Press release
Latin GRAMMY-winning Puerto Rican star iLe (@cabralu) has announced the new album Como las canto yo, a covers project dedicated to her favorite boleros. The first single, “Un Amor De La Calle,” was originally written by Orlando Brito and popularized by fellow Boricua Hector Lavoe in 1975.
Como las canto yo was co-produced by iLe with Ismael Cancel.
“I dreamed about recording this album since I was about 13. I’ve always loved boleros, especially when I was a teen. At home we listened to a lot of salsa and rock, but my father introduced me to these brutal songs about unrequited love affairs that connected fully with the drama of my own adolescence. I loved the passion of boleros – I enjoyed singing them, emoting the feelings, trying to understand them.” – says iLe from San Juan
Far from being predictable, her readings of these treasured standards offer subtle variations while tackling the melodies with reverence and grace. If anything, ‘Como las canto yo‘ reveals iLe’s profound understanding of the bolero mystique. An elegant session marked by pristine sonics and its maker’s voice – a wondrous instrument, gorgeous and unpredictable – it will be remembered decades from now as one of the most transcendent efforts of its kind.
From the velvety Gilberto Monroig gem “Llanto de Luna” to the bombastic La Lupe scorcher “Puro Teatro” – a dazzling tour de force by Puerto Rican songwriting icon Tite Curet Alonso – the song selection illustrates the breadth of iLe’s knowledge, her unparalleled understanding of the movement’s aesthetic.
iLe’s New Project Como las canto yo Will Be Released On October 24
“Most people associate boleros with sophisticated orchestrations,” she says. “But when you go out in the streets, you also see them being performed with guitars. I wanted the album to have that bohemian, streetwise energy. There’s something gritty and aggressive about those guitar textures. Boleros are passionate and direct, and that was precisely my mood as I was making the album. Some of the tracks were done in a single take.
