Galician singer and producer BFlecha (aka Bélen Vidal) hasn’t released a full-length project since 2013’s βeta, a critically celebrated concoction of pop, trap, and space-age R&B that showcased the artist’s light touch on vocals as well as a multi-genre inspiration that garnered remixes from Teklife’s DJ Manny and Delorean’s Hosoi. Today, the producer from Vigo unveils the first single from her new 11-track album Kwalia. “Rutas Circulares” is a timely return to BFlecha’s electronic strengths and her artistic exploration of distorted R&B realms.
“Rutas Circulares” and its strong flex back into the universe of R&B is also a timely one, given the current crop of vocalists. From Miami’s Native Youth to Mexico-based sad boy Jesse Baez, R&B singers are toying with the genre’s intersections with club and trap music, as well as shimmering electro pop. BFlecha is happy to add an existential note to her peers’ introspective explorations. Though the track’s title might leave one with the impression that she’s about to tell us a story of a gaslighting lover, those acquainted with her interplanetary impulses won’t be surprised to hear that the lyrics are actually an exploration of escape routes from the matrix — “puertas para acceder a nuevas dimensiones,” as her press release puts it.
BFlecha’s Kwalia drops April 21, 2017 via Spain’s Arkestra Discos.