Two paths converging at the same point
Some encounters seem written in advance. Tucara was born from one of them: the meeting of Andreas Lutz, the voice of O’funk’illo and a figure of so-called “raw” Andalusian funk, and Alba Molina, known for Las Niñas, that “flamenco-infused” R&B trio that sold well at the beginning of the previous decade. Both were returning to the forefront after a period of lower visibility—three years in his case; she never fully left the stage—and they did so together, in a project that is both artistic and personal.
The curious thing is that this union did not arise in a studio or a record label office, but at a birthday party. From that crossing came a relationship that goes beyond the musical, and an album that, without renouncing the identity of either, shows them exploring new territories.
An album full of contrasts
Tucara gathers twelve songs that traverse different moods. There is plenty of funk, generous doses of jazz, echoes of Brazil, a Caribbean pulse, and uninhibited flamenco, but the gaze is always aimed at the contemporary: a work that assimilates the past without remaining anchored to it. The result is more mature and polished than their previous work, with the ambition to reach a wider audience.
The starting material was heterogeneous. Lutz had been composing pieces with southern roots and a funk accent alongside José Acedo, shaping them in a home studio. Molina, for her part, had gained stage experience with guitarist Ricardo Moreno and Vicky Luna, her partner in Las Niñas; in those concerts, she interpreted boleros, let herself be swayed by bossa nova, or explored the Gershwin songbook without ever losing her flamenco roots. Organizing such dispersion was not simple, but trust helped: the couple had already shared a studio during the Las Niñas era, whose albums Lutz co-produced.
They were not alone. Along with Moreno and Acedo, who were involved in production, the album features a notable roster: Cuban musicians like Yelsy Heredia, Pepe Rivero, or Moisés Porro, seasoned with big names from the island, and long-standing Andalusian musicians like Manolo Nieto, José Mena, or Nano Peña. A precise and deep contribution that supports compositions without prejudices, equally valid for a night of dancing or an afternoon on the couch.
The interview (via Cannabis Magazine)
We reproduce, with our own editing and context, the answers the duo offered at the time to Cannabis Magazine. The signatures correspond to Tucara (TC), except when they respond separately.
The South produces great artists, but above all, great unions. Getting to know each other personally and artistically must have meant a change. How big?
TC: Huge, but very positive. We think it’s a matter of destiny.
You have gained notoriety in a short time. What has revolutionized you more, fame or love?
TC: Love is the most powerful thing that exists, and everything positive is a consequence of it. Although there is also hate, almost equally powerful, with disastrous consequences. Love is a revolution that human beings forget again and again.
Your music is hard to pigeonhole: from flamenco to hip hop, from funk to the Caribbean. If you had to define it with a label, what would it be?
TC: Southern music.
Which musicians have influenced you the most?
Alba: Antonia “la Negra,” Lole and Manuel, Camarón, Caetano Veloso, Erykah Badu, Prince…
Andreas: D’Angelo, Nirvana, Camarón, Faith No More, Busta Rhymes, Miles Davis…
Your songs speak of love, joy, and friendship. In difficult times, where does that optimism come from?
TC: It is the direct consequence of fatigue, the exit from pain, humility in the face of ambition. It is realizing that happiness is much closer at hand than they want us to believe.
What do you expect from the future?
TC: To play, compose, rehearse, play, compose, and… enjoy!
Quick questionnaire
If you hadn’t dedicated yourselves to music, what would you have wanted to be?
Alba: I am very interested in psychology; I read quite a bit about the subject and it excites me; even so, I don’t think I could live without music.
Andreas: I can’t imagine myself doing anything else, although as a child I was good at tennis and my father saw me as a professional. I soon turned the racket around.
Five adjectives for your music:
TC: Exciting, groovy, gypsy, funk, southern, Andalusian, open, fresh…
Two albums that have marked you:
TC: Nuevo día/Una voz y una guitarra (Lole and Manuel) and Voodoo (D’Angelo).
Your favorite time of day:
TC: Getting on stage, day or night.
The last book you read:
TC: The Book of Embraces, by Eduardo Galeano.
A song by someone else you would have liked to write:
TC: “Beso de desayuno,” by Calle 13.
Critical reading
Beyond the romantic anecdote and the promotion of an album, what makes Tucara interesting from the perspective of this portal is its willingness to fuse: mixing very different musical traditions to provoke specific states of mind. Music has been, in almost all cultures, a gateway to altered states of consciousness—from ritual trance to the simple euphoria shared at a concert—and projects like this remind us of that without the need for mystical discourse.
It is advisable, however, to read the story of “destiny” and love as an absolute engine offered by the duo with some distance: it is part of both their sincerity and the promotional language typical of a release. The original interview appeared in a magazine linked to cannabis culture, a context that deserves to be mentioned to understand the tone and the audience it was aimed at. None of this detracts from the musical proposal, but it does help to situate it.
