanita), her groundbreaking cover of “Corazón partio” by Alejandro Sanz, her revision of LAS SHIRELLES with the priceless “Me amaras mañana..¿” is an exercise in scope, to say the very least. But the collection of her own songs is even more incredible, from the sensitive and delicate “wapa wapa wapa wapa wapa wapa”, her first Digital Single in 2018, to the eternal magic of her latest single, “si mirarte es delito q me lleven a prision”.

And now, “solo pasiones...” shows us that rebe is capable of crossing musical parameters that others wouldn’t dare to touch – sharp, turbulent, dangerous… And the sweet ambiguity she does it with is what makes listening to this Mini-LP so addictive. These six songs help us build a little more of a definition for the work by this artist from the mountains surrounding Madrid: kitsch and bizarre meet sophisticated and contemporary; vintage is filled with Zoomer modernism; elegance is transformed into a still life made with scraps of nineteenth century fantasy and space travel.

But let’s get to the songs. “como si fuera una mosca” could be an impossible gathering between José Luis Perales, BROADCAST and Cecilia, seasoned with lyrics that pervert the macabre spirit of the metamorphosis. “ven a buscarme temprano” would be something for Alfonso Santisteban to be proud of, for its perfect harmonic lines, zero complacency, and the twisting sound of such a directly passionate and devoted work, something that is not common in rebe’s lyrics, as we will see in the next songs. “jamon” was the only song we had already heard from this limited-edition, green, 10” vinyl, and it lays some of her best cards on the table: the perverted use of the trashiest Spanish references, not far from what Bigas Luna was doing at his most inspired, turning eroticism into a dreamlike hallucination, submission into pleasure. And we used to talk about the personality we were looking for in the music. And good music has always questioned the limits and gone outside the lines… And rebe is implacable here: in a time filled with champions of political correction, morality and good taste, she rises above all of that and it is absolutely cathartic. Some would use the word punk. We think that isn’t nearly enough.

Just listen to “la mas wapa del bar” (with the collaboration of pup puppy), a cumbia that is an ode to perversity, a story of pleasure that a black widow delights in, the blood of a superficial love that feeds on suffering. All of this drawn out with a perfect pop melody, powerful, naïve. The result, disturbing to say the least. “mis creadores” is an exercise in celestial narcissism without even batting an eyelash. The garden of Eden and the perfect creature. And finally, if rebe wants to play with disco music, instead of blood on the dance floor, she puts “xanclas sobre el asfalto” (flip-flops on the asphalt). Twisting those bpms in a passionate and catchy song, with so many layers of vocals and lyrics that can only exist in rebe’s passionate universe. The result is something close to BOARDS OF CANADA collaborating with a very contained Paloma San Basilio.

That’s how it goes. Some people will be shocked, and that it definitely a good sign. Whether it is because of the musical references, the pictures, the production work or the lyrics. Or even because of her Instagram. Other people, a lot of other people, will fall head over heels for this hypnotism. But in the end, the most important thing is that we can enjoy an artist with a calling to leave an indelible mark on the musical scene. And that here and now, finally, we can begin to enjoy what she has to offer.

TRACKLIST: 01 como si fuera una mosca  02 ven a buscarme temprano  03 jamon 04 la mas wapa del bar (feat. pup puppy)  05 mis creadores  06 xanclas sobre el asfalto