“La Alhambra”

The music of Catalan composer Marina Herlop has an alluring, ancient quality, its sense of old-world mystery complemented by her unconventional musical phrasing, experimental beats, and made-up language. All of these elements are present on Herlop’s single “La Alhambra,” from her upcoming album Nekkuja, which evokes a sense of spiritual awakening. Her atmospheric vocals echo like Gregorian chants inside a stone church, punctuated by a thudding drum. Midway, her soaring cries taper into a murmur before she finds her way back to us again. It’s a thrilling track, rooted in the emotional pull of Herlop’s rousing operatic arrangement. You can’t help but want to linger in her enigmatic world.