Recuerdo prestado

Recuerdo prestado sounds like a time-travel journey that ends up living in the present. The song is built on a rhythm that refuses to be confined by traditional meter: there’s a sway between what seems like 4/4 and those twists that destabilize it, as if the drums and guitars were telling a story with laughter and startles. It’s not a track you listen to in one go; it’s one of those that, when it ends, leaves you with the feeling of having been in a place where music doesn’t follow fixed rules.

This album, Cuatro caminos, was born at a pivotal moment for the band: it was their first to leave behind synthesizers and programmed drums in favor of real instruments, with Rubén Albarrán signing under the name Élfego Buendía. The recording took place in borrowed studios, with a production team that included Dave Fridmann, Aníbal Kerpel, Gustavo Santaolalla, and Andrew Weiss, and although the album was released in July 2003 under Universal Music Group México, the sound they achieved didn’t resemble anything they’d tried before. Recuerdo prestado lasts exactly 3:30, but within that time, layers of textures unfold unexpectedly.