The Rosalía effect

I stopped DJing the day I realized I wasn't playing music for the people, but against them. It's not like there's a huge market for DJs who treat their sets like doctoral theses and read the dance floor inside out, subduing the indie crowd with dancehall and hip hop, or coming out as die-hard Fania Records fans at a punk party. DJ Kabotzilla, always on point (if it's about destroying Tokyo and your desire to have a good time).

I'm often asked where this need to go against the grain comes from. I've never known if it's a way of defining myself, of asserting my individuality, or if it's more of a way of making myself seem extra, ofto act coolPerhaps it is pure vanity, but in any case, it's a productive vanity that has had positive effects: it has kept me constantly moving and attentive; it has prevented my curiosity from fading. When it comes to music and cultural references, I'm hardly suspected of being stuck in nostalgia. I don't have too many sacred cows, and it wasn't until my son asked me what I listened to when I was young that I revisited albums that were essential in shaping me as a person and in developing my aesthetic taste. Even in shaping my political and moral worldview.

Because, in reality, this need to question the consensus, to be a constant wedge that creates crosses in every wall, is also a political stance. In fact, that's precisely it: for me, art is above all political, a way of positioning oneself in relation to life, an attitude.

From this attitude arises what we could call the Rosalía Effect.

Let me explain: since everyone is talking about the same thing and it seems crucial to have an opinion on the album of the moment, I, who in case it wasn't clear enough, am a first-rate busybody, have completely refused to listen LuxI refuse. And I refuse because my need to confront and oppose that sense of obligation that surrounds certain cultural phenomena is stronger than me.

For example, I wouldn't even joke about watching SiradoIn fact, I haven't seen it yet. Breaking BadAlthough if I got a euro for every time someone told me "you have to see it," I'd have enough to buy them all dinner. Or perhaps precisely because of that: it's taken me years to watch it consistently. The SopranosBeyond a few scattered episodes, I've stopped listening to bands I loved because of their cloying popularity, when I start to see that spaces I considered mine, an intimate treasure, an expression of my individuality, suddenly begin to fill up with strange people chasing the latest trend.

Do I consider myself better than others? Are we so conceited and pedantic? Am I missing out on a lot of things? Does it matter? I know the answers to all these questions (Probably/Yes/Yes/No). I also know the answer to one last question: Do I plan to change my attitude?

I think you can guess what I would sell right after.

I like Rosalía and I have no doubt that she is the most relevant artist of the moment. I'm sure that Lux It's a great album that captures the zeitgeist clairvoyantly. But I don't intend to listen to it. Nor do I intend to watch it. SiradoAbsolutely not. Total no thanks.