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Lourdes Hernández González, known professionally as Russian Red, is a Spanish indie and folk singer-songwriter. Known by many as the "Spanish Feist", in reference to the Canadian singer-songwriter who inspires her in many of her attitudes on the microphone, Hernández—who writes and sings all of her compositions in English—states that she sings in that language instinctively because she has always listened to music in English.


History

Russian Red's project began when Hernández met Brian Hunt, a musician with an English father and Spanish mother, with whom she recorded a demo (which included tracks that remain unpublished like "Reason", "The Night of the Paper", and "Sadie") that reached more than 70,000 visits on her MySpace page by 2008. The name Russian Red comes from the color of a lipstick that Hernández herself usually wears. When asked how she chose the name, Hernández stated: "I had a band without a name some time ago. Since then, I was haunted by an obsession: to find the ideal artistic name. One day, I fell in love with this colour that a girl was wearing. I pronounced its name, and now it is my pseudonym." Hernández become well known in the Spanish indie arena, performing more than 60 shows during 2007 and taking part in the prestigious
Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espanyo ...
, among other festivals.


2008: ''I Love Your Glasses''

The Spanish producer Fernando Vacas asked Hernández to record an album to be issued by his label ''Eureka''. The album, her first, was called '' I Love Your Glasses'' and quickly became a success, leading ''
El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'' columnist Alfonso Cardenal to deem Russian Red the "revelation of the year".regiondigital.co
Los premios Pop-Eye 2008 se entregarán en septiembre coincidiendo con el V Festival Cáceres Pop Art
accessed September 2008


2011: ''Fuerteventura''

With the release of her first album ''I Love Your Glasses'' Russian Red became well-known and popular in Spain. In late 2010, Russian Red signed with ''Octubre'', music label of Sony Music Spain. In May 2011, she released her second album ''Fuerteventura''. At the same time, she toured in Asia including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea. She also released a duet with
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
of his song " Love Me Tender" in the special Spanish edition of the album ''
Viva Elvis ''Viva Elvis'' was the seventh resident Cirque du Soleil show on the Las Vegas Strip. It resided at the Aria Resort & Casino and premiered on February 19, 2010. The show closed on August 31, 2012. Cirque du Soleil partnered with Elvis Presley E ...
''. ''Fuerteventura'' was recorded in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
, with producer
Tony Doogan Tony Doogan is a Scottish record producer who runs Castle of Doom Studios in Glasgow. He is perhaps best known for his work with Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian. He has also worked with numerous other artists, including Teenage Fanclub, the Delgado ...
(
Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...
,
David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
,
Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mog ...
). After the release of the album she began promoting it throughout Spain with presentations and concerts in major cities. In the summer of 2011 she started playing in the major festivals (Bilbao BBK Live, FIB, Arenal Sound, etc.) and opened in the Asian market with a first visit to Taiwan where she achieved more success than any previous Spanish artist. In October 2011, it was announced that Russian Red was awarded with MTV award for best Spanish artist of the year. That same month the singer covered the
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
song "
So Long, Marianne "So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, '' Songs of Leonard Cohen''. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 190 on their list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". ...
" as a tribute to him. After a short break in the ''Fuerteventura'' tour in December 2011, Russian Red was back on the road in January 2012 with a new concert format, accompanied by Hunt (who had not been seen since "I love your glasses") and Pablo Serrano. During the rest of the year, she also travel to Spain and other European countries (France, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Britain, Portugal, Netherlands, etc.) and Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea), in many of which the ''Fuerteventura'' album went on sale. On May 2, 2012,
Esperanza Aguirre Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma (; born 3 January 1952) is a Spanish politician. As member of the People's Party (PP), she served as President of the Senate between 1999 and 2002 (becoming the first female politician to have held the post), a ...
, the President of the Community of Madrid, awarded her with the Medal of the Community of Madrid, in the Silver category, for her work and career. In 2012, Russian Red recorded the songs "A la luz del sol" and "Volaré" included in the Castilian Spanish version of the soundtrack of the Disney / Pixar film '' Brave''. In late summer of 2012 Pablo Serrano was replaced by Juan Diego "Juandi" Gosálvez and 3 (Hernández, Gosálvez and Hunt) continued with the ''Fuerteventura'' tour and combined it with a mini-tour of five concerts as a tribute to
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. In these five performances, Alex Ferreira joined as bassist and singer in one of the songs. In December 2012 she finished the ''Fuerteventura'' tour , although in 2013 she performed some concerts in Latin America.


2013–present: ''Agent Cooper''

In January 2013, Hernández went to live in Los Angeles where she prepared and recorded her third studio album, ''Agent Cooper''. Recorded and produced by
Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
at Sunset Studios, the album was mixed by
Mark Needham Mark Needham is an American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music, including: Blue October, Newsboys, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Chris Isaak, John Hiatt, Michelle Branch, P!nk, O. ...
and engineered by Emily Lazar.


Discography


Albums

* '' I Love Your Glasses'' (2008) * ''
Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNE ...
'' (2011) * ''Agent Cooper'' (2014) * ''Karaoke'' (2017)


Singles

* "They Don't Believe" (2008) * "Cigarettes" (2008) * "Perfect Time" (2008) * "I Hate You But I Love You" (2011) * "The Sun, The Trees" (2011) * "Everyday Everynight" (2012) * "My Love Is Gone" (2012) * "Casper" (2014) * "John Michael" (2014) * "Michael P" (2014)


References


External links

* {{Authority control Living people Spanish women singer-songwriters Spanish singer-songwriters Women rock singers Spanish folk musicians Red, Russian Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Spanish women singers 21st-century Spanish singers MTV Europe Music Award winners Date of birth missing (living people) English-language singers from Spain