wonders.com

Russian Red is a shade of lipstick from the MAC brand but it is also the name of the project captained by Lourdes Hernandez, a twenty-two year-old native of Madrid, who represents a new generation of musicians and who, right now, is one of the high-hopes of Eureka Records. Now, exclusively for Wondering...

Lourdes, tell us about how you started off in the world of music. When did you first realise the need to express yourself, to compose and sing?

When I learned to play the guitar at around the age of thirteen. Making music was the result of pure instinct and I could not see any other meaning to strumming the strings, using chords, if it was not to create a song.

You look like you have come straight out of a fairy-tale and your voice is reminiscent of Sixties pop. Where do your draw your inspiration?

As regards music, the Beatles showed me the way to understand music, how to look and to a great extent, life itself. I suppose that that is one of the key references but my inspiration as such, comes from everyday things.

Now that you are known by many people, who follow you and listen to your music, beyond the possibilities of independent radio stations and the MySpace network, do you feel your dream has come true?

I feel a sense of make-believe with all this because it is so far removed from my recent experiences, but I never dreamed that something like this would happen so I take it with a mixture of both surprise and in my stride, as much as possible. 

Two of your songs, one unpublished as yet and also "Cigarettes", are to be included in two forthcoming films. How did this relationship with the cinema come about?
As well as your voice, would you like to appear in a film if a role was offered to you?

These proposals are born when a Director hears one of my songs, manages to connect with it and it helps him with his creation. I feel completely honoured to be taking part in the finishing touches to a work, just at the same time as my composition has been completed.
As a personal challenge, I would like to learn how to put myself in the place of a character and interpret those feelings out loud, without the help of music, using gestures and my eyes, raw intonation, free from melodies.

Lourdes, the title of your project, "Russian Red", is also the name of a shade of lipstick and your look suggests a very contemporary vintage. Are you a fan of the world of beauty and fashion?

I like clothes, if that is what we mean by the world of beauty and fashion. I like that because I am constantly trying to express myself and clothes help me to do that, just as they help me adapt to a setting, the weather, a situation and a particular mood. What you wear on your body is a way of caring for yourself and fashion interests me in the most practical sense, although there is always the connection with the realm of art.

How do you see yourself five years from now? (professionally)

I would like to feel that I am complete and honest in what I do. Whatever I do should reflect who I am and the feeling of maximum self-awareness.

Can you give an idea of your work in progress...?

Russian Red is still in progress.

softly...

- she loves music because that is the way she expresses herself and she needs it.
- she is addicted to strolling through the city with music.
- Her favourite foods are dried fruits and cheese.
- Her favourite restaurant is Flash Flash, with a preference for the one in Barcelona over the one in Madrid.
- Her favourite clothes shop is Divisa.
- She does sport, going to the gym once in a while.
- Of her own personality she mentions her temper, both good and bad.