Shakira's instincts lead her all over the musical map

Chicago Sun Times - By Laura Emerick

June 5, 2005

You might just call Shakira, the international pop music superstar, Miss Universe.

Her earth goddess looks -- long golden locks and Venus di Milo figure -- would win her any beauty-pageant crown. The reference to "universe" here is invoked in an artistic sense, however. Yes, she grew up in Colombia, sings primarily in Spanish and works with Latin music tastemakers such as Emilio Estefan.

But with her distinctively eclectic music, as evidenced on her breakthrough "Laundry Service" (2001), Shakira aims for a universal audience.

"When people say, 'She's a Latin artist,' I understand, but I don't really make Latin music, it's not what I'm known for," said Shakira in an interview Monday, while on her way to a rehearsal for MTV's "TRL" in Las Vegas. "I am Latin, but there are people who do that better than I do. I just make music, period. I move in any direction, wherever my instincts take me.

CD REVIEW

SHAKIRA, "FIJACION ORAL, VOLUMEN 1" (EPIC) ***1/2

Back after four years, Shakira does not disappoint with this wildly diverse effort that segues from Latin rock, electronica, post-bossa and beyond, all accomplished with the trademark fluidity of her undulating hips.

"Fijacion Oral" -- how's that for a title? -- is just the first of two discs this year from the Colombian-born superstar; the English-language "Oral Fixation, Vol. 2," with completely different songs, follows in November. For both, Shakira serves as producer and author (or co-author) of all the songs, with longtime collaborators Lester Mendez, Luis Ochoa and Tim Mitchell. Uber-maestro Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash) takes the role of executive producer. But make no mistake: Unlike the Thalia/Paulina-type operations typical of Latin pop, Shaki's totally in charge.

She flexes her artistic muscles throughout, but especially well on "La Tortura," a duet with Spanish star Alejandro Sanz that morphs cumbia, flamenco, dancehall and even reggaeton into a dizzy elixir of dying love. And for the disc's biggest surprise, Shakira goes Sinatra on "Para Obtener Un Si," for which arranger Jorge Calandrelli beautifully conjures the sounds of mid-'60s Jobim.

This Technicolor dreamcoat of many musical colors might be a bit too outre for some, but for the adventurous, it's a fixation not easily denied.

Laura Emerick

 

Her instincts take her all over the musical map for "Fijacion Oral, Volumen 1," out Tuesday, which explodes with an amazing variety of styles: rock, Eurodisco, lounge, electronica, ballads, metal and more.

As for what inspired this burst of diversity, "I've been discovering some other singers, such as Bebel Gilberto from Brazil. And the French new wave, such as Serge Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy. Even Brigitte Bardot," she said, with a laugh.

Said by one sex symbol about another. In movies such as "And God Created Woman" (1956), Bardot introduced a raw sexuality unheard of in the strait-laced '50s. BB later recorded a string of hit singles with the notorious Gainsbourg, often called "The Dirty Old Man of France." His sultry "Je T'Aime ... Moi Non Plus" was later covered as "Love to Love You, Baby" by Donna Summer.

But even a sexy thing like that American disco queen has nothing on Shakira, 28, who has shaken up Latin music as much as Bardot once did world cinema. The day after this interview, she performed "La Tortura," the disc's first single, on "TRL" with such carnality, the show's usual TV-14 rating must have been eclipsed. As she thrust her breasts and hips in sync with the song's cumbia-reggaeton beats, you could sense the poolside audience at the Hard Rock Hotel sink slowly into the deep.

The album's title, "Fijacion Oral," slyly winks at Shakira's sensual persona. But not in an overt way, or so she professes. "That's what's interesting about it. People can play with the idea, and give different interpretations. That's the ultimate purpose of art, to stimulate people's minds. That's why the title not only reflected my state of mind [while making the album], it allows people to fly with their imagination,'' she said, laughing. "That's an important element."

Well ... moving right along, the "TRL" appearance was part of a blitz that includes stops Tuesday on ABC's chatfest "The View," and Friday on Univision's "Despierta America." Last week, after a concert segment Friday on "Good Morning America," Shakira flew to Spain to sing three songs at Madrid's Puerta de Alcala square as part of a huge free festival. Like her ever-swiveling hips, she's working it.

And she worked "like a dog, 12 hours a day, for over a year and a half" writing and producing "Fijacion Oral," and its English-language companion "Oral Fixation, Vol. 2," due out in November. "Some people think I have been on vacation," she said, referring to the four years since the release of "Laundry Service," her English-language debut that sold 13 million copies worldwide.

For this project, Shakira wrote more than 60 songs. "Some came to me in Spanish, others in English." After narrowing the list to 20 titles with the help of executive producer Rick Rubin, Shakira decided to release two discs. "'Oral Fixation, Vol. 2' will be completely new songs, unless I decide to tack on bonus tracks from Vol. 1," re-recorded in English.

Still, four years amounts to an eternity in the music world. Though she toured in 2003 and released a DVD/CD of that experience in 2004, Shakira realizes that she's been off the radar for a while.

"How things are now in the music industry, you've got to be putting out a new record every six months, we are like hamburgers," she said, laughing. "I just can't do it that way. I enjoy so much being in the studio, writing songs, doing promotion, being on the road and doing live shows. But everything has a cycle and a time, and I felt that these songs really deserved all of my energy and concentration, and the time for them to get to their final destination."

Like their author, these songs have a global target. Other Latin artists might draw larger audiences in certain countries, but Shakira leads a short list of stars who've conquered every continent, and is one of the few Latin artists to crack the U.S. market. As proof, her face graces the cover this week of Billboard, the American pop music bible. Last month, she became the first Latin artist to have a Spanish-language single played on MTV, as well as a "Making the Video" segment in Spanish, subtitled in English.

And on "Fijacion Oral," Shakira branches out linguistically with verses sung in French and German. "'Lo Imprescindible' [the closing track] sounded very German to me," she said. "And there are French influences from the late '70s on 'Las de la Intuicion,' so I wrote and sang some of the words in French this time."

But Spanish of course dominates "Fijacion Oral," and two Latin music giants make guest appearances: Spain's Alejandro Sanz on "La Tortura" and Argentina's Gustavo Cerati, who co-produced and sings on "No" and "Dia Especial."

Of her collaborators, Shakira said, "Alejandro's voice is exactly what I was looking for. He's got this special rawness, and his flamenco flavor as well makes it very unique. No one else sings like him. He made an enormous contribution, and I of course was the happiest woman in the world.

"Gustavo is the most remarkable figure in Latin rock [he co-founded the hugely influential group Soda Stereo]. He really knows how to make intelligent music that's very universal. I've always loved his sound, so I called him and asked if he wanted to co-produce with me. I had really good luck this time. I couldn't ask for anything else than to have these two people who I admire and respect on this album."

On "Para Obtener Un Si," a bossa-style ballad, Shakira salutes another Latin legend, Tom Jobim. The song, which sounds totally unlike anything she's ever done before, recalls a lost session from the seminal "Francis Albert Sinatra/Antonio Carlos Jobim" (1967). "Yes! It's very much inspired by that album," she said. "We even tried to get Claus Ogerman [that album's legendary arranger], but he was not available. It's definitely a retro sound, but one of my dreams always has been to write music [like this] for the movies. It would be quite a challenge."

So with bossa, rock and everything else on "Fijacion Oral," musical unity didn't factor into the equation. "In the beginning, I wanted an electronic with an '80s influence kind of album," she said. "So the first song really had that tendency, but then during the process, I started changing.

"At first, I didn't want to hear any acoustic guitar in the mix, just synthesizers. But at some point, I got so tired of that, I said bring me an acoustic guitar in here before I go nuts! Then the album changed and went in a different direction. That's why the album is so eclectic."

And that eclecticism certainly reflects Latin influences but is not defined by them, Shakira believes. "'La Tortura' is probably the most Latin song I've ever written," she said. "It's also a portrait of the chauvinism, the machismo, that happens in our culture."

In any case, she regards this work "like a document that registers your feelings, your emotions, your motivations. The album developed over 1-1/2 years, and so many things happened during that time. You cry, you laugh, you complain, you celebrate. The musical search keeps changing. You have to have that license, that flexibility, to go down any road, to explore any possibility.

"That's why I love being a pop artist, it gives me that kind of license. I don't like to put categories on the music I do, or to label myself as a certain kind of artist. That's building your own jail, being the architect of your own prison. I don't want to do that. Music is freedom."

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