Hailing from Mexico City, Mariana de Miguel — better known as Girl Ultra — got her start in Latin R&B when she realized that the musical style was relatively uncharted territory in her home country.
Still, she's never felt confined to one box. And with the release of her latest album, 2022's EL SUR, that smooth blending of diverse genre stylings is more apparent than ever.
In this episode of Press Play at Home, Girl Ultra delivers a performance of "Cosas q nadie ve" — the first track on EL SUR — that brings '90s grunge into her R&B sound. The setting is that of a basement punk show, the walls behind her covered in tattered stickers and graffiti.
The music is as genre-blending as the visual aesthetics. Beside Girl Ultra, an electric guitarist carves out a pulsing, fuzzy rhythm to go along with her delicate, soaring vocal line; the effect is equal parts carefree and disillusioned, much like a '90s-era garage show.
Girl Ultra's '90s homage is no coincidence: When EL SUR arrived in April, she told GRAMMY.com that her obsession with that musical era stems from the idea that "the '90s was the last decade when humanity was hopeful."
"We're an emo generation, and we look up to the '90s because of that," the singer reasoned. "I especially admire how raw and visceral the music from that time sounds — how immediate its message was."
"Cosas q nadie ve" perfectly captures that sense of immediacy, but the sound isn't merely a throwback. It also strikes a balance often established in the "sad girl pop" canon, creating a juxtaposition between party music and melancholy.
That's a theme that Girl Ultra explores throughout her EL SUR album, which consists of seven tracks in total. Watch the grunge-inspired performance of "Cosas q nadie ve" above, and keep checking GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Press Play at Home.
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