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When the Spanish singer Mar\u00eda Jos\u00e9 Llergo<\/a> talks about flamenco, it often sounds as though she is describing something springing from beneath her feet. \u201cThe genre is rooted in my land,\u201d she said, in a video call from her place just outside Madrid. \u201cIt\u2019s in our roots.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up in rural Andalusia, where flamenco was born, Llergo first became interested in music while watching her grandfather work on his farm. \u201cI remember him raking the earth, watering the plants and singing \u2014 everything from tangos to boleros,\u201d she said, speaking in Spanish. Life for him wasn\u2019t exactly easy back then. \u201cMy grandparents come from very humble \u2014 albeit very happy \u2014 origins,\u201d said Llergo, surrounded by family portraits. She comes from that world too.<\/p>\n Llergo, now 29, has developed a voice and singing style of her own, but she\u2019s intent on keeping regional traditions alive. Infusing electronica and R&B with traditional Andalusian influences \u2014 including flamenco snaps and the off-kilter melodies of cante jondo, a guttural singing style common to folk music in the south of Spain \u2014 Llergo\u2019s 2020 EP \u201cSanaci\u00f3n\u201d<\/a> is a testament to the versatility of flamenco as a genre. \u201cUltrabelleza,\u201d her debut album out Friday, takes this experiment a step further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The record\u2019s lead single, \u201cRueda, Rueda,\u201d<\/a> begins with a chant and handclaps before a sprawling pop chorus arrives. <\/strong>On tracks like <\/strong>\u201cVisi\u00f3n y Reflejo,\u201d Llergo even tries her hand at rapping. \u201cMar\u00eda had never done it before,\u201d the Spanish indie singer Zahara, who was one of the album\u2019s main producers, said in a video call. \u201cBut she managed to do it in one take when we were recording the song. It was super impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Llergo said she knows she isn\u2019t the first person to traverse genres \u2014 and she\u2019s not just talking about the Catalan pop star Rosal\u00eda<\/a>, whose debut album, \u201cEl Mal Querer,\u201d<\/a> <\/em>is often credited with catapulting flamenco into 21st-century global pop. (Incidentally, she and Llergo both studied at the Escola Superior de M\u00fasica de Catalunya in Barcelona under the same mentor, Jos\u00e9 Miguel Vizcay.)<\/p>\n \u201cFlamenco has always lent itself to other styles. All you have to do to find proof of that is look back at people like Lola Flores and Camar\u00f3n,\u201d Llergo said, referring to Camar\u00f3n de la Isla, the singer often credited as the 20th century\u2019s \u201cgod\u201d of flamenco. \u201cIt\u2019s always been global.\u201d<\/p>\n During the 1970s and \u201980s, Camar\u00f3n de la Isla, a Romani from C\u00e1diz whose stage name is Spanish for \u201cshrimp,\u201d breathed new life into flamenco by adding instruments not traditionally found in the genre, such as the drums and bass guitar, to his recordings. His heartfelt lyrics and acrobatic vocal range would also eventually earn him a reputation as one of the country\u2019s top crooners: In his best-known song, \u201cComo el \u00c1gua,\u201d<\/a> he compares the strength of his love for someone to a river running through the sierra.<\/p>\n Llergo tends to speak in that language, too, drawing from the rich natural landscapes of southern Spain to tell stories about herself, her hometown and the people in it. \u201cI run through your body like water runs through a river,\u201d she sings in the synth-heavy \u201cJuramento,\u201d in a nod to her predecessor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While \u201cJuramento\u201d and other songs on the record don\u2019t necessarily sound like flamenco, Llergo knows there are different ways artists can pay homage to the genre. Drawing clear demarcations around who or what fits into it isn\u2019t one of them. \u201cIt\u2019s flamenco\u2019s ability to mix into other genres that makes it more appealing on a global level,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n From the plucky guitar riffs on Madonna\u2019s 1987 hit \u201cLa Isla Bonita\u201d<\/a> to the handclaps, or palmas, on Caroline Polachek\u2019s \u201cSunset\u201d<\/a> from earlier this year, there\u2019s a long history of American pop artists\u2019 experimenting with flamenco. As the market becomes friendlier to Spanish-language pop<\/a>, listeners might find themselves looking for more of the genre.<\/p>\n