4233_re.jpg "Pauline Ró debuts her album La Chispa at Nublu")
Percussionist and composer Pauline Ró will step onto the stage at Nublu in New York City on November 7 to debut her first album as a singer-songwriter, La Chispa, filo.news reported. The release marks a distinct shift for the artist, moving from years of rhythmic training and session work into fronting her own vocal compositions.
The new project brings together family history, rioplatense identity, and a wide array of percussion instruments, all recorded by Ró herself in her adopted home of New York. Her path to the album spans a master’s degree in improvisation, touring with Frank Zappa cover band The Furious Bongos, and an invitation to collaborate with the prominent Buenos Aires percussion ensemble La Bomba de Tiempo.
Visual Songwriting and Multi-Instrumental Arrangement
Ró approaches songwriting visually, treating each track as an individual film scene. While the recording features guest musicians, she performs all the drum kits, vibraphone parts, and vocal tracks herself, utilizing a diverse palette that includes a symphonic timpani, marimba, metal scraps, and glass bottles.
🥁 Pauline Ró, de la percusión a la canción: la argentinidad, el desarraigo y las historias detrás de su disco La Chispa | @erikalcabrera🎵 La percusionista y compositora presenta su primer álbum al frente de un proyecto propio, en el que combina batería, vibráfono y canciones…
The album’s narrative core centers on her great-grandmother Raquel, whose life history spans two distinct tracks on the record. Other songs grow from rhythmic seeds discovered while playing the drums or vibraphone before lyrical structures are built around the initial grooves.
Translating Argentine Identity Abroad
Living abroad in New York during the December 2022 World Cup coincided with Ró’s birthday, inspiring the track “18 de diciembre” from her previous percussion work. Sharing the tournament victory with an international community of friends in New York sharpened her perspective on Argentine identity away from home.
Folk Motifs and Rioplatense Rhythms in New York
This sense of displacement and cultural connection also shaped La Chispa, which incorporates folk music motifs, murga rhythms, and collective rioplatense percussion styles alongside poetry. Her relocation from Argentina initially involved completing a master’s degree in improvisation, which led to steady session work across genres ranging from salsa to the complex compositions of Frank Zappa.
Where to Experience La Chispa Live
She is performing at the venue Nublu in New York City on November 7.
Collaboration and Community Behind the Record
Her fellow Argentine and Latin American community in New York aided the process, with production and recording assistance from Peruvian artist Augusto Pagés.