Shakira - She Wolf

When speaking about the album Shakira said "I felt very curious and intrigued about the electro-pop world and everything it has to offer, I wanted to make sure that this album was very bassy and that the kicks hit really hard, and I wanted to concentrate on the beat. But my music, to a certain extent, is very complex — because I always try to experiment with sounds from other parts of the world."

In addition to the disco-influenced title track, there's "Good Stuff," a synthed-out snake-charmer punctuated by ululating and staccato beats; "Long Time," a percussive midtempo groove with a Roma-like clarinet bridge; and "Why Wait," a dancefloor scorcher by way of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir." (Shakira worked on the arrangement with Hossam Ramzy, who had worked on "Kashmir" with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.) "It's an electronic album generally speaking, but it does have different organic instruments that, combined with the synthesizers, create a different sort of ambience," says the two-time Grammy and seven-time Latin Grammy Award winner. "You've got to put together a nice meal and make sure the spices don't take over the main ingredient. And at the end of the day, it gives a nice flavor in your mouth."

Shakira told Rolling Stone magazine that the album was recorded during a series of 12-hour-a-day sessions mostly in the Bahamas with John Hill, Pharrell and other collaborators. The hard work helped transform her sound from the slithery Latin-tinged pop of «Hips Don’t Lie» to something more glitchy, buzzing and fiercely danceable. «It's very electronic and dance-oriented, club-oriented. It’s designed for people to have fun and enjoy themselves and forget about their troubles and the crisis,» says Shakira. She also says that she always wanted to do a bass-heavy record without losing «the fusion, which is something I’m always very interested in — bringing in elements from different cultures. So you’re going to find Indian, African, Colombian, Middle Eastern influences, but always with the synthesizers as a dominant element...The worst that can happen to me is repeat myself and repeat the same old formula,» Shakira tells Rolling Stone, adding that she takes a long time between records «because I really want to be sure every detail makes me happy». Shakira also said that she was very pleased to work once again with Wyclef Jean. She attributes some of their creative synergy to the fact that they «both come from the developing world and we have been close to extreme poverty.» Pharrell forced her to step outside of her box and learn to work more quickly, while Hill introduced her to electro acts like Crystal Castles: «They’re a good example of how electronica can take you to different places».

In an interview with El Universal Shakira went on record to speak about the album. She mentioned 9 of the 12 songs which appear on the track-listing as well as two others an English song titled "Send Me an Angel" and Spanish song "Devoción" featuring Gustavo Cerati. For undisclosed reasons these are not included on the international versions of the album. However they could be used as bonus tracks for the Latin American releases or iTunes pre-order release, or were simply working titles.