Lucrecia Dalt performs live in Los Angeles on March 20th at 2220 Arts + Archives.

One of our favorite albums of last year, Lucrecia Dalt’s A Danger to Ourselves found the Colombian composer and former civil engineer turning even further from the conceptual abstraction of her early records toward something more intimate and personal. Expanding on the bolero-inspired sounds of her 2022 breakthrough album ¡Ay!, A Danger to Ourselves felt velvet-hammered and delicately shaped: tonally varied rhythms softened by piano, handclaps, spoken word, and breath. Kindred spirits Juana Molina and Camille Mandoki joined in the layered vocal textures, along with David Sylvian, who co-produces and performs throughout. It’s a record that blossoms with volume, each listen revealing new fractures and harmonies until what first seems austere opens into something radiant.

In particular, “Divina” remains in constant rotation here at In Sheep’s Clothing. Filled with an otherworldly intimacy that emerged from “spending enough time in the abyssal realm of erotic delirium,” the production seems to suspends time itself with subliminal sound design and earthy instrumental tones, while Lucrecia blends both English and Spanish vocals in her most pop-leaning effort to date.

On March 20th, Lucrecia will be performing live in Los Angeles at 2220 Arts + Archives. Tickets are available now via dice.fm. In anticipation of the show, we asked Lucrecia to share 5 selections with us. Her picks open up a world of Latin rhythms from her hometown of Colombia and beyond.

The selections were accompanied by the following message from Lucrecia:

“I’m sitting at El Rincón Clásico, one of my hometown’s best-kept corners for those who love to listen to records—a tradition started by Olmedo Opsina 80 years ago and kept alive by his lineage. 

How massive is this collections? Countless tangos, boleros, Spanish ballads, cumbias, bambucos—secrets buried in million of grooves. 

I’m here trying to convey my childhood’s raw essence to my bandmates, while sipping Viche and rekindling so many relics and gems that have subliminally been so formative to my artistry. 

After attending a listening session at In Sheep’s Clothing for my album, and feeling the value of collective listening in spaces created with care, where melomania is the shared timeless spirit, a selection from this place and moment in time seemed most appropriate:

Raphael – Balada de la trompeta

“For those of us from Latin America who probably entered the world of Scott Walker at a later age, we had our own and very unique ‘Raphael,’ making us feel excessive and passionate.”

Matia Bazar – Sólo tú

“This song, in particular the Spanish version, is pure gold. It has almost a comic nostalgia and a reminder that simple melodies and fantastic studio decisions could go a long, long way.”

Daniel Santos – Somos Diferentes

“No one rolls the Rs like Daniel Santos, and this pleasant bolero feels paradisiac. It’s perhaps through boleros and Spanish ballads that I continue feeling very connected to my first music mentor—my now-gone mother. I can almost see her face of pleasure while music like this travels through time.”

Umberto Marcato – Chella ‘Lla 

“I’ve heard this before. It’s one of those songs that makes you wonder about the magic of music distribution in the 50s and 60s—how did this gem from Italy, published by Karusell, end up on a corner in Pereira?”

Conjunto Típico Vallenato – Cumbia Sampuesana

“This absolute stunning relic from Discos Fuentes, the OG of cumbia Colombiana brings so much joy to my heart and is what I imagine when I think of cumbia.”