The singer exclusively reveals to us his next musical projects with a new album on the horizon.
While talking to Jorge, also known by his stage name Recycled J, he told me that love is something transversal that comes to all of us. Silently I nodded. Love comes to each and every one of us but the important thing is the way in which it does so. Perhaps the love that comes to us destroys us, enlightens us, revolutionizes us, and takes us very very far, or even just to the starting point. It is a mysterious, unique phenomenon, about which we all have something to say, our own point of view. Now, Recycled J, has decided to say what love is for him with all its consequences, good and bad, openly and with all the honesty in the world. Further away from his darker facet, typical of his group “Hijos de la Ruina” and more towards the romantic and tender tone of works like “Oro Rosa” or “Sad Summer”, Jorge is ready to open up and try to explain himself to us what does he talk about when he talks about love.
You just finished the tour with “Hijos de la Ruina”…
Yes, our album came out at the end of the pandemic, and touring was something we weren’t planning on doing. The album already has more than a hundred million reproductions and we had never toured together before. We put on a really cool production on stage with overlapping transparent screens. It was very special.
Did it come up suddenly?
Yes, and since we saw that it worked, we started doing more shows. Now each one of us is going to release music individually and that is why we have to kiss our fans goodbye until next time.
This summer you have also played your solo at several festivals, how has the public felt?
I have participated in massive festivals and after having performed in these years of the pandemic where people were forced to attend concerts to sit on chairs without being able to dance comfortably… it has been very special. People have received it enthusiastically. I have tried to offer a much more organic sound without losing my roots and also offer a new show. I wanted to include more instruments to give certain clues about the music that I am going to release now.
Do you feel happy about it?
Very happy. I have spent a very busy summer so I have not been able to stop to release new music and I have realized that it is necessary to share what you do with the public and create that special synergy.
You haven’t released music for a year…
Yes, I have done some collabs but no singles since the release of my album “Sad Summer”. I wanted to stop and start again with something different.
Why is it different this time?
The creative process has been different. I’ve locked myself in the studio with various producers, some musicians, and lyricists and come up with something new. “Sad Summer” left a very good taste in my mouth and I wanted to continue a bit with that more pop sound.
Would you say that you are in your most pop era?
Unfortunately for my rap fans, yes. The body now asks me to do something more pop. In 2020 they told me that 2019 was very handsome and in 2018 2017… that’s why I try to reinvent myself.
Doesn’t it leave you exhausted?
I like it. If I always stayed the same I would feel like I’m not moving forward. Getting out of my comfort zone is what keeps me going. It’s one thing to stay true to yourself, that’s something that should never change. What should be a constant is not wanting to do things the same. If not, I feel that I do not demand of myself what I should demand of myself. All this, without forgetting all those fans who have been listening to me since the beginning.
What have you learned during all these years in the music industry?
You must trust yourself. Now with social media, I have also learned that despite the fact that we now have direct contact with our fans, you must continue doing what you think you should do. You shouldn’t bury yourself in the same standards, in releasing music every Friday to be a novelty. You have to take advantage of the tools you have and do what you want.
Have you missed the risk and the excitement of being in such close contact with the public on social media?
Yes, there is a part that is now simpler but I think I don’t fall into those dynamics. I don’t like uploading previews of what I’m doing even though I know it’s something very comfortable. I prefer to take risks. Social networks serve to communicate with the public and be able to see what is fashionable and what is not.
What would you say your audience wants?
My audience in recent years has grown and changed. At first, I did a lot of rap from Madrid, then I was more experimental, and now more pop and electronic. Over time I’ve learned that pop is something inherent in what I sing, while still being very urban. I think the public wants everything. There are guys and girls who want the darker, more introspective rap side of me to connect with and other people who just come across my songs by surprise and like them. I have something for everyone, although the coming season is more romantic. Musicians are required to do things for a specific reason and they are judged a lot for that. I have always tried to give meaning to what I do, to be demanding with myself and also with my audience.
Why is love the main theme for your new album?
Do not think that it is the typical love, no. I am very white, I am the pink rapper. I have never been afraid to show myself fragile, to turn my defects into virtues. This new work is adult, that’s why I tell you that it is not the love that is always talked about. I’m going to be 30 years old and I wanted to frame everything I’ve felt these last few years about love. It is a journey. There are songs that deal with the love that was and will no longer be, others about self-love, love for your job, passion… Passion is very important in this album.
You mentioned that you are turning 30, if you could talk to yourself from ten years ago, what advice would you give?
What a difficult question! I’ll answer it later.
Voucher! Now tell me, what would you like someone to feel when they listen to your next album?
I feel like the album I’m making is a journey, although it sounds very cliché. The songs have a specific order and I think that by listening to them like this, the people who do it will feel that the songs are theirs. Some songs were heard by a friend and he told me that after listening to those songs he understood me better. There is a lot of work in each of the songs, I have tried to explore love, and make a self-analysis of what I have lived, which has never been the same. Every relationship is different, every love is different.
Where does the journey you mention take us?
Towards the dark… love has a dark part. We cannot live wanting to experience only good things. Without experiencing the bad, we do not learn the good. That’s why I wanted to direct the album towards the dark, towards what makes us strong.
Don’t you think we should get carried away?
Of course. If you think about everything in such a millimetric way, you don’t let life happen. What matters is what happens on the journey, not at the destination. We should enjoy ourselves and not think so much.
Do you think that being in love now has influenced your new music?
Everything would have been different. But the album doesn’t just talk about the beautiful, it also talks about the bad because a couple is like someone with whom to share everything, the good and the bad. I have learned to channel them through music.
Do you always draw inspiration from your own relationships?
No, I have also been inspired by my friends and my parents. I try not to fall into romantic topics and I think about the different loves like the one my grandfather could feel for my grandmother with the values they had. Love accompanies the moment in which you live.
And now the advice! What advice would you give yourself?
How difficult! I give good advice but for myself I never have. Let it flow! That would tell me! Don’t demand so much of yourself!
Follow @recycledj
Credits:
Photography by @Puxxoo
Styled by @Anaasotillo
Interview by Juan Martí @sswango
Clothes from DIESEL
Shoes: Vagabond
