Thornato and Paulina Sotomayor Celebrate Independent Women on “La Niña Grande” (premiere)

The four-on-the-floor beats that open “La Niña Grande”, the new single from Thornato featuring Paulina of Mexico City electronic duo Sotomayor, set the tone for the whole track: classic, easy, exciting. “I wanted to create something fun that had a throwback feel,” says Thor Partridge, the critically acclaimed producer behind the Thornato moniker. “The collaboration with Paulina was supernatural.”

Paulina’s breezy, sultry vocals make for a perfect fit with Thornato’s tropical beats, giving the song a cool edge as well as an understated sense of resolve. “‘La Niña Grande’ represents women who work hard to maintain dreams, home, and family,” she explains. “I know a lot of women around me who are the support base of their families and also have an artistic life, women who love what they do and recognize how hard it is to get that balance in life, but who achieve what they set out to do.”

With this inspiration in mind, she celebrates hard-working women everywhere through proudly delivered lyrics, taking control with a tongue-in-cheek refrain of “Yo soy niña grande” – I’m a big girl. As always, Paulina sounds effortlessly commanding, her unaffected raps making it clear that she needs no one’s approval even as her seamless transitions into dulcet song is bound to earn everyone’s admiration. Continues Partridge: “She’s a versatile vocalist, so I knew she would be game to flow with whatever she was feeling, and have fun with it.”

And she does, driven by the playful spirit of Thornato’s dancefloor rhythms and retro club synths as she declares her independent womanhood. “La Niña Grande” is a triumphant track, a party for “all the hardworking and creative women,” as Partridge tells us, and a perfect piece for the heat of a tropical night.

“La Niña Grande” is out ahead of Escape Plan, releasing on 6 November via Wonderwheel Recordings.