Half Gringa’s Cosmovisión

It’s here: my third record, Cosmovisión, is out today. This record is about a lot of things, but at its core, it is about perspective.

Making this record felt, at times, like an exorcism. It was a huge challenge for me on a personal level and a musical level. I demoed it alone, through much of the pandemic, through deep sadness, and with tragedy upon tragedy unfolding around us. When I began reaching out to musicians to put a band and production team together for this, I somehow summoned the courage to ask people whom I frankly thought I had no business asking to come and work in a room with me. I cannot believe they said yes. Watching the things I wrote come to life with this group of incredible artists was nothing short of a miracle to me.

I wrote songs in both Spanish and English for the first time. I felt called to do this for a long time, but this record was when I felt really empowered to. Thank you to Spanish Sin Pena for helping me to get there in my own time, for providing a place for heritage speakers to be brave and embrace all the parts of themselves that didn’t feel good enough. I feel it is more important than ever for us to speak and sing in Spanish. It is an antidote to this administration’s poisonous rhetoric about immigrants, and it is a sign to our diasporic family that all are welcome here.

Brian Deck, it is truly an honor. You have made some of my absolute favorite records and working with you was my dream. Thank you for indulging my weird ideas and taskmaster attitude, and for getting me to sing nearly all of this record live with the band to a click (my nightmare lol). I learned so much from you and your process and am excited for the next one.

Brenden Cabrera, Quin Kirchner, Victoria Park, and Sam Cantor - thank you for being so open and willing. Even though we didn’t have the ability to get these “tour tight” before we hit the studio, it sure sounds like we did. Thank you for bringing your whole brains to these songs every week for three months; they would be nothing without your expert care.

Lucy Little and Ivan Pyzow - thank you for coming in and dealing with my sloppy scoring as well as arranging strings and trumpet so beautifully, knowing full well that not everything would make it into the final edit. Thank you to Lia Kohl and Daniel Villarreal, literal celebrities to me, for jumping in to add gorgeous cello, congas, and percussion to give the record the final sonic texture it needed.

Thank you to Michael Usrey, Andres Fonseca, Nick Papaleo, Vivian McConnell, Robert Salazar, and Gia Margaret for lending an ear when I needed it and being some of the most inspiring people I know. Half Gringa would not exist without your support and love.

Thank you to those who came with me on the Smallest Smile Retreat of Art and Friendship - Ariana, CJ, Markie, and most of all, my beloved friend Evan. This retreat gave me the last push of confidence I needed to make my most important piece of work so far. Evan, you were the first person who taught me how to make art bravely and unapologetically. This record is for you.

Cosmovisión

Music and Lyrics by Isabel Olive

Produced by Brian Deck and Isabel Olive

Engineered and Mixed by Brian Deck at Narwhal Studios in Chicago, IL

Mastered by Sarah Register

Guitar and Vocals by Isabel Olive

Keyboards and Synths by Brenden Cabrera

Guitar by Sam Cantor

Drums and Percussion by Quin Kirchner

Bass by Victoria Park

Cello by Lia Kohl

Violin by Lucy Little

Trumpet by Ivan Pyzow

Percussion by Daniel Villarreal

Album Photography by Makenzie Creden

Design by Sarah Reed