Irma Farelo (Mushkaa), in a promotional image for her new album, 'Sexysensible'. Natalia Cornudella
He is sensitive to what surrounds him.
His weapon is the word.
Mushkaa – the urban artist who burst onto the Catalan scene in 2021 and who has more than 350,000 monthly listeners on Spotify – is the other side of Irma Farelo (Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona, 19 years old).
A “very normal girl”, who has been caught by surprise by fame, unable to give up a drink with her friends from the town.
Abandoning trumpet classes, an instrument that has accompanied her since she was little, is the price to pay for two
sold outs
at the Apolo room in Barcelona.
The first concert is this Thursday.
Mushkaa, sister of the singer Bad Gyal, has just presented her new album,
SexySensible
, the fusion between her character and her person.
Ask.
Are you sexier or more sensitive?
Answer.
Likewise (laughs doubtfully).
Well, I think a little more sensitive, but there is an almost perfect balance and the album accurately reflects these two aspects: Mushka is the partying and uncontrolled part of me, while Irma is the most nostalgic and tender part of me.
This album has allowed me to make known my sensitivity, my tendency to think about things a lot, something that I think is quite representative of this generation, which is why it carries a very important part of Irma and has helped me make these two parts similar. increasingly.
Q.
From a very young age you have used writing to express yourself.
A. Writing is what I like the most, by far.
When I was nine years old, my sister Greta, a friend and I formed a group and started writing silly songs, we just enjoyed telling stories and singing them.
But as I entered adolescence, everything became dark and very intense and I needed to empty myself, and I did it in my notebook where I wrote poems.
At that stage my writing became more serious and mature, and all that intensity helped me discover what I wanted to do.
Q.
What is the secret formula to turning your intimate writing into the Mushkaa phenomenon?
A.
Achieving the balance between my softest side and the most partying side seems difficult, but for me it is simple, because that is who I am, and when interacting with the public I wanted to be as honest as possible: I love doing reggaeton, partying and partying. , but I didn't want to lose the sensitivity of my lyrics.
There is a wide range of artists and I think that what allows me to connect with people is to show myself as I am, to tell that I have gotten upset over my churri or that I have argued with my friends.
I think that is something earthly and sincere that the public can identify with.
P.
Mushkaa is autobiographical.
Her friends and Vilassar de Mar play an important role in her life.
A.
My music is 100% true: I don't know how to write without having a clear image of a moment, an experience or a person and the feelings it generates in me.
I am not at all patriotic or nationalist, but carrying my people as a flag comes out on its own.
I am from Vilassar de Mar, I grew up there and my way of being is closely linked to this place, it is my refuge and when in my songs I talk about parties I am not referring to the VIP of a room in Madrid, but to the parties in the beach right in front of my house.
Q.
From the festivities in Vilassar to those in La Mercè, where in September he performed in front of 18,000 people.
How have you experienced your rise to fame in recent months?
A.
When the tour started we didn't expect to do so many gigs.
In August everything exploded, and I went from being at home to doing it on stage day in and day out.
It changed my life completely, people stop me on the street heading to the most partying Mushkaa, when I feel like a little penguin [laughs].
It makes me dizzy to feel that my role can influence other people.
When things move so fast you don't have time to process them and they stop exciting or exciting you.
I have stopped for two months because I needed to gain perspective and be with my friends and family, I need to be able to get into Mushkaa mode to do interviews and then go to the usual bar with my friends and talk about their worries and their lives.
Irma Farelo (Mushkaa) in a promotional image for her new album, 'Sexysensible'. Natalia Cornudella
Q.
Your family has been fundamental in keeping your feet on the ground.
A.
I have been lucky enough to grow up in a family closely linked to art that has taught me that there is a path there and has supported me in music.
Since I was little I have seen fame up close and I have learned that artists are just people who dedicate themselves to what they like.
That happens with us: we are a normal family.
Q.
Have you ever felt the need to differentiate yourself from your sister Bad Gyal?
R.
Alba and I are total opposites: she is a diva, the queen of
gays and girls
;
and I, quite the opposite, offer something very different (laughs).
At first, I did fight to make a place for myself.
But now I'm comfortable, especially in Catalonia, where I know that if I sell tickets for a concert it's not because I'm Bad Gyal's sister.
Q.
Do you consider yourself a reference in the Catalan music scene?
A. That position belongs to colleagues who have been making music in Catalan for years and who have now put the focus on this music scene.
Thanks to them I can now give concerts and make a living from my music.
My songs reflect my way of speaking, and Spanish is also part of my life.
But I do understand that it bothers many people, because we have the responsibility of taking care of our language, nor will I say that I am the right one to teach people to speak Catalan.
Just let them do it.
Q.
You refuse to be a reference, but you have been one of the first women to sing openly to another woman.
A.
Being a reference for the group is something cool.
I don't want to give myself the medal, I have never had any problem because I liked women.
I write about it because it comes naturally to me, not as a claim, and I believe that a coherent way to help society evolve is to normalize it: to tell it with what you do in your daily life, and what I do is music.
P.
He wrote 'Canto des de caseta com si fos la Sala Apolo'.
Almost three years have passed and now there are two plenary sessions in Apolo with 4,000 people on the waiting list.
R. I didn't even remember the phrase anymore, there are things I don't realize!
(laughs).
When I wrote that song at home, filling the Apolo was something impossible, something I didn't even dream of, too idyllic.
I live like in another world, I don't believe that so many people like what I do, I don't believe it until I go on stage.
And I am very grateful because it is an emblematic room.
Q.
And if you dreamed again now, what would you dream about?
A.
I am 19 years old and have the energy and ambition to move forward with Mushkaa.
But, in the long term, I don't know if I see myself doing a
performance
on stage.
I am clear that I want to dedicate myself to music, but I would like to do it by writing for other people.
I feel comfortable in anonymity, I think fame is not made for me.
My dream for the future is to write for other people, with the challenge of putting myself in someone else's shoes.
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