Maps of Music

Motomami (2022)

Where the lyrics of Motomami take you, and where it was really made.

The album's title was taken from a motorcycle ride with the singer's mother, and it also names a company she set up in 2018.

Key places

Studio sessions in Hollywood (2022)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — Rosalía recorded at studios in Hollywood during her time in the United States, when she recorded nearly 30 songs for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio sessions in Manhattan (2022)

Recording site Manhattan — Rosalía also recorded at studios in Manhattan during her time in the United States, where she recorded nearly 30 songs for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Long sessions at the Motomami House (2022)

Recording site The Hit Factory Criteria — Rosalía held long studio sessions almost every day at her rented home in Miami, which was dubbed as Motomami House, during her time in the United States. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Motomami: third studio album by Spanish singer Rosalía
• Released 18 March 2022 through Columbia Records, her first release on the label
• Concept album about her feelings over the past three years
• Separated in two parts, with guest vocals from The Weeknd and Tokischa
• Presented as her most personal and confessional album so far
• Named in honor of her mother, Pilar Tobella, who used to take her around town on a motorcycle
• The name also references the company her mother runs, Motomami S.L.

Background

• El Mal Querer (2018) came before it, a concept album that launched her into mainstream stardom
• Recording sessions began in Los Angeles as early as 2019
• Motomami announced on 2 November 2021, the third anniversary of El Mal Querer
• The announcement came with a 15-second trailer directed by Daniel Sannwald
• Lead single La Fama was released on 11 November 2021
• Three singles came out before the album, with Hentai as a promotional single
• Rosalía described the album as more playful than her earlier records

Recording

• Work began January 2019 and was finished in August 2021
• The majority of the album was recorded between 2020 and 2021
• Mixing and mastering took nine months, completed 15 April 2021
• Sessions took place at a rented home in Miami, at studios in Hollywood and Manhattan
• Nearly 30 songs were recorded during those US sessions
• The process was shared on a private Instagram account, holamotomami, made public in 2022

Cover

• The album cover was pictured by Daniel Sannwald
• The cover was revealed on social media on 31 January 2022

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life and career

• Rosalía Vila Tobella, born 25 September 1992 in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain.
• Studied musicology at the Catalonia College of Music, graduating in 2017.
• Early interest in flamenco, especially after discovering Camarón de la Isla.

Debut and El mal querer

• Debut album Los Ángeles (2017) made with Raül Refree.
• Second album El mal querer (2018) mixed flamenco with pop and urban music; won a Latin Grammy for Album of the Year.
• Ranked 315th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

International career

• Motomami (2022) embraced reggaeton; best reviewed album of 2022 on Metacritic.
• Lux (2025) fused art pop and classical elements; praised by critics.
• Thirteen number-one singles in Spain, the most for a local female artist.
• Two Grammy Awards, eleven Latin Grammy Awards, and a BRIT Award.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Received universal acclaim from music critics on release
• Critics often praised the experimentation and genre-bending sounds
• Rolling Stone en Español (Diego Ortiz): five-star review
• The Wall Street Journal (Mark Richardson): positive review, calling the singer a visionary
• AllMusic (Thom Jurek): described the record as provocative and risky
• Pitchfork: awarded its Best New Music honor
• The Quietus (Nathan Evans): said it darts away from the angelic image of her previous work

Reappraisal

• Metacritic average score of 94 from 17 reviews, indicating universal acclaim
• Highest-rated album of 2022 on Metacritic
• Ranked 17th best album of all time on Metacritic
• AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10
• Critics compared its experimentation to Beastie Boys' Ill Communication and Moby's Play
• Later outlets found resemblances to Charli XCX's Brat (2024)

Records

• US debut at number 33 on Billboard 200 with 17,000 equivalent album units in its first week
• Largest opening week for a Latin pop album in 2022 in the US
• Opened at number one on Top Latin Pop Albums
• Entered 22 charts in 19 countries and reached the top ten in seven of them
• Top forty on the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200
• Six consecutive weeks atop the PROMUSICAE chart in Spain
• Second most-streamed female album of the year worldwide
• At the 23rd Latin Grammy Awards: won Album of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Engineered Album and Best Recording Package
• At the 65th Grammy Awards: won Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, but was left out of the general field categories

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was released through Columbia Records, the first of her releases on that label.
• Rosalía did not leave the United States until June 2021 because of pandemic travel restrictions, and she spent that time in near-daily studio sessions.
• She wrote Saoko last, and La Combi Versace was the track she modified the most, with its featured artist changed late in the process.
• The album's making was recorded on a private Instagram account, holamotomami, which she made public.
• Rosalía said her goal was to make a record that let her feel and see what was happening in those three years, since she did not keep a diary.
• Critics compared the album to records including Lorde's Pure Heroine and Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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