Written as a poem on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, “Los Ángeles” is Holly Holden’s bilingual tribute to return, release and metaphysical grounding. Opening her new album al andar, out 11 July, the song encapsulates the record’s spirit of movement and transformation through Latin American form and personal memory.

The lyrics took shape in 2018 during a BBC-led trip to Santa Marta, where Holden collaborated with accordion maestro Carmelo Torres. Reflecting on a storm at sea and its passing, she sings: “And when the water finally falls, I understand that it’s a blessing”. That storm becomes metaphor for grief, surrender and the calm that follows rupture. “Yes, how good it is to be back in the place where angels sing”, she adds, fusing emotional and spiritual return.

Built on a swaying 6/8 rhythm, the arrangement features cuatro, palmas, güiro and bombo legüero. Holden delivers the verses in Spanish and English, alternating between speech and melody. Luzmira Zerpa (Family Atlántica) joins on vocals, while Nando Arias supplies accordion lines shaped by his vallenato training under Egidio Cuadrado.

The track unfolds like a ritual, drawing on cumbia and oral tradition to summon memory and recalibrate pain. Holden’s vocal is intimate and confiding, placing the listener in a quiet act of reclamation, part invocation, part coastal dream.

Also featured on al andar are “Leona” and “This Body Liquid”, which trace similar paths of heartbreak, border-crossing and creative resilience. Holden, previously heard with Mala, Johnny Flynn and Deep Throat Choir, is currently completing a new EP with Cuban producer DJ Jigüe, due via Guampara Records in 2026.

Listen to “Los Ángeles” and the full album al andar HERE