“Love, while perfect, is actually almost perfect.. It’s a conclusion I’ve come to: in life you don’t have to seek perfection or be so demanding, imperfect things shine in imperfection”. This is how Mai Meneses, the woman behind, explained baby toldthe title and concept of his latest album, Almost perfect (which will be released on March 10), during its visit to Los40 studios. An opportunity where We got to talk in depth about her latest project, TikTok, how her outlook on success has changed, female musicians in the industry, and all the things she’s planning for 2023.
An album, the sixth of his career, made up of 10 songs (including five that we had already heard as singles) in which The Madrid native opens her heart and experiences again in her own writing more than 20 years after meeting her as one of the participants in the second edition of the Operación Triunfo and 18 years after the release of his first record.
Two decades in music that have allowed him to experience success at different levels and from different angles: just a year ago his hit I had so much to give you flooded the TikTok algorithm with people who used the theme to say goodbye to their deceased partners or loved ones. Many of them are young people who, due to their age, did not experience Nena Daconte’s first wave of success but who now approach her music out of curiosity and dance to her songs in discos and concerts.
‘Almost perfect’
Songs dedicated to Madrid, to the relationships you don’t want to say goodbye to, to love, to life and to the little things you can find along the way. are some of the themes that we will find reflected in this album. And it is that Mai Meneses finds inspiration in many places. In his life and in reading but also on social networks: one of his singles, summerwas born by chance after finding a poem by Marwan among Instagram posts“I started reading it and said ‘that’s just what I’m saying right now’, like the song I was going to write. I picked up the guitar, started putting out melodies, changed the order of some verses and after two hours I had already written the song.”
In the track list, there is also a collaboration with Celia Becks, the bass player of la la i love youwhom she met when the group contacted her to cover I had so much to give you. The song also emerged organically. After coming to terms with the artist, during a study afternoon during which they worked on your song, Nena Daconte thought of herself to introduce some deep voices throughout the songalthough he ultimately makes the decision to do an all-letter collaboration.
Success
Nena Daconte did not hesitate to tell us how her conception of success has evolved over time, especially after a five-year break during which she stayed away from the music industry: “For me, success is being able to work in music and not having to have another job. Success is being able to share my music without fearto be able to relate to the music and my talent in a healthy way”.
A break in which Mai Maneses had her two children and for which years later she claims a greater capacity for conciliation within the music industry: “it’s quite complicated, but hey, it’s a reality” . Nail industry in which he also experienced situations of inequality such as music, in the first person and through the experiences of professional colleagues. “When you arrive on stage, the crew members often don’t look down on you, but maybe they take a lot of things for granted that you don’t know because you’re a girl… where are the cables plugged in or i don’t know… if you’re a guitarist you know exactly how your pedals work, you know? And often you meet people who put you down or underestimate you in that sense.”
Check out these and all of Nena Daconte’s statements for LOS40 in the full interview.