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Navigating ruminative rock, bittersweet indie pop, experimental diversions, and the contemporary flamenco her father Enrique and sister Estrella are celebrated for, Madrid's Soleá Morente emerged with an indie rock-flamenco hybrid sound for her 2015 solo debut Teirá Que Haber un Camino. After a more experimental set (2018's Ole Lorelei) and a hit flamenco outing (2020's Lo Que Te Falta), 2021's autobiographical Aurora y Enrique homed in on dreamy introspection more in line with indie singer/songwriter fare. It featured appearances by her sister and Marcelo Criminal.

The daughter of influential flamenco singer/songwriter Enrique Morente and dancer/actress Aurora Carbonell, Soleá Morente was born in Madrid in 1985. Her older sister, flamenco singer Estrella Morente, launched her recording career in the early 2000s and was the singing voice for Penélope Cruz in the 2006 film Volver. Soleá had her own solo debut in the works when her father died in 2010; she instead released a tribute album recorded with los Evangelistas called Encuentro in 2013. It landed in the Top 100 albums in Spain.

A lusher mix of indie rock, pop, and flamenco eventually appeared on Morente's solo debut, Teirá Que Haber un Camino, which followed on El Volcán Música in 2015 and also made in onto Spain's album chart. Three years later, Ole Lorelei embraced more experimental elements, including electronics and updated takes on modern flamenco. It reached a slightly higher number 69 on the national album chart. A more traditional flamenco-oriented album, Lo Que Te Falta, followed in 2020 and was a bona fide hit, reaching number 12 in Spain. It marked her debut for Elefant Records.

In 2021, indie label Elefant issued Morente's fourth solo LP, the melancholy Aurora y Enrique. Her most introspective work to date, it featured a more restrained, singer/songwriter disposition and dream pop-inflected production design, with guests including Estrella Morente, Marcelo Criminal, and Triángulo de Amor Bizarro. ~ Marcy Donelson

Spanish pop act La Casa Azul began weaving together the sugar pop sounds of groups like ABBA, the B-52's, and the Beach Boys in the late '90s. Formed by producer/songwriter Guille Milkyway, the band rose from indie pop obscurity to the Spanish Top 40 with the help of niche label Elefant Records. The group initially featured five members -- David, Virginia, Oscar, Clara, and Sergio -- who appeared in the group's popular throwback music videos and on album covers, but La Casa Azul's music is actually created solely by Milkyway. La Casa Azul's debut record, El Sonido Efervescente de la Casa Azul, was released in 2000. Their public recognition continued to swell with television appearances on programs such as Zona Disney and Música Uno. La Casa Azul's hit single and video "Como un Fan" was released in February 2005. The video won the group its largest listening audience thus far, priming Spanish audiences for the 2006 re-release of El Sonido Efervescente. The band's third original release earned a place on the Spanish Top 40 charts following its 2007 release, and La Revolución Sexual quickly became one of Elefant Records' most successful releases. In 2008 a song from the album, "La Revolución Sexual," was a finalist in Spain's Eurovision competition, just missing claiming the crown to become the country's entry that year. After taking some time off and releasing the compilation of singles and remixes La Nueva Yma Sumac: What the Revolution Left Us, Milkyway returned to music and created the incidental music for the popular 2009 film Yo, También. He also wrote and performed the theme song for the film, and was awarded for his efforts by winning Best Original Song at the 2010 Goya Awards. La Casa Azul returned at the end of the year with a new single, "Todas Tus Amigas," then spent 2011 working on a new album. La Polinesia Meridional was released to acclaim and brisk sales in November of 2011.

Milkyway stayed very busy over the ensuing years writing songs for films, playing the music of Nino Bravo in Las Casa Azul style on the 2013 album En Libertad, acting as a judge on the talent show Oh Happy Day, recording songs for the children's TV show Jelly Jamm (a soundtrack released by Elefant in 2013), and raising his profile through DJ gigs and festival appearances. By the time he released new La Casa Azul music in early 2019 -- an album titled La Gran Esfera -- Milkyway had added more modern sounds like trap beats and radio pop to his sonic arsenal to go along with disco and upbeat pop. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez