The singer, Maria Arnal, and guitarist, Marcel Bagés, started working together a couple of years ago. By revising the songs found in fonotecas, the digitalized music libraries, they present an unorthodox take on the oral tradition of the Iberian Peninsula.
On “Remescles, acoples i melismes”, their aptly-titled debut EP, the duo takes on four such compositions. “Cant de batre” originally traces back to the Valencian a capella singing, but Arnal and Bagés’ rendition adds piercing guitar crescendos to emphasize the dramaturgy inherent in the song.
Contrasting pure, melismatic singing with raw, distorted sounds, their approach is slightly reminiscent of Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Raül Fernández Miró’s, and equally engaging.
In March, the duo will release their second EP, and in the meantime they’ve just released an intimate video for another track off their debut, “Ball del vetlatori”, which you can watch here.
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Photo: Jamie Andrés Rojas
