This Is How You Smile
This Is How You Smile is the sixth studio album by American musician Helado Negro. It was released in March 2019 under RVNG Intl.
The title of the album is taken from a story by Jamaica Kincaid.
Critical reception
In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited This Is How You Smile as proof that the album era format is not dead in 2019 but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis", with artists such as Negro utilizing the concept album through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives, which in this case is a "bilingual love letter to his family".Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes and AllMusic.- Roberto Carlos Lange – vocals, Casio MT-30, electric banjo, electronic percussion, classical guitar, electric guitar, Juno, Korg synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, noise, ondes, Roland Juno-6, vibraphone, field recording, recording, mixing, engineering
- Adron – vocals
- Raquel Berrios – vocals
- Luis del Valle – vocals
- Nene Humphrey – vocals
- Ela Minus – vocals
- Victoria Ruiz – vocals
- Xenia Rubinos – vocals
- Kristi Sword – echo, footsteps, whistle
- Matthew Crum – guitar, bass
- Keith Reynaud – guitar
- Owen Stewart-Robertson – guitar
- Jenn Wasner – guitar
- Sufjan Stevens – piano
- Bryan Abdul Collins – synthesizer
- Chris Devoe – synthesizer
- Oliver Hill – viola, violin
- Jason Trammell – drums
- Joe Westerlund – drums
- Jason Nazary – drums
- Jay Wynne – drums
- Tim Barnes – percussion
- Andy Stack – steel pan
- Jason Ajemian – bass
- Logan Coale – bass
- Nick Sanborn – synthesizer arrangements, writer
- Aquiles Navarro – trumpet
- Angela Morris – saxophone
- Nathaniel Morgan – saxophone
- Jean Cook – field recording
- Michael Kaufmann – field recording
- Isaac Lekach – field recording
- Matana Roberts – field recording
- Matt Werth – field recording
- Rachel Alina – mastering
- Anna Grothe-Shive – photography
- Will Work For Good – design
- Michelle Grinser – lacquer cut