Thrilling experimental pop artist Lido Pimienta spent the past few years studying European classical music to embark on a new ambitious journey. Shifting far from her previous electro pop sound, she remains as captivating and exuberant as ever.
Influenced by the solemnity of early Christian hymns, her new album La Belleza is a grand orchestral exploration in which her stirring vocal melodies resound over rich symphonic textures like vital expression, celebrating new life and nature’s awakenings.
Unafraid to explore the depths of her creativity, Pimienta worked alongside producer Owen Pallett to produce a haunting, invigorating album, influenced by Christian liturgical music. She turned to the second century for inspiration; two direct influences were the solemn liturgical hymn Lux Aeterna, a Gregorian chant that is performed at Requiems (the mass of the dead) and sixteenth century singing of the Castrati, i.e. choirs of young boys that were castrated so that they would permanently keep their high-pitched singing voices.
Using this inspiration as a contrast, La Belleza honors the ceremonies and history of Pimienta’s ancestors that go untold by the mainstream. The indigenous home of her people, the Wayuu, was called Abya Yala before European mercenaries colonized it in the 1800s and re-named it Colombia. Technically, the people were never conquered but slowly pushed out of their lands and away from natural resources. The Catholic religion was also forcefully integrated into their lives and is still dominant there to this day.
The rousing, harp-led single Mango also touches on these themes. “It took me back to my territory, to nature, to my people, to my village, where I watched love unfold all around me,” Pimienta says. That seed of love for her country and people became an expansive love song. “I’ve always had an aversion to writing love songs—especially if they’re about a man. But at the time, my love life was in a nebulous state: unrequited love, love from the past, love in the present—it was all I could think about. I resolved the hetero issue by keeping my love songs genderless. The sensuality is in the innuendo, in the nuance. I’m very proud of this song”.
Lido Pimienta performs at Le Guess Who? 2025 on Thursday 6 November. Also performing at the festival are a.o. Luisa Almaguer, Lonnie Holley & Friends, Ziúr & Sandi - Home - Live A/V, and many more.
