The Mars Volta are to release a reimagined version of last year’s self-titled reunion album. “Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon” is scheduled to drop on April 21, seven months after the release of The Mars Volta.
Guitarist Omar RodriĢguez-LoĢpez started worked on the new version of the album after handing over the master tapes to The Mars Volta. With the release of the album delayed until the band were unable to tour again, he travelled to Puerto Rico to start work on a “Folk” album.
āIt was a fun process,ā says RodriĢguez-LoĢpez. āAnd it made me think about the history of record music in the United States. There was ātraditional musicā, which became āAmericanaā, or country music. And the other genre was ārace musicā, which was exactly what it sounds like: music made by anyone who was an āimmigrantā, mostly meaning black people. So that means everything that wasnāt ācountryā. In other words, all the interesting shit: r&b, blues, rockānāroll, electronic musicā¦ It says a lot about this country.ā
RodriĢguez-LoĢpez has re-orchestrated the songs, setting them to traditional Caribbean rhythms, and amplifying the latin influences that have always informed the band’s sound. And he says that the resulting “Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon” should not be seen as “race music,” but as “traditional music” from a Puerto Rican perspective.
āI realised I could finally make a record like this now, I just had to make it happen,ā he says. āThat was the experiment. And it was super-fun. I feel like The Mars Volta is finally beginning ā thatās why the last album was self- titled, because weāve finally stripped everything away and arrived at what the whole concept was at the beginning. And this acoustic version comes from a profound place, with its own meaning and philosophy, and its own reason for being.ā
Pre-Order the album via Cloud Hills here: https://us.cloudshillshop.com/products/the-mars-volta-que-dios-te-maldiga-mi-corazon-lp-clo
Pre-Order the albom on Bandcamp: https://themarsvoltaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/que-dios-te-maldiga-mi-corazon
Tracklist:
- Blacklight Shine (acoustic)
- Graveyard Love (acoustic)
- Shore Story (acoustic)
- Blank Condolences (acoustic)
- Vigil (acoustic)
- Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Carazon (acoustic)
- Cerulea (acoustic)
- Flash Burns From Flashbacks (acoustic)
- Palm Full Of Crux (acoustic)
- NoCaseGain (acoustic)
- Tourmaline (acoustic)
- Equus 3 (acoustic)
- Collapsible Shoulders (acoustic)
- The Requisition (acoustic)
