‘VIDA’ is a gentle reminder to cherish the essence of life.
In her long-awaited new album, VIDA, Ana Tijoux astutely contemplates the journey leading to this moment, creating an empowering, complex and joyful ode to life through musical celebration. VIDA is a riveting homage to love, life and the beauty that surrounds us. This powerful collection of 15 songs evokes the past, the present, and the future, bringing together grief, joy, fear, and hope, in tribute to those who are present and those who are gone. VIDA is a gentle reminder to cherish the essence of life.
“There’s an inner child that lives inside all of us,” says Ana (in press material) about the new album. “I often think of the animated movies by Hayao Miyazaki – the beauty of contemplation that is so often pushed aside the moment we become boring adults. I may sound like a hippie, but we should do the opposite and never lose sight of emotions. We should reconnect with our family ties, a full moon, the passing of time.”
Additionally, VIDA serves as a reminder to reflect, acknowledge, and appreciate each other, as well as ourselves.
Ana’s tour heads to Chicago for a performance at METRO on Thursday, March 21. Tix available here.
Press release
“From the reckless joy of bouncy opening cut ‘Millonaria’ to the distorted urgency of ‘Niñx’ – the session finds the vocalist invigorated by the emotional openness of her own creative process. ‘Vida’ may well be the most compelling album of her career.”
Chilean music icon Ana Tijoux has released her long-awaited new album VIDA. The album was produced by Ana’s longtime collaborator Andres Celis. It was mixed by 5-time GRAMMY winner Rafa Sardina (Calle 13, Stevie Wonder).
Ask Ana Tijoux why she decided to name her fifth studio album Vida (“Life”), and the legendary rapper and songwriter will quote the musings of a clown.
“A great friend of mine who works making people laugh at refugee camps all over the world shared a thought once that resonated with me for a long time,” she explains. “He said that the best revenge against death is life itself.”
The inevitability of death had been in Tijoux’s mind before she started working on Vida – and it wasn’t only because she happens to be politically active and keeps in touch with global affairs.
“A number of people close to me had passed away, and I wanted to pay tribute to them,” she says. “The idea was to celebrate their existence, but not in a superficial way, because there’s nothing deeper than life. I do believe that being alive is worth it after all – the human existence with its inevitable tunnels and contradictions, dances and disagreements. I think it’s important not to lose sight of your emotions – to preserve feelings as the very backbone that allows us to walk through life with integrity.”
An exuberant collection of 15 tracks peppered with intriguing guest spots by the likes of Puerto Rican songstress iLe, Talib Kweli and De La Soul’s Plug 1, Vida remains defiantly true to its title.
From the reckless joy of bouncy opening cut “Millonaria” and the bilingual hip-hop swagger of “Tú Sae’” to the distorted urgency of “Niñx” and the effortless sophistication of “Bailando Sola Aquí” – seeped in cool Afrobeats patterns – the session finds the vocalist invigorated by the emotional openness of her own creative process.
“There’s an inner child that lives inside all of us,” she reflects when asked about the record’s youthful energy. “I often think of the animated movies by Hayao Miyazaki – the beauty of contemplation that is so often pushed aside the moment we become boring adults. I may sound like a hippie, but we should do the opposite and never lose sight of emotions. We should reconnect with our family ties, a full moon, the passing of time.”
And yet, the making of Vida included its share of self-doubt and complication. Devout Tijoux fans will remember that the rapper’s previous album – the award winning Vengo – was released in 2014, another era in terms of pop music evolution.
“The truth is, I started making music at 18 and never stopped,” she admits. “After the release of Vengo, we embarked on a lengthy tour. There was the privilege of visiting many different places and sharing the new songs with the fans. In this business, everything appears to be extremely important. Every single opportunity is presented as something that cannot be missed. But I had also become a mother again, was breastfeeding my child while on tour, and eventually became exhausted – both physically and emotionally – without even realizing what was happening.”
When the tour ended, Tijoux felt lost – depleted creatively and unsure of what to write about in a musical landscape that was moving at an ever accelerated pace.
“Of course, ego and ambition get in the way,” she smiles. “You want to create a masterpiece that will make history. I didn’t handle the stress well. It felt like a pressure cooker, and I thought I didn’t know how to compose songs anymore.”
Eventually, the new album emerged at its own, natural pace.
“I don’t want to act like a 20 year-old,” she says. “I’m happy with my age. My passions are very different now than the things that attracted me as a young woman. You could say I move at a different BPM. I wanted to make a dance friendly record, but without relying on proven formulas.”
Forging her own path is something of a tradition for Tijoux. Born in the French city of Lille to Chilean parents who fled the South American country’s bloody dictatorship of the ‘70s, Ana moved to Chile in the early ‘90s and became a South American star with pioneering hip-hop group Makiza.
But it was her solo career, anchored on the gorgeous anthem “1977” – the title track of her now classic 2010 second album – that established her as an iconic Latina rapper with avant-garde tendencies, dizzying lyrical skills and an addictive, textured flow. When Alicia Keys performed at Chile’s Movistar Arena last year, she invited Ana onstage for a majestic rendition of “1977.”
14 years later, Vida may well be the most compelling and beautifully arranged album of her career.
“Vida is also a call to every single creator out there,” she says. “Singers, writers, sculptors and performers, dancers and painters – all of us. Our strength lies in sticking together. The only way to continue marching forward, preserve our sensitivity and look fear in the eye is to rely on our collective identity.”
ANA TIJOUX TOUR DATES
3/12 – Bimbo’s 365 Club – San Francisco
3/14 – The Regent Theater – Los Angeles
3/19 – The Crocodile – Seattle
3/21 – Metro Chicago – Chicago
3/22 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis
3/24 – Le Poisson Rouge – New York
3/25 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston
3/26 – World Cafe Live – Philadelphia
3/27 – Union Stage – Washington, DC
