Honestly, it had been way too long. Seven years is an eternity in the music world, especially when you’re someone like Natalia Lafourcade. After 2015’s Hasta la Raíz basically became the blueprint for modern Latin alternative music, she sort of stepped away from her own pen. She spent years paying tribute to the greats—Agustín Lara, Violeta Parra—and rebuilding a cultural center in Veracruz. People started wondering if we’d ever get another "Natalia" album. Then came the Natalia Lafourcade De Todas las Flores album, and man, it wasn't what anyone expected.
It wasn't a pop record. It wasn't "En el 2000" part two. It was something much weirder, darker, and more beautiful.
The Garden That Had to Die
You’ve probably heard the story by now, but it’s worth repeating because it explains why the music sounds so ghostly. Around 2018, Natalia went through a massive heartbreak. She retreated to her home in Xalapa, Veracruz. She spent her days staring at her garden, realizing that while she was busy being a global star, her "inner garden" had kind of withered.
She started recording voice memos on her phone. Just raw snippets of pain and reflection.
Then she lost her phone in a Chilean forest.
I’m not kidding. All those initial ideas were just gone. But instead of panicking, she took it as a sign. She had to start over, digging deeper into the soil of her own psyche. That’s where the Natalia Lafourcade De Todas las Flores album really began. It wasn't about hits; it was about survival.
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Recording on Tape (The Old School Way)
When she finally went into the studio, she didn't go to some sleek Los Angeles building with a hundred digital plug-ins. She went to a studio in Texas, near El Paso, and decided to record everything to analog tape.
This is huge.
When you record to tape, you can’t just "fix it in post." You have to play the song through. If you mess up a note at the five-minute mark, you usually start over. She brought in Adán Jodorowsky to produce, and they assembled this legendary crew:
- Marc Ribot: The guy who played with Tom Waits and Elvis Costello. His guitar on this album is jagged and unsettling.
- Sebastian Steinberg: Fiona Apple’s bassist. He brings that deep, wooden thrum that makes the songs feel grounded.
- Cyril Atef: A French percussionist who treats drums like they're living things.
They all sat in a room together and played live. You can literally hear Natalia breathing between verses. It’s intimate in a way that feels almost intrusive, like you’re eavesdropping on a private therapy session.
A Track-by-Track Walk Through the Weeds
The album is long—over an hour—and it moves slowly. It’s not meant for a "New Music Friday" playlist where you skip every thirty seconds. It’s an experience.
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It starts with "Vine Solita." The first thing you hear isn't a beat. It's a minute and a half of lonely violins. When Natalia finally sings, she says, "A este mundo vine solita / Solita me voy a morir." (I came into this world alone / Alone I am going to die.) Talk about a heavy way to open an album.
Then you get the title track, "De Todas las Flores." This is where the jazz and bossa nova influences kick in. It’s lush, but the lyrics are about watching a relationship turn into dry, dead petals.
One of the weirdest and best moments is "Muerte." It starts with this haunting spoken-word section where she thanks death for teaching her how to live. By the end, the song explodes into a cacophony of screeching horns and wild percussion. It sounds like a celebration of a funeral. It’s basically the sonic version of a Día de Muertos parade—scary but somehow joyful.
The Heartbreak of "Que te Vaya Bonito, Nicolás"
The album ends on a devastating note. Natalia’s nephew, Nicolás, passed away tragically in 2021. She has said that this song was "dictated" to her by him so she could give it to her sister.
It’s a lullaby. It’s a goodbye.
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By the time the record stops, you feel like you’ve walked through a literal forest of emotions. It’s heavy, yeah, but it leaves you feeling weirdly light.
Why People Still Can't Stop Talking About It
Usually, "artistic" albums like this get a few good reviews and then disappear. But the Natalia Lafourcade De Todas las Flores album did the opposite.
It won the Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album in 2024. It cleaned up at the Latin Grammys. It showed that in an era of three-minute reggaeton hits (which are great, don't get me wrong), there is still a massive hunger for "chamber folk" and "Latin jazz" that takes its time.
A lot of people think Natalia is just a folk singer. But if you listen closely to this record, she’s actually closer to someone like Joni Mitchell or Nina Simone. She’s using traditional Latin rhythms—bolero, cumbia, son jarocho—to tell stories that are universal.
Common Misconceptions
- Is it too sad? Sorta, but not really. It’s "healing" sad. Like a good cry that leaves you feeling better.
- Do I need to speak Spanish? Honestly, no. The emotion in her voice is so clear that you get the vibe even if you don't know a word she's saying.
- Is it "experimental"? Not in a "beeps and boops" electronic way. It’s experimental because it rejects the modern rules of how music is "supposed" to be made today.
How to Actually Listen to This Album
If you want to get the most out of it, don't play it while you’re doing dishes.
- Get headphones. The analog recording means there are tons of tiny sounds—fingers sliding on guitar strings, the hum of the room—that you’ll miss on a phone speaker.
- Watch the lyric video. She released a one-hour black-and-white film for the whole album on YouTube. It has English translations and beautiful footage of the recording process.
- Check out the podcast. She actually made a 12-episode podcast called De Todas las Flores, El Pódcast where she breaks down the "seams" of every single song.
Natalia proved with this project that vulnerability isn't a weakness; it's a superpower. She took her broken heart, her dead garden, and her lost phone, and turned them into a masterpiece that will probably be studied by songwriters for the next twenty years.
Next Steps for Music Lovers:
- Listen to the full album in one sitting to appreciate the narrative arc from "Vine Solita" to "Nicolás."
- Compare it to Hasta la Raíz to see the massive jump in musical maturity and production style.
- Explore the artists who inspired it, specifically the bossa nova of João Gilberto or the folk-activism of Violeta Parra, to understand the DNA of this sound.