Her musical pseudonym may be misleading, but there’s no confusion over the global appeal of Spanish indie-folk singer-songwriter Lourdes Hernández. Adopting her nom de plume from a lipstick color she is addicted to, it’s fair to say that Lourdes has succeeded in impressing audiences while satisfying her own artistic sensibilities.
Dubbed the Spanish Feist, after the Canadian singer-songwriter, she admits that she’s heavily influenced by the indie chanteuse, referring to her as an idol. Following a similar blueprint of melodic whimsy, Russian Red began to emerge in 2007, becoming a familiar face across many reputable music festivals in Europe, while writing songs in English.
“Paradoxically, I feel more free to express myself in English than I do in my own language,” she explains. “I like to keep that mystery.”
While her 2008 demo remains unreleased, it garnered over 70,000 hits on MySpace, foreshadowing the success of her debut album I Love Your Glasses, which was released later that year.
Gifted with a charismatically warm voice matched with the exotic tint of her lipstick color, Russian Red is a soulful singer even when singing about trivial things like glasses. “I’m inspired by affection of any kind,” she says, “even in the dark.”
She’s since released two albums, including February’s Agent Cooper, whose drawn cover depicts her demurely in a glamorous golden dress clutching a large gun. Her upcoming shows will see her return across Asia after her successful world tour in 2011.
“I love Hong Kong,” she declares. “It’s definitely one of my favorite places in the world. I love the creative local scene and the general vibe of the people who live there.”
The fondness is mutual. The fact that her popularity in Hong Kong and Taiwan exceeds some European countries takes her by surprise.
“I find it very much inexplicable,” she says. “I love it.”
// June 10, RMB80-380, 7.30pm. Shanghai Oriental Art Center. Tickets from Juooo.
**********************WIN!!!!!*****************************
We have a pair of tickets to give away. Send an e-mail to win@urbanatomy.com by June 6 with the subject 'Russian Red' telling us what your favorite lipstick color is.
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