The singer, pianist, and composer Meritxell Neddermann has released Suelta (Halley Records), her second album after In the backyard of the castle (Halley Records), from 2020. An album in which the singer feels "much more exploratory, playful, and daring" than in her previous work. In an interview with the ACN agency, Neddermann explains that Suelta has a double path, one more pop with songs with a more traditional structure and another, more electronic and seeking other sounds. The singer is the pianist for Jorge Drexler's international tour and acknowledges that the Uruguayan musician has been a great inspiration for her.
Neddermann begins the creation of the album and songs with the music, the melodies, while the lyrics come to her secondarily. "I feel more playful with the music, but on this album I have tried to make the lyrics more ordered and compact, something I hadn't thought about as much on the other album."
Regarding the leitmotif of Suelta, she explains that this time she has acted more as an observer of the outside world than of what was happening to her. "I've been more of a narrator," Neddermann assures. The pianist co-produced the album with Carles Campi, a regular collaborator of Vetusta Morla and Jorge Drexler. "I brought Campi a lot of the basic ideas for the songs already well thought out and worked on, and with him, we finished rounding them out; the process has been great."
The album moves between pop, electronic, and experimental music. Neddermann believes there are two paths on the album, one more pop with songs with a more traditional structure and another that is more electronic and seeks other sounds. "From the beginning, I saw that it would be an album like a roller coaster, with one style and another."
The composer points out that she would like to do more experimental and urban things in the future and explore these two extremes.
The album is also the result of the good moment the singer is experiencing, as she has been the pianist for Jorge Drexler's international tour for more than two years, something that has allowed her to open a concert in San Francisco for the Uruguayan singer or perform some of her own concerts in Argentina. She is still on tour with the singer, which will last for a few more months.
Neddermann notes that Drexler is a very "eager to learn" person, motivated by what he does, and "enthusiastic about songs, language, music, and singing. It's inspiring to be surrounded by people like that, who never lose their childlike side in the best sense of the word. He has inspired me a lot in that sense." She indicates that Drexler has listened to some of the songs from Suelta, but he hasn't forced her to sit down and listen to the album, she says with a smile.
Among the musical references the singer listens to, she cites Bon Iver, James Blake, Laura Mvula, Sufjan Stevens, and "everything Jordi Savall does," as well as choral music and classical music. She also likes Ferran Palau, Judit Neddermann, and Jordi Serradell.
Meritxell Neddermann presented the album at the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic and at the Festival Vincles de Sant Cugat and performs this Friday in Barcelona as part of La Mercè. She also has a concert scheduled in Buenos Aires on October 8 and at Café Berlín in Madrid on October 26.