Time flies inexorably. It seems like it was yesterday, but in reality, nine years have passed since we last interviewed Elsa and Elmar individually, an artist (yes, it is not a group or a duo) who, at that time, was about to release her first album “Rey” (2015).
Almost a decade later, the same singer-songwriter, born Elsa Carvajal in Bucaramanga, Colombia, but living in Mexico City for the past eight years, has added four full-length productions to the list, including “Palacio,” which was released on August 30.
The passage of time has allowed her to mature a proposal that she herself defined at one point as ‘spiritual pop’, but which has acquired additional nuances with her move to the different parts of the world where she has lived and the succession of unpleasant experiences, such as the breakup of a long romantic relationship whose painful consequences were captured in the previous title, “Ya no somos los mismos” (2022).
For its part, “Palacio” is a purposeful production in which there is no shortage of matters of the heart, but they are nuanced by risky proposals about femininity that do not fail to attract attention in an artist who sometimes ventures into the terrain of alternative rock, but whose musical essence seems to lean more towards elaborate pop, electronic music and even the urban genre.
In the interview conducted via Zoom that you can also see here in its video version, the Colombian reviewed the achievements of her career, offered details of her most controversial single and talked about his next performance in Los Angeles alongside Julieta Venegas.
Elsa, we haven’t spoken in a while. But you’ve overcome a lot to get to this point, and that’s something that comes through in your new creations as well.
In my compositions, I reflect a lot and try to understand what is happening to me. It has been a learning process, because in life, you either learn or you hold on. Luckily, I have been given the gift of letting go of control, of surrendering, and it is on that basis that I have made music.
How do you feel about the fact that, despite the numerous Latin Grammy nominations you’ve had, you haven’t become an international celebrity? Does it bother you? Or is it more of a comfort for you?
At first, obviously, what you want is to be a ‘huge superstar’, for everyone to talk about you, for you to go out on the street and scream when they see you. But, when I started nine years ago, I didn’t even know what I wanted, because all I had was the need to make music and for people to know about it. Then, the little worm of doubt starts to creep in, and that’s something I fight with every day, because when you open your phone you only have input from celebrities who live in Los Angeles and who are friends of the Kardashians.
I fantasize about what my life would be like if that had been my path. But the interesting thing is that all the decisions I make bring me closer to what I really want, which is to discover the highest point that my music can reach without losing its essence.
In any case, when you present an album – as is the case with “Palacio” – with a song like “Entre las piernas”, which talks about menstruation, you know in advance that it is not going to be a megahit due to how daring it is, even when there is a huge audience super accustomed to more explicit lyrics.
I know that the commercial world talks about other things, about the brands I wear, the people I have sex with and the money I have. But I am determined to discover how far I can go with my own proposal.
This song also has a very interesting and creative video that is quite sophisticated and was made with the intention of not falling into vulgarity, but ended up being censored.
All the networks, all the algorithms took it down. In fact, YouTube was the only platform that let it survive, but without ads.
Really? But there’s nothing wrong with it…
Well, because it shows a kind of nakedness that is not allowed. Apparently, nowadays you put on a bikini and you can do whatever you want, but a naked body cannot be walking in nature or you cannot see blood.
Even if it is in animation format.
Well, that’s what I learned. I thought it was even educational.
How do you feel about the contradiction of there being so much permissiveness in the lyrics of certain genres, but censorship being exercised when it comes to exploring similar themes in a much more elegant way?
It’s very strange. I got very frustrated with myself, because I said: ‘Elsa, the system won you over.’ I thought I had won, that I had managed to impose this uncomfortable subject in a poetic, beautiful, artistic, musical place. The good thing is that the public took it and understood it.
Another image of the artist.
(Guerrera Marketing & PR)
You’ve called what you do spiritual pop. Are you still comfortable with that term?
I started with that term because I’ve always said that I make pop, not folk, indie or alternative. The thing is that I talk about different topics than many pop artists use. At some point, as a joke, I said: ‘I make spiritual pop’, and it stuck.
But there is one song on the new album that does sound alternative, like indie rock from the early 2000s.
I love everything. Then there’s an electronic one, called “Lento Violento”, and then there’s another one that’s just piano and voice. It’s fine for me; I do everything, and I’ve always been like that. I’ve always done what I felt like doing.
“Lento violenta” is quite urban. It even has a rap part.
That was because one day on the radio I heard [el DJ italiano] Gigi Gigi D’Agostino, and I said to myself: ‘Oh, I really want to make an electronic song my way’. It’s like what I want to do is explore what happens if I do whatever I want to do.
He also talks about being in Europe on the beaches, having a good time. Trying things, having experiences. It seems like you’ve become a little bit more… How do I put it? More sharp.
I can sing about love and also talk about how we did drugs in Europe, and nothing happens. I can wonder about life and death and go dancing in a club with a stranger, and nothing happens.
Your origins are still evident in the super Colombian expressions that you occasionally use in your songs. How has that been affected by living in Mexico for so long?
Well, I feel like I’m from many places. I feel like I’m from Mexico and Colombia. I’ve never liked nationalism. I’ve never liked to hold on to the fact that I’m from one place. I lived in the United States for seven years, but I can say that that was the place where I really wanted to put down roots. Anyway, I spend half the year in Colombia. I take from each place what makes me feel, what brings me something.
It’s important to know that you have a large female fan base, but there are also men who listen to you. What do you think people receive from you or what would you like them to receive from you?
I like to feel like I’m in a safe place, a place of company. I like to be with people. In fun, in pain, in questions, in tears.
What’s coming up in terms of concerts? I know there are things in Mexico, but there’s also something here on September 17 at the Greek Theatre, where you’ll be opening for Julieta Venegas.
Yes, and we will be announcing the full tour of the United States very soon. For me, Julieta is an icon, even though I don’t know her. When the opportunity came up, I didn’t hesitate to accept.
I feel excited to resume my relationship with the United States. I had put it on hold because I told myself at a certain point that it was not a very fertile place for me. A lot of personal things happened to me. And I felt like it was twice as hard to get opportunities speaking Spanish. So, going to Mexico was a no brainer.
