The Valladolid-born artist of Belarusian roots raised in Fuenlabrada, Rusowsky, has just marked a milestone in his career with his participation in the Tiny Desk Concerts of the U.S. public radio station NPR. A format that has served as a global springboard for artists like C. Tangana or Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, and that now confirms the Madrid-based producer and singer as one of the essential names of Spanish alternative pop -for lack of a category that better defines his genre.
The set, recorded in Washington, consists of five songs -four of them are from his first album, DAISY. Johnny Glamour, SOPHIA, malibU, and (ecco). Dolores was an earlier single.
From the beginning, with that sample of Las Ketchup sung by the choir, to the end, in which he turns the office into a party with Dolores, the artist strips himself of artifice, shows himself vulnerable and shines playing piano, bass and letting his voice tremble without filters.
The value of sounding like yourself
If this Tiny Desk proves anything, it’s that Rusowsky doesn’t need a mountain of vocal effects to move -contrary to what one might think. Between tracks, he comes across as timid, but the musical arrangements and the honesty of his performance more than make up for it. As a producer, he has worked from the shadows for others, but now the spotlight is pointed directly at him. Even artists like Ed Maverick have been quick to share their admiration with a simple “<3” in the Tiny Desk comments.
The staging is as minimalist as it is precise. Accompanied by musicians like Omar Alcaide, Juan Arance, Drummie or Xoan Domínguez, they turn the domestic into art. It is bedroom pop in its purest form, but elevated to the highest level of production and sensitivity.
Tiny Desk, Madrid’s showcase to the world
This is not the first time that an artist from Madrid shines at Tiny Desk. In 2021, C. Tangana staged a flamenco tabletop in the middle of the studio, with Kiko Veneno or La Húngara. Later, Omar Montes brought his neighborhood and his gypsy roots to the format, mixing trombones with flamenco cajones. Now it is the turn of Rusowsky, who has been building a singular career from Fuenlabrada -via YouTube, bedroom pop and homemade beats-.
The relevance of Tiny Desk as a platform is evident. For many artists, it represents their letter of introduction to the world. In the case of Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso, the leap was immediate: they increased their views and plays to record levels after their time on NPR. The same happened with C. Tangana, whose passage through the format consolidated his international prestige. It is not a minor detail that the recording of these concerts is raw, without trap or cardboard: just talent, arrangements and charisma.
Madrid in the center: a date at the Movistar Arena
NPR has been a key step, but not the last. Rusowsky has marked in red September 25, the date on which he will present DAISY in style at the Movistar Arena in Madrid. It will be the most ambitious concert of his career. The first tickets are already sold out and a capacity expansion has been opened due to demand. There are still some tickets left, which can be purchased at this link.
Since he burst in 2019 with So, So, Rusowsky has not stopped growing: collaborations with C. Tangana, Dellafuente or Latin Mafia, sold outs at La Riviera, Apolo, festivals like BBK Live or Lollapalooza and millions of listeners endorse a trajectory that has not lost freshness. His label, Rusia-IDK, has become a reference for its collective spirit and its way of understanding music as a shared game. And the talent of artists such as Ralphie Choo or Claudio Montana, who has recently joined the label, is a good example of this.
In his album DAISY there is room for everything from Latin samples to tributes to Chopin, deconstructions of bachata and nods to the R&B of the 2000s. All this is also present in his Tiny Desk, where there is emotion, humor and a rich and coherent sound palette.