Arca (album)
| Arca | ||||
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| Studio album by Arca | ||||
| Released | 7 April 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:17 | |||
| Label | XL | |||
| Producer | Arca | |||
| Arca chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Arca | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.2/10 |
| Metacritic | 87/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The A.V. Club | A- |
| Clash | 8/10 |
| Consequence of Sound | B+ |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 |
| The Guardian | |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10 |
| PopMatters |   |
| Resident Advisor | 4.3/5 |
Arca is the self-titled third studio album by Venezuelan electronic record producer Arca, released on 7 April 2017 through XL Recordings. It is the first studio album to feature lead vocals by Arca himself, sung in his native Spanish. It was released to universal acclaim from critics.
On 28 February 2016, Ghersi announced via Instagram that his new album would be titled Reverie and was almost finished. Though on 22 February 2017, he announced that the album would actually be titled Arca. He explained in an interview for i-D magazine that he didn't want the album to be eponymous, it's more that every other name felt wrong. "I went through a whole year of trying different names, they all felt foreign. But because I use my singing voice in a way that I've never done before, it didn't feel unnatural to call it Arca.
He also revealed that his voice would be on the new album, inspired by collaborator and friend, Björk. "I don’t know if I would’ve ever sung on this record if it weren’t for Björk. We were in the car together and I had been singing for fun and she turned to me very casually and asked me if I’d ever considered singing on my music. I just dismissed it. But then I took her very seriously because I respect her so profoundly as a vocalist. She gave me so much guidance, so I really want to celebrate that when I talk about the record. It was a big deal. She was so nurturing throughout the whole process and I don't know if I would've been so brave to do this without her as a friend." Ghersi explained his reasoning for singing in Spanish as it was the language he learned to process emotion with, the language of his upbringing that his parents "fought and divorced in". He said it became much more natural for him to manifest certain things that were very private and very intimate in Spanish.
Ghersi said the lyrics on the album are "all recent and all – except for one song – improvised", further stating that he "never sat down and wrote a word and then changed it to a better word. I recorded lots and lots of melodies and lyrics, if they were pure enough I left them like that. I didn't let my critical mind interrupt the outpouring." Many songs include references to his influences, such as the lyrics of "Anoche", which reference Björk's 1995 song "I Miss You" and some of the lyrics of "Reverie" which are taken directly from the Venezuelan folk classic "Caballo Viejo", composed by Simón Díaz.
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