Sílvia Pérez Cruz Explained

Sílvia Pérez Cruz
Birth Date:15 February 1983
Birth Place:Palafrugell, Catalonia, Spain
Occupation:Singer
Genre:flamenco, jazz, classical, folk, contradanza, fado, tonada

Sílvia Pérez Cruz (born in Palafrugell, 15 February 1983) is a Catalan and Spanish singer and composer. In 2012, she recorded her first solo album, 11 de Novembre, which was nominated for album of the year in both Spain and France. A song performed by her, "No te puedo encontrar", received a Goya Award for Best Original Song for 2012. In 2014, she released her album Granada. Both releases have been in collaboration with Raül Fernández Miró. She received another Goya Award for best original song, for the song "Ai, ai, ai", composed and performed by her, for the film At Your Doorstep (2016). In 2022, the Spanish Government awarded her the "Premio Nacional de la Músicas Actuales"[1] ("National Prize for contemporaneous music"). In her latest album, "Toda la vida, un día" (2023), Cruz "recreated her whole life in a single album, embarking on what would become a year-long work recorded in Barcelona, Pontós, Madrid, Jerez, Buenos Aires, Coatepec and Havana."https://jazzaldia.eus/en/artist/silvia-perez-cruz-toda-la-vida-un-dia-2/

Background

Cruz's parents were both singers who sang together. Her mother Glòria Cruz i Torrellas taught her to play the saxophone and piano as well as how to dance and sculpt. Her father Càstor Pérez Diz was a self-taught guitarist. She has a daughter, Lola.[2]

She went to Catalonia College of Music in Barcelona, where she received classical training studying the piano and saxophone and receiving a degree in vocal jazz. While she was at Catalonia College of Music, she and three other women founded a flamenco group called Las Migas. They combined their different musical approaches to create a new type of flamenco. It was not long after this that she became well known in the Spanish music scene.

Cruz told NPR that a song must have a story. She believes that her view of songs as stories comes from her mother who was a singer and storyteller. Her mother, she said, also viewed songs as stories.

11 de Novembre

In 2012, Cruz released her album 11 de Novembre with Raül Refree. She met Miró in 2006 and they toured together in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Miró was both guitarist and producer for the album. Their songs have been described as a blend of music genres including Fado, jazz improvisation, and flamenco. Cruz won a Goya Award, Spain's most prestigious film award, for best original song "No Te Puedo Encontrar" in the film Blancanieves. The album received a Gold Award disc.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Granada

In 2014, Cruz released her second album Granada, again collaborating with Raül Refree. It reflects Cruz's practice of singing in multiple languages: French, German, English, and four Iberian languages. Included on the album is the song "El Cant Dells Ocells," a Catalan folk song previously made famous by Pablo Casals. Another song is "Gallo Rojo, Gallo Negro", a well-known song from the Spanish Civil War. Cruz first understood the story in the song when she was part of a concert honoring the remaining veterans of the International Brigades who fought against the Nationales in the civil war. Cruz told NPR that she saw tears in the veterans' eyes when they sang the song in their own language. She said, "These people have lived through so much. It's good that I can sing and help them remember." As journalist Betto Arcos concluded, this example illustrates how Cruz comes to understand the stories in the songs she sings.[7]

Discography[8]

YearTitleNotesRelease and special editions
As member of other groups2005LlamaWith Ravid Goldschmidt
2006Unas vocesAs member of Las Migas
2007ImmigrasonsWith Ernesto Snajer y Raül FernándezReissued in 2015
2008We sing Bill EvansWith Joan Díaz Trío
2010Un sordo s'ho escoltavaAs member of Xalupa
Reinas del matuteAs member of Las Migas
2011En la imaginaciónWith Javier Colina TríoReissued in 2016
Rompiendo aguasAs member of Llama with Ravid Goldschmidt
Solo201211 de novembreSpecial edition in 2012 and Portuguese release in 2013.
2014GranadaWith Raül Fernández MiróSpecial edition in 2014
2016DomusOriginal soundtrack of At Your DoorstepSpecial edition in 2016
2017Vestida de nitWith string quintet
2018JoiaDouble compilation album released only in Japan
2020MA. Live in TokyoWith Marco Mezquida, recorded life in Blue Note
Farsa (género imposible)Compilations of themes composed for movies, theater and dance.
2023Toda la vida, un día

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Premio Nacional de las Músicas Actuales 2022 . 2024-03-03 . www.lamoncloa.gob.es . es.
  2. News: Castillejo. Ricardo. Silvia Pérez Cruz "Uno es más guapo cuando por dentro lo tiene todo arregladito". 8 June 2014. Seville Magazine. 13 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140604101032/http://www.sevillamagazine.es/2013/04/silvia-perez-cruz-uno-es-mas-guapo-cuando-por-dentro-lo-tiene-todo-arregladito/. 4 June 2014. live. es.
  3. News: Sawer. Patrick. A vibrant new music emerges out of one of Europe's oldest dance forms. 8 June 2014. The Daily Telegraph. 1 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140609022353/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10669631/A-vibrant-new-music-emerges-out-of-one-of-Europes-oldest-dance-forms.html. 9 June 2014. live.
  4. News: Troquel. Luis. Las Migas, punto y seguido: El Grec acoge hoy el último concierto del grupo con Sílvia Pérez Cruz como cantante en Barcelona Rafaela Carrasco bailará como invitada del singular cuarteto flamenco. 8 June 2014. El Periódico de Catalunya. 15 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714180301/http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/ocio-y-cultura/las-migas-punto-seguido-1079731. 14 July 2014. live. es.
  5. News: Sanchez. Joan. Cantautora de lo indefinible. 8 June 2014. El País. 9 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714165312/http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2012/04/09/actualidad/1333966039_265334.html. 14 July 2014. live. es.
  6. News: Inigo Lopez . Palacios. Estrenamos 'granada', el disco de Sílvia Pérez Cruz y Raül Fernández Miró. 8 June 2014. El País. 29 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140612202223/http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2014/04/28/actualidad/1398694804_179381.html. 12 June 2014. live. es.
  7. News: A Catalan Singer With Many Brave And Treacherous Stories To Tell. 8 June 2014. NPR. 7 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140608233320/http://www.npr.org/2014/06/07/319463914/a-catalan-singer-with-many-brave-and-treacherous-stories-to-tell. 8 June 2014. live. Betto. Arcos.
  8. Web site: DISCOGRAFÍA DE SÍLVIA PÉREZ CRUZ . 2024-03-03 . CANCIONEROS.COM . es.