Enrique Bunbury Explores Roots Music in ‘De Un Siglo Anterior’

Enrique Bunbury has once again embraced roots music and Latin American folklore in his latest album, De Un Siglo Anterior (From a Century Ago). With this release, the Spanish musician brings a close to an exploratory phase before returning to the rock genre that established him as one of the most influential figures in the Spanish-speaking music world.

“This is my most folk-inspired and traditional phase,” Bunbury told Billboard Español in Mexico City, where he discussed the new LP, which was released on digital platforms last week.

Released under Warner Music Spain, the album continues the exploration of traditional Latin American rhythms like bolero and tango, which he introduced a year earlier on Cuentas Pendientes. This time, however, the lyrics take on a more introspective tone, delving into the changes occurring in the world during this new century and the age of social media.

“These two albums are part of a joint era or phase,” he explains. “I think keeping these traditional genres alive, which are timeless in themselves, is something beautiful when you look at the already existing songbook.”

Recorded at Desierto Casa/Estudio in the Desierto de los Leones in Mexico City, De Un Siglo Anterior features ten songs where Bunbury brings folklore into different forms, such as zamba, ranchera, tango, son, and various Peruvian rhythms. Tracks include “Un Brindis al Sol,” “La Voz,” “La Cima,” “Peor Que Como Estamos – Es Difícil Ya Que Estemos,” and the title track, “De Un Siglo Anterior.”

For the musician, one of the most symbolic songs on the LP is “La Voz,” a jazzy bolero where the former leader of the now-disbanded group Héroes del Silencio reflects on the vocal cord issues he faced in 2022, caused by an intolerance to glycol, the main component of artificial smoke used in concerts. “I thought I would no longer be able to sing,” he recalls. “This song, on one hand, references that moment, the loss of that power of communication, and it also speaks indirectly about lost friends.”

In the same introspective vein, the song “De Un Siglo Anterior” nostalgically examines how “sometimes we miss the past and what we consider to be a loss when it comes to the technological evolution of the times. Where this new century and millennium are taking us, and what things we might recover from the previous century.”

With this new LP in hand, Bunbury will embark on a tour across Latin America, the U.S., and Spain. Titled Nuevas Mutaciones (New Mutations), it will kick off in Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, on Oct. 10, and conclude in his hometown of Zaragoza, Spain, on Dec. 12.