With dive in / breathe out, chinachinachina unveil their long-awaited debut album: a deeply emotional, carefully crafted body of work that confirms the Málaga-based trio as one of the most singular new voices in Spain’s alternative music landscape.
Blending dream rock with contemporary R&B, subtle electronic textures, and flashes of jungle and drum & bass, chinachinachina build a sound that feels expansive yet intimate — quietly bold, unhurried, and emotionally precise. Comprised of Annie Bravo (vocals, keyboards), Juande Jiménez (drums, programming, bass), and Javier Moral (guitars, synths), the trio transform shared sensibilities into a sonic language that is immediately recognizable: elegant, hypnotic, and unafraid of stillness.
While echoes of artists such as London Grammar, Darkside, The xx, Wild Beasts, or piri can be felt, dive in / breathe out never settles into homage. Instead, the album exists outside obvious scenes or trends. Drawing from dream pop, R&B, jungle, and electronic music, it ultimately sounds like chinachinachina alone — unanchored to geography, genre, or expectation.
The record unfolds as two interconnected movements. Dive in explores experiences that pull you under: emotional depths, mistakes, hard lessons, and moments that leave lasting marks. Breathe out represents resurfacing — the calm that follows intensity, the clarity that arrives after darkness, and the decision to keep moving forward. Together, the album traces a full emotional arc: sinking, learning, surviving, and finally exhaling.
“There was a moment when all these songs were meant to stay hidden in a drawer,” Annie Bravo admits. “They only existed as a way for me to reconnect with my essence. If Javi hadn’t pushed me to share them and develop them together, this album wouldn’t exist.” That vulnerability lies at the heart of dive in / breathe out: a record born from friendship, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to beauty above all else.
Recorded at Green Cross Studios, the album was produced by Grammy-nominated British mixer, producer, and writer John Foyle alongside Rotterdam-based songwriter and producer Mucky. Foyle — whose credits include work with Damon Albarn, Gorillaz, Sampha, FKA twigs, and Mark Ronson — brings a refined sense of space, texture, and emotional weight. Mucky, known for his genre-fluid approach and songwriting collaborations with Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar, Wiley, and others, adds sharp melodic instincts and an international perspective. Together, they shape a sound that feels intricate, timeless, and deeply resonant.
chinachinachina deliberately step away from market logic, trends, and immediacy, choosing instead to invest time, care, and intention into a record that prioritizes emotional impact over quick consumption. Every arrangement, texture, and silence is purposeful — designed to stir feeling rather than chase attention.
With only a handful of singles released ahead of the album, the band had already drawn early support from national media, Radio 3, Primavera Sound and Jenesaispop playlists, podcasts, and emerging-artist lists for 2026 curated by figures such as Julio Ruiz and Mondosonoro. Dive in / breathe out now fully delivers on that promise, positioning chinachinachina as a project built for longevity rather than momentum.
This is an album about risk, depth, and breath. About committing fully — as if every inhale were the first, and the last.
Tracklist
- blind eyes
- not anymore
- skin
- china
- collarbone
- forget me
- no ordinary love
- jail
- smoking
