Photos By
Natalia Mantini
Date: 20.3.2019
Venue: Kantine Berghain
Opening: 19:00-23:00
If anger is a gift in rock music, then insouciance is a virtue in pop – and Empress Of (aka, Lorely Rodriguez) has it in spades. But it’s not Rodriguez’s only calling card; a deeper dive into her catalog shows remarkable depth. Pop songs with a Robyn-like knack for hooks swirl amongst flippant ballads and electro-pop interlaced with Latin rhythms and percussion, such as the occasional hint of a steel drum or a marimba melody. But before you make the mistake of dismissing Empress Of as a mere pop act, she throws a few unexpected sounds your way – a trace of techno or a couple industrial jams edge into the periphery, all interwoven with Rodriguez’s tantalizing vocal range.