The Producers Behind Rosalia’s Record Breaking Album “Lux”

There’s been a lot of chatter about how to categorize Rosalia’s new album, Lux. It’s been been labeled as everything from classical music to art pop to avant’-garde, etc. It’s hard to describe an album that pulls from such a diverse range of genres, featuring flamenco, opera, and fado, just to name a few of its inspirations.

Recording for Lux was a global process that took in Miami, Los Angeles, Seville, and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence among other places. Sung in 14 languages, the album has received praise from the Catholic Church, the Prime Minister  of Spain, and critics. Want to know how this album has garnered near universal acclaim? We’ve got you covered with a deep dive into the production secrets behind Lux.

How To Make an “Art Pop” Song

• Choose a topic that doesn’t directly relate to you
• Explore a “forgotten”genre like classical or flamenco
• Incoporporate handclaps
• Use samples sparingly
• Juxtapose sweet melodies with explicit lyrics

Much of Rosalia’s music is focused outside of her personal life. It allows her to make albums not contingent on her makeups and breakups, which gives her an advantage over many of today’s popstars.

“I think that’s what my favorite artists do. They are vessels,” she told NPR.

How Does Noah Goldstein Produce a Song?

Engineer, mixer, and producer Noah Goldstein’s credits include Kayne West, Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, and Bon Iver. The Senior Vice President of A&R for Columbia Records somehow found time to work on Rosalia’s album. Perhaps it’s because Goldstein, who got his start as an intern at Greenhouse Studios in Iceland, has collaborated with the artist before. Or maybe it’s because the Bjork connection made this project a full circle moment.

Goldstein admits that recording on the road forced him to relinquish his pickiness over gear. His setup includes a portable rig, KRKs Rokit 5 and Rokit 8 monitors, and ATC SCM25A speakers. He doesn’t do any room treatment, explaining that one of the most important things he’s learned from recording in hotel rooms is that the energy is more important that the equipment (especially when you have access to a high-end studio you can use for mixing and mastering).

Goldstein considers much of his production technique a trade secret, but he did admit that he’s a fan of 808s, and he likes to use Reverb generously.

Goldstein says the best advice he was given was to “turn up the good sh*t, turn down the bad sh*t.” In conclusion, keep it simple and trust your ears!

‘I’m not going to have a sound’ was something I started out my career saying, but I think what happens is that you end up having a ‘sound’ no matter what. – Noah via Music Business Worldwide

work with popstars as he was to work with R&B artists and rappers.

The Neptunes

Pharrell’s musical career started with The Neptunes, which he and former friend Chad Hugo created together. The duo, which was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2020, wrote and produced many earworms together starting in the late 90s. They produced hits like Kelis’ “Milkshake,” Usher’s “U Don’t Have to Call,” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.”

The Neptunes would often source drum patterns from the Korg Triton synth or from drum packs and sample them into the ASR 10. Pharrell, a drummer, often added hand percussion like tambourines, shakers, and cowbells. His distinct style incorporated syncopation and playing accent notes on hi-hats. Sparse bass lines and major 7th chords were also a key part of The Neptunes’ sound.

Fun Fact: Pharrell and Timbaland are related. They went to the same high school and were both part of a pre-Neptunes band called Surrounded by Idiots.

“Tim taught me how to do this really complicated drum pattern from Eric B. & Rakim’s “I Ain’t No Joke,” the snare roll. He showed me with his fingers on the lunch table…” – Pharrell

His sonic experimentation as a solo producer led to his use of electric piano, 808s, trap sounds, and 4 on the floor beats. Of course, some remnants from The Neptunes era remain. Pharrell’s start as a drummer always informs his production. Percussion is often the starting sound rather than drums. He uses acoustic guitar the way most use a bass; in a simple, rhythmic way, rather than using it as a melodic instrument.

Additionally, Pharrell’s productions often incorporate unique samples. They’re used sparsely for maximun effect. Lastly, he also created a subtle but ineffectious producer tag, the 4-count intro.

How to Produce Like Pharrell

• Start with percussion rather than drums
• Find unique samples and use them sparsely
• Don’t be afraid to start with a drum sample
• Incorporate Major 7th chords

How Lux was Made

“I wanted to pour whatever was inside outside,” Rosalia told Billboard.

Goldstein and Rosalia both discuss curiosity about cultures and people different from them as an inspiration in their music making process. Lux focuses on saint-like figures from all over the world. “I remember putting up a world map in my room and marking it with pins, trying to understand where each [saint] was from, what language she spoke, what her story was, and what moved me about it…I wanted to find women whose stories were interconnected—unconventional lives, incredible women who were writers, nuns, and poets, who found ways to live differently from what was expected of women in their time. Often, becoming a nun gave them the freedom to pursue education and creative work that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible…For example, the song ‘Jeanne’ is inspired by Joan of Arc, so I sing it in French.”

There are no loops on Lux. This ethos also meant singing each chorus rather than copy and pasting vocals. Rosalia says it took three years to make the album, including one year of just writing lyrics (understandable since she sings in 14 languages on the album and used human translators). Featuring ballads as well as hip-hop, pop, and electronic influences, Lux is almost too wide-reaching to work.

What Critics Have Said

@rollingstone

Here’s why we gave @La Rosalia’s #Lux a 5-star review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #rosalia #rosaliamotomami #rosaliachallenge #larosalia

♬ original sound – Rolling Stone

Tastemakers Mag notes, Rosalia was “…the only student accepted to the Flamenco vocal studies program at the Catalonia College of Music in 2014. She studies forms only to break them. On LUX, Rosalía destroys and reconstructs arias, four-movement symphonies, cante flamenco, and waltzes to suit her melodies and lyrics.” The maximalist album features written scores recorded over the course of just a few days with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Acoustic instrumentation including cello, organs, drums, and choir vocals are part of what makes Lux unique. “When I was a kid, [my grandma] would have a lot of Pavarotti records in her place…  I was like, one day I’m going to make a song that my grandma is going to be like, okay, now you got it,” the artists told NPR. Lux encompasses everything from “baroque music to avant-garde techno to rumba to R&B-tinged balladry to Portuguese fado.” Rosalia told Remezcla.“…the bassline [played by a cello] in ‘Porcelana’ is inspired by [South African] amapiano basslines.”

Conclusion

Lux is an album with global appeal. It feels earnest, rather than manufactured for maximum marketability. Its creator’s insistence on acoustic instruments, using human translators, and avoiding loops is a statement against AI’s increasing encroachment into music. However, Lux needed more than Rosalia to come to fruition. Making your best work requires finding your perfect collaborators.

Want to find out if your dream collaborators are at our studio? Book with us and inquire about our talented team of engineers, producers, and songwriters.