Susana Estrada – Amor y Libertad, 1981

I first heard Susana Estrada on a Spanish Bizarro compilation, and I had a time getting ahold of this record–after coming up short everywhere, Maria finally tracked it down for me through mysterious channels, and it was worth the hunt. Perfectly unabashed Spanish disco-funk with lots of wonderful vocal layering, judicious usage of the now-ubiquitous “Christmas Rappin'”/”Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll” bass line, and enough hand clap samples to make Patrice Rushen proud. From the very limited information available about her (i.e. Google translate and what I can only assume is a photo of Estrada having sex with a robot), Estrada was a big proponent of sexual freedom, and as such, Amor y Libertad is full of drawn out moaning intervals and very, uh, “progressive” lyrics. “¡Gózame Ya!” is a favorite for its warped, weird synth lines, but there’s not a weak moment to be found anywhere. Perfect 4th of July soundtrack, as long as your Spanish-speaking grandmother isn’t at your party! Apologies for the poor sound quality, but until somebody reissues this thing (ahem), it’ll have to do.

2 thoughts on “Susana Estrada – Amor y Libertad, 1981”

  1. I'm better than Google Translate, so to paraphrase what that blog is saying:

    After 40 years of dictatorship and sexual suppression, having it all evaporate all at once meant that a lot of the things that the old regime had suppressed (like sexuality) suddenly burst out all at once, in a time of excesses, essentially as society rebalanced itself into what is today's Spain. Susana Estrada is then one of the main figures of this transition, constantly baring herself and establishing sexual counseling columns for Play Lady magazine and performing in fully-naked plays. Eventually her singing talent manifested, and that is actually how her first album came out – this is her second one, released on the Sauce label. It's an interesting story and it makes me wonder about what's happened since.

    btw, the track you posted ends in cries of "fuck me!" – literally, not even euphemistically. Just thought you should be aware of that. XD

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