Rosa Bordallo’s “Crasseux” is a research in distinction. “The opening lyrics describe a scene I imagined from historical past, when Ferdinand Magellan arrived within the Marianas in 1521,” says the indigenous singer/songwriter, who beforehand recorded underneath the title Manett. “It was the primary identified contact between Pacific Islanders and Europeans, and the conflict of worlds was violent. The remainder of the track is a reverie on somebody I cherished and misplaced. The sentiments blur into different losses I grieve—just like the elders that helped increase me and have handed on. These recollections and the accompanying ache—all of it runs into one another.”
“Crasseux” is the most recent single from Bordallo’s self-released Isidro LP, out January 31. A local of Guam who now lives in New York Metropolis, Bordallo recorded the album with Ben Etter (Deerhunter, Hazel English) at Maze Studios in Atlanta. She hashed out the spongey groove on “Crasseux” with only a guitar.
“I discovered {that a} marching beat made it extra attention-grabbing and carried it ahead,” says Bordallo. “The dynamic—between conflicts, inside and exterior—is one thing I hoped to convey. You may nonetheless miss somebody who additionally precipitated you great ache. You may nonetheless recognize what these connections gave you—even after you needed to transfer on from them.”
We’re proud to premiere Rosa Bordallo’s “Crasseux.”
—Hobart Rowland
