Meet The Artists: Arca
Photo: Ricardo Gomes – From Arca’s Instagram
If there’s one thing that fully embodies the richness and variety of the musical production in Confessions II, it’s how a same ensamble contributed to tracks that are radically different from one another.
Andrew Watt and Cirkut, for example, worked on two completely different tracks, Danceteria and L.E.S. Girl, PARISI contributed to a bright pop anthem like Bring Your Love, darker and more experimental tunes like Everything and Love Without Words and an introspective song influenced by trip-hop like Betrayal
That’s also the case for Arca, the Venezuelan musician, singer and producer based in Barcelona credited for additional production on two songs – I Feel So Free and The Test – that at first listen are not akin, yet have been created by the same team.
Arca is a defining presence in the Confessions II era since day one, as I Feel So Free was the first song ever to be released as a preview of Madonna’s new album. Featured prominently in the bathroom scene of Confessions II – The Film before making more appearances in Club Confession, Arca was also on the front row at the Saint Laurent fashion show in Paris.
Following the release of Confessions II, Arca wrote to the fans – affectionately called mutants in a nod to the title of their second album – on Instagram:
dear mutants @madonna and i were in the studio with @stuartpriceofficial for confessions ii / the sessions were so inspiring . m, thank you for your humor, care and encouragement . shout out to @lourdesleon , the test is so beautiful ! and i feel so free is a – happy to be a part of the album
loveps m and i also worked on a song we started together called “what will save me” that i love so much that’s not on the album
Madonna was the first to mention What Will Save Me in her Interview cover story; she then said:
I have a song that’s not on the record called What Will Save Me. I did it with Arca and Stuart. We all talked about feeling like outsiders and how the club life and being on the dance floor make you feel like you’re part of a community, without saying anything. It saves you every time, whenever you’re feeling down, whenever you feel like you can’t get it right, whenever you feel like a failure, whatever. Go out dancing because it will save you.
Arca also said to Crack Magazine:
Madonna was so welcoming and nurturing from the first moment I met her. Working on this record with her on a few songs was really a dream come true.
