Mëstiza On Music, Identity And Their New Album Spanish Chica

In the meantime, just after the release of their new album Spanish Chica and before their performance at Sziget, Bojana Jovanović spoke with the musical duo Mëstiza about flamenco, and the soul that remains in music even when its form changes.

My fantasies of flying away somewhere far from here are fairly intense throughout the year, but in summer they undergo a kind of transformation, a reinterpretation into something that can only be described through something abstract yet universally understood: music. Is music not the fastest flying carpet between worlds? And who would not want to be among the clouds when the temperatures themselves are reaching astronomical heights? Whenever I close my eyes, I almost always end up in Spain. In the sound of flamenco, which to me has always carried the scent of Seville’s colourful tiles, whitewashed façades reflecting the light and that Andalusian sun I have never experienced quite the same way anywhere else. Flowing red dresses became the main characters of all my wish lists long ago, and even my not particularly fashion-conscious heart has wanted to stitch the south of Spain into its very being. And who could better embody that summer heat, music that feels like the equivalent of a hot wind and sunsets somewhere in early August, than the musical duo Mëstiza? Their sound combines the pulse of electronic music with the soul of flamenco, turning every song into a postcard from southern Spain. In those rhythms, you can almost hear footsteps on scorching stone streets, the clinking of glasses in town squares and that moment when the evening air finally begins to move and the entire city starts breathing in the same rhythm.

Flamenco has always been a master of transformation. It has never remained frozen within some romantic image of the past. Over the centuries, it has absorbed everything it encountered, changing its rhythm, form and audience without losing the inner heat that allows you to recognise it within just a few bars. That is one of the reasons it sounds so natural today when someone combines it with other genres, especially electronic music. It does not feel like a betrayal of tradition, but rather its entirely logical continuation.

In that sense, Mëstiza’s new album reached me at the perfect moment. It was as though someone had taken all my summer fantasies, thrown them into a blender and pressed play. I am not sure I could explain exactly what they do better than others. But perhaps that is not the point. Their music suddenly places you inside a vehicle with neither wheels nor wings, held in the sky only by some invisible thread. Borders cease to matter, kilometres even less so, and all that remains is the feeling that the music is taking you exactly where you need to be at that particular moment.

Photo: Marina Vengut

At a time when electronic music is often chasing the next trend, Mëstiza are doing almost the opposite. Their sound emerges from a dialogue between two worlds that may initially seem incompatible, but in their hands function as natural extensions of one another. The electronic pulse provides movement, while flamenco brings what cannot be programmed: emotion, memory and identity. For them, the new album Spanish Chica is not merely a collection of songs, but an entire universe. “Spanish Chica is an attitude. She is strong, passionate, elegant and fearless. She is deeply connected to her roots, yet completely open to the future,” they explain. This is not a nostalgic glance backwards, but an attempt to allow tradition to continue living through new forms. “For us, Spanish Chica represents the modern woman who proudly carries her tradition while writing her own story freely.”

Their music never gives the impression that flamenco is merely an embellishment added to an electronic beat, or that electronic music serves as a means of modernising tradition. Quite the opposite. Both sides of the conversation carry equal weight, and what emerges between them feels like something that has always existed, merely waiting for someone to find the right language. Mëstiza themselves do not view this meeting as an experiment. “Both worlds live within us. We have enormous respect for flamenco and Spanish culture, so our intention was never to replace them, but to reinterpret them through our own language. We always try to preserve the soul, even when we change the form.” I think that idea, that form can change while emotion remains intact, is what most accurately describes their work.

Photo: Marina Vengut

When they launched the project in 2021, they felt that electronic music lacked space for a different kind of narrative. “There was a need for stronger female energy and for a project that would bring culture, emotion and identity into electronic music.” From the very beginning, the idea was that audiences would not simply attend a performance, but enter a world in which music, aesthetics and storytelling function as a single whole. As much as it may now seem that everything happened almost overnight, Mëstiza is built on years of work. Both had been performing for more than a decade before beginning this project together, and they had been involved in music since childhood. “That gave us a very solid foundation. Even so, Mëstiza’s growth has been incredibly fast, intense and exciting, and sometimes a little overwhelming. We try to remain grounded and not forget why we started: to create something authentic, meaningful and sincere.” Throughout the conversation, authenticity returns like an irresistibly catchy refrain. It is not presented as a strategy or something carefully constructed for an audience, but as the only way their project can survive as it grows from something local into something global. “Our roots are the foundation of everything we do. The more global we become, the more important it is for us to remain connected to who we are. We believe authenticity is universal. People recognise when something is true.”

When I ask how they would describe the very essence of flamenco to someone who has never heard it before, they answer exactly as I expected. Not through history or technical components, because it is ultimately something far more human. “Flamenco is raw emotion. It is strength, pain, passion and beauty all at once. It is not something you simply listen to. It is something you feel.” Electronic music carries the body forward, while flamenco brings it back to itself. One accelerates, the other slows down. Between those two rhythms emerges the space in which Mëstiza sound most convincing today. “That contrast is actually the heart of Mëstiza. Electronic music brings movement and energy, while flamenco brings depth and emotion. It is precisely that tension between the two worlds that we love most.”

Photo: Marina Vengut

Fashion plays an equally important role in that world. Their silhouettes, costumes and visual identity never feel like stylistic additions to the music, but rather its continuation. “Fashion is an enormous part of our expression. It helps us build the world of Mëstiza and communicate emotion even before the music begins. In that sense, it becomes another instrument.” When they speak about inspiration, it is easy to see that they are equally drawn to different art forms. Spanish culture remains the starting point, surrounded by film, fashion, photography and artists capable of creating a distinctive visual world. “Spanish culture is an enormous source of inspiration, from traditional aesthetics to contemporary fashion. We also love powerful cinematic narratives, strong female figures and artists who create worlds with a clear identity.” Although they follow the emerging scene closely, inspiration almost always leads them back to those who have long since become classics. “So much comes from the great flamenco legends and timeless artists whose emotion and authenticity continue to move us deeply today.” When asked which song carries the emotional centre of Spanish Chica, the answer comes without hesitation. “For us, Culpable de Na best represents the essence of this album. It contains emotion, strength and precisely that balance between tradition and contemporary energy that defines Mëstiza.” They are particularly delighted by what happens when they perform it live. “Every time we play it, people dance in a special way and connect with its energy. It is always one of the most beautiful moments for us.”

We end the conversation by asking how they would like someone to experience them ten years from now, should that person encounter their music for the first time. Their answer has nothing to do with numbers or festivals. “We hope the first thing they feel is identity. We want them to recognise something powerful, authentic and emotional. More than anything, we want Mëstiza to be a world of its own.” Their final thought perhaps best encapsulates everything we have discussed. “We would love to build a sound so distinctive that, as soon as someone hears just a few bars, they immediately know it is Mëstiza.”