Antonio Mellado Mena, better known as Mena, possesses the magic to bring songs to life that seem to have always been there, waiting for someone to bring them into reality. His talent knows no numbers or formulas, defying the most meticulous calculations and integrating all the processes of composition, performance and production with the naturalness of someone who knows they possess an indomitable truth. If in his first album, «Francotirador» (2019), the Murcia-born artist honed an impressive voice—both deep and sweet—that draws on American classics but also has its roots in Mediterranean culture and folklore, with this second album, entitled «Recodos territoriales», Mena’s voice reaches a colossal dimension. He achieves this by capturing and conveying a reality that resonates timelessly and elevates his songs to the highest level of our contemporary songbook.
Recorded with Marco Velasco at El Miradoor (Alhama de Murcia), the ten tracks that make up this new work tell us about the forgotten rural world, love for family, beauty as the best companion and the slow passage of time. The personal and the universal, the local and the spiritual come together naturally in these pieces, taking us on a journey through an immense landscape that we can contemplate with emotion. Because if Antonio Mena is a prodigy as a composer, as a performer he is beyond words.
The artistic maturity that Mena displays on this album makes the piano his new base instrument, around which he structures some of his compositions (Correveydile, Serenata en si bemol, La balada del cantante sin nombre). But this does not detract in the slightest from the freshness of the guitar, bass and drum architecture that he masterfully handles in songs such as “Las leyes del campo”, «Herodes» and «El arco del triunfo». It is no surprise that what is known as pop craftsmanship comes into its own in «Y la vida va», the immense «Ángeles y mariposas», as well as in the intimate nakedness of «Valeria» and «La cabeza del leñaor».
