Xenia Rubinos has released a new single called ‘Madruga’. The track, a reworking of ‘What Is This Voice’ from Rubinos’ 2021 album Una Rosa featuring Cuban rapper El Individuo, is the first in a series of reimagined versions of songs from the LP. Give it a listen below.
“El Individuo had just arrived to NYC from Habana for the first time and came straight into this session without us ever having met and just blew us all away,” Rubinos said of the track in a statement. “It feels like the thaw of Spring, like the last frost leaving, like the first flower buds starting to poke through. In the lyrics he talks about dawn and the mysterious vale of those hours right before the morning light hits. I added in a Rhodes line in post production at the end of the track that kind of reminded me of the melody that clocks play, ‘Westminster Quarters’ and the main riff from Mt. Airy Groove by Pieces of a Dream. Creating this rework in a whirlwind cypher with this supergroup of musicians felt like opening a secret trap door we found in the original song.”
