Rosalía is gearing up to release her eagerly anticipated fourth studio album, “Lux,” on November 7th, and she just teased it with the jaw-dropping first single, “Berghain.” The sonic exploration is another example of her atypical pop sensibilities, blending genres and eras for a completely fresh approach.
The track is a reinvention of her already evolving sound. It moves her aesthetic from the electric energy of “Motomami” into a densely orchestrated, spiritual soundscape. Notably, it trades in synthesizers and drum machines for the London Symphony Orchestra. Her new vision is further reinforced with feature spots from two fellow experimental artists: Björk and Yves Tumor.
Evolution is something that Rosalía strives for.
“There’s something about a white canvas—it’s like looking into an abyss,” she said on the New York Times podcast Popcast. “But at the same time, I think there’s something that would make me more uncomfortable, which would be to stay still and not do that change… Everything is in constant movement, right? So, I’m always in a state of constant change. Why then should my sound not change with me?”
“Berghain” begins with an intense flurry of strings that recall the work of Vivaldi. Rosalía shared the handwritten score for the song on her Substack, showing the precision of her musical vision.
The score is marked “Baroque” with a tempo of 108 beats per minute. Written in D minor, the sheet music is a piano reduction and includes notes for when to pedal as the chord changes every two beats. The intro is then marked “molto rit,” indicating a gradual slowing of the tempo. After a brief rest, the music returns even faster at 125 beats per minute and “con fuoco,” meaning “with fire.”
A chorus enters and begins the multi-lingual song’s lyrics. “The German lyrics sung by the choir, ‘Seine Angst ist meine Angst, Seine Wut ist meine Wut, Seine Liebe ist meine Liebe, Sein Blut ist mein Blut,’ translate to ‘His fear is my fear, his rage is my rage, his love is my love, his blood is my blood,'” NME explains.
Rosalía enters singing Italian in an aria style, eventually switching to a more pop-oriented style in Spanish. “The use of languages is very much intentional with the story that I’m referencing… I belong to the world—that’s how I feel,” she said in the Popcast interview.
The song’s structure eschews the standard pop verse/chorus trope, instead taking a through-composed approach. Halfway through the music, the piece ritards once again, coming to a dramatic pause to mark Björk’s entrance. “Berghain” ends with more electronic elements, including vocal samples.
“Berghain” marks a shift in Rosalía’s artistic output, but it’s more than that. The song encapsulates the essence of 21st-century musical hybridity, breaking down the barriers of genre, language, and tradition. By combining classical grandeur with club culture, she has crafted a sound that is both contemporary and timeless, deeply personal yet culturally relevant.
Watch the video above and follow along with the sheet music for “Berghain”:
