It has been five years since the GRAMMY-nominated and Polaris Prize-winning artist Lido Pimienta debuted her breakout album, Miss Colombia, and today she reemerges with La Belleza, a transcendent new album created in conversation with European classical music and her personal life. An iconoclast who creates music and fine art drawn from her experience as a Caribbean woman from Colombia, Lido Pimienta’s new offering marks a defining moment in her already remarkable career. “The thought of making ‘classical music’ never occurred to me before, but making experimental electronica on Miss Colombia was not premeditated either,” Pimienta says. “All I create is a natural evolution of my curiosity and stubbornness.”
When March of 2020 hit and Pimienta was supposed to leave for tour in promotion of Miss Colombia, she instead found a studio space outside of Toronto and redirected her creative energy into the writing process. Working with Ableton and her MIDI controller and alongside producer Owen Pallett—a fellow Polaris Prize winner and composer and arranger for the Sampha, Lana Del Rey, and the GRAMMY-nominated Her soundtrack, among others—Pimienta felt herself repeatedly drawn to the Luboš Fišer soundtrack for the film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. Despite not being classically trained, Pimienta was excited by how this music felt like the opposite of Miss Colombia.
“I didn’t come from a classically trained background, so this was insanely ambitious—but I also didn’t overthink it. It was COVID, and for the first time in a long time, I had time—time to learn.”
Alongside today’s announcement she has shared the track ‘Quiero Que Me Beses,’ written during a strained time in her marriage and in which Pimienta “yearns for a love so intense” over a hearty string arrangement that perfectly mirrors the dynamic range of her voice. “Love me from the inside, Give me more memories/ I want you to grab me strongly, So Strongly/ I want you to grab me, I want you to love me,” Pimienta sings accompanied by a chorus.
Listen to ‘Quiero Que Me Beses’
Just as she began this classical experimentation, choreographer Andrea Miller reached out to Pimienta about composing a piece of music for the New York City Ballet, becoming the first all-female team to do so. Additionally, Pimienta was the first woman of color to create a piece for the Ballet. When asked by The New York Times about seeing her music accompanying Miller’s choreography, Pimienta said: “It feels potent, it feels extreme — I feel an abundance. When I see the dance responding to the rhythm, the sound, the melody, it’s very emotional for me.”
Around this time Pimienta also created and debuted her six-episode season of LIDO TV, a variety show unique to her specific brand of humor, talent, and personality at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. LIDO TV is a surrealist feast for the senses, combining playful puppetry reminiscent of Peewee’s Playhouse, sketch comedy, soulful performances, candid interviews, and intimate documentaries. Collaborators on the show included Canadian music heavyweights Kittie and Nelly Furtado, the latter of which has become a close friend. Pimienta was a writer and producer on her 2024 album 7 and appeared in the visualizer for the track ‘Corazón‘.
These collaborative experiences built up Pimienta’s confidence and drew her deeper into the classical themes of La Belleza. She turned to the second century for inspiration; two direct influences were the solemn liturgical hymn Lux Aeterna, a Gregorian chant that is performed at Requiems (the mass of the dead) and sixteenth century singing of the Castrati, i.e. choirs of young boys that were castrated so that they would permanently keep their high-pitched singing voices.
“If no matter what style or genre of music I make, the result will always be relegated to the World Music aisle—in stores, in the algorithm—then why not create something no one would ever expect from a Caribbean woman?” Pimienta asked. “Why not make an album that completely defies those categories? What if I made an entirely orchestral record?”
La Belleza encapsulates why Lido Pimienta is the artist of our moment. Unafraid to explore the depths of her creativity, she produced a haunting, invigorating album that only prompts the question: What will come next? Pimienta knows that this is but the next chapter in a continuous creative process. “I made a gorgeous album inspired in the beauty of being indigenous and black, about the joy of sticking my teeth into a ripe mango, about love unrequited, about ceremony and ancestry, about life and death, about transition of soul and letting go of all that makes us feel a stone has replaced our heart.”
Pre-Save ’La Belleza’
1. Overturn (Obertura de la Luz Eterna)
2. Ahora
3. Quiero Que Me Beses
4. Mango
5. Aún Te Quiero
6. El Dembow del Tiempo
7. ¿Quién Tiene La Luz? El Perdón.
8. Tengo Que Ir
9. Busca La Luz
https://www.lidopimienta.com/
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