Lido Pimienta discusses new album Caribenya on NPR

Colombian Canadian artist Lido Pimienta spoke with NPR's Scott Simon about her new album, Caribenya, a record she says explores "the Caribbean sublime." She pushes back on how the region is usually discussed, saying it is "really troubling when the Caribbean or the Caribbean diaspora is spoken about in terms of exoticism," when in reality, she says, "we're carriers of immense sublime beauty."

The album is full of cumbias and other danceable rhythms, but opens instead with a lullaby, "Arrullame," which translates roughly to "lull me" or "hold me." Pimienta calls it a manifestation of tenderness written in an intimate space with a partner, and says she deliberately avoids "heteronormative, cookie-cutter love songs," aiming instead for songs "where everyone can feel seen."

The tone shifts sharply on the following track, "Toxica," written about a specific toxic friendship. "I wrote it about a very specific person, and that person's MO was that they always put themselves first," Pimienta said, adding that after enough humiliations, "we definitely understand that maybe they're not the friend that we thought."

The album's most personal moment may be "Asi Naci," which features Pimienta's daughter Martina, who had just turned seven when she recorded her part. Pimienta had originally invited another artist to sing on the track, but when scheduling did not work out, one of her producers pointed out that he kept hearing Martina singing the song around the house instead.

Caribenya is filed under Latin and joins the rest of the year's new albums in the release calendar.