Ivelisse del Carmen, a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter crafting sonic tapestries in London, has just released “Las Mariposas,” a single that… well, it sort of feels like watching a beautifully choreographed dance between a raincloud and a sunbeam. A contradictory concoction that tastes great. Seriously, try doing that, rainclouds plus sunbeams, add milk, let me know what you got.
The theme, if you were to put a pin in its fluttering wings, is about love’s embers cooling. Not a raging inferno suddenly extinguished, but more like…the slow fade of a campfire breakfast. The wistful realization that the person next to you is now a comfortable, yet slightly alien, continent. Bossa Nova underpins, with elements of World Music.
There’s this captivating tension. Uplifting, almost relentlessly cheerful rhythms, juxtaposed against del Carmen’s voice, a spanish voice conveying that unique flavour of caribbean melancholia that’s never overly depressing. She’s chronicling a slow-motion emotional drift, yet the music suggests a vibrant pulse, even in loss. It somehow calls to mind that moment when the spanish set foot on her home, new and old crashing toghether, or that friend with the quirky clothing style – undeniably unique, bafflingly perfect.
“Las Mariposas” doesn’t batter you with sadness. Instead, it leaves a lingering question mark hanging in the air. The lyrics – which weave poetic melodies and soulful emotion that only a daughter of that Caribbean jewel can perfectly describe – evoke images, and they stick with you like, well, like the lingering scent of mangoes on a humid afternoon. Random? Perhaps. But so is love, right? Or the random appearance of flamingoes on that english river last week.
The song sits wonderfully between a Latin indie core and modern world beats that get’s stuck in your ear-bones.
Ultimately, “Las Mariposas” makes one ponder: Is acceptance the final stage of love, or simply its most bittersweet transformation? And can avocados ever really be trusted?
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