Soleá Morente: "I consider myself a reader before a composer and singer."

PalmSoleá Morente, daughter of singer Enrique Morente and dancer Aurora Carbonell, will spread the flamenco spirit that runs through her veins to every corner of the Sanctuary of Consolación de San Juan. The singer will perform during the big night of the La Luna en Verso festival, on August 9, with a double concert that will also feature the artist Niño de Elche. Soleá will arrive in Mallorca with a diverse repertoire: she will perform songs by Calm sea, of What you lack and other albums, as well as some pieces from the new album SIRIUS B, due out in September. She'll be accompanied by two guitarists: Rubén Campos, a flamenco guitarist from Granada, and Gonzalo Navarro, an electric guitarist from Huelva. "It will be a night to bare your soul, in an acoustic format, with very different emotions than those that appear when we do concerts with a band," the singer notes.

What it's like to sing songs from Calm sea, surely one of the most important albums for you?

— It's very satisfying. It's certainly a very special album in my career. It comes from an indie-pop perspective and connects with a wonderful period in my life: when I finished university and started working on this album with my father, Enrique Morente. This album captures the time after his passing, and includes songs like Words for Julia, inspired by Paco Ibáñez's poem, which we always sang. There's an emotion in the songs on this album that moves me deeply and that I enjoy listening to, which I consider magical. In fact, these are pieces that require a different disposition on my part live, since my soul and voice change according to the emotional and vital context of each album. I like to contemplate different points of view and reflect them in my singing, and it shows in these songs.

Mention Goytisolo, and right on the record Calm sea There is a song called PoemsWhat is its relationship with poetry and literature?

— For me, they have intrinsic value and are part of who we are. I'm a Hispanic philologist, and I grew up with readings that have shaped and determined me as a woman. In literature, I find refuge, I seek answers, and then, with music, I can explain how they've helped me. I consider myself a reader before a composer and singer. Now I read. Variable cloudiness, by Carmen Martín Gaite, with a highlighter in hand. I know this reading will take me somewhere. I value the love at first sight of a poem or verse that strikes me and that I want to keep forever, as a way of immortalizing it.

What can you tell us about the new album? SIRIUS B?

— SIRIUS B It's the name of a star with its own mysterious light. It's an album that has followed its own rhythm and nature. It's been magical working with Guille Milkyway (La Casa Azul), from whom I've learned so much. For me, it's been like completing a luxury master's degree: he has infinite talent. The album is a hybrid of The Blue House and Casa Morente. I have a very clear memory of when I was younger and hearing the song Me tooThat rumba captivated me one day while I was traveling. I fell in love with that sound and thought, "I'd love to do something like that." So this is what came out: the album combines Catalan rumba with electronic music, references to Los Amaya, and the vibrant dynamics of Guille's music.

They have made a good tandem.

— That's right. And one of the special features of SIRIUS B It's the poetic contribution of the lyrics. I would add the images of the sky and clouds, and Guille would bring them down to earth. For example, My care It's inspired by a Shakespeare play, and Guille wrote its verse. There are many surprises on the album. In this process, I've learned a new way of constructing songs and understanding production. Guille is thoughtful, brilliant, generous, and has known how to respect my own voice.

After more than a decade of career... how do you see yourselves?

— I'm at a stage of maturity, but also very excited to continue learning and discovering. I look at life with enthusiasm, but from a place of calm. I have respect instead of fear, and I act from a place of awareness and hope.

The disc Aurora and Enrique It's a tribute to your parents. What's your emotional connection to that album?

— It's a deeply emotional album. It was a way to connect with my memory, to pay tribute to them, and to give artistic form to a bond that endures. It has a symbolic and emotional charge that still moves me.

Do you consider yourself an artist who engages in a free dialogue with traditional flamenco?

— Flamenco has given me everything. I come from a home where flamenco is my profession and it goes with me. I cultivate it every day with passion and gratitude. Although I've taken some distance to find my message and my sound, I always draw from flamenco naturally. Flamenco literature accompanies me, and singing It's part of my way of understanding the world. When I have to face difficult situations, hearing my father sing lights me up like a beacon. I wish my life were like Enrique Morente's voice.