chinachinachina Unveil Debut Album ‘dive in / breathe out’

Danielle Holian
4 hours ago
3 min read

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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, intimate, and quietly bold. Annie Bravo (vocals, keyboards), Juande Jiménez (drums, programming, bass), and Javier Moral (guitars, synths) transform shared sensibilities into a sonic language that is immediately recognizable, elegant, hypnotic, and unafraid of stillness.

Although 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. As much as it draws from dream pop, R&B, jungle, and electronic music, it ultimately sounds like chinachinachina alone, unanchored to geography, genre, or expectation.

The record is structured as two interconnected movements. Dive in explores experiences that pull you under: emotional depths, mistakes, hard lessons, moments that leave marks. Breathe out represents resurfacing, the calm that follows intensity, the clarity that arrives after darkness, 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 sits 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 and produced by Grammy-nominated British mixer, producer, and writer John Foyle and Rotterdam-based songwriter and producer Mucky, the album reflects an ambitious creative leap. Foyle, whose work spans collaborations with Damon Albarn, Gorillaz, Sampha, FKA Twigs, and Mark Ronson, brings his seasoned expertise in recording, production, and mixing to the project. Mucky, with a genre-fluid approach and songwriting credits on releases by Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar, Wiley, and others, contributes his sharp melodic instincts and international perspective. Together, they help shape a sound that is intricate, timeless, and emotionally resonant.

chinachinachina deliberately step away from market logic, trends, and immediacy, choosing instead to invest time, care, and resources into a sound that feels timeless rather than timely. Every arrangement, texture, and silence is intentional, crafted to stir emotion rather than chase impact.

With only a handful of singles released prior to the album, the band had already drawn attention 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 solidifies that early 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

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