Himno Vertical

Rocío Márquez is an established singer, experimentalist and PhD graduate intent on refracting flamenco through a 21st-century lens. Steeped in over three decades worth of performing, recording and reframing the genre, she flounces, skirts swishing, along a fine line between respecting tradition and innovating in ways that have flamenco purists pausing mid-palmas. An electric guitar wig out? A spot of Shakespearian word play? “¿Y por que no?”, figures Márquez, whose clutch of albums include the acclaimed Firmamento (2017), Visto en el Jueves (2019), and Tercer Cielo (2022) – she has also worked on film soundtracks and collaborated with Uruguayan musician Jorge Drexler and famed Spanish musician Kiko Veneno. And indeed, the sky is the limit on Himno Vertical, on which Márquez's fine, clear vocals sit comfortably in several octaves and sub-genres including bulerias, fandangos and flamenco-tangos. ‘Aries – Tango’, the album's second single, has a wonderfully catchy chorus, accompanied by handclaps and guitars (Spanish and Fender). A multi-textured work, then, lifted by heritage and fearlessness.