Lalia
LA 01
And then something comes along like “The Reversed Supermarket Trolley Flies Towards the Rainbow”. Swathed in a delightful pop-up kind of sleeve complete with a shopping cart-traversed rainbow—which I unfortunately am unable to reproduce above but which can be viewed here--this disc is nothing less (or nothing more) than a live recording from a 2 year-old’s birthday party. The affair for little Amaryllis was held in a century-and-a-half old house in the small northern Greek village of Iasmos in November of 2005 with music provided by Didac P. Lagarriga, a Barcelonan native. His array of instruments—laptop, balaphon, mbira, berimbau, piano, cello, guitar, bass, melodica and more—weave amongst the sounds of the party. There’s no screaming of tiny children (happily) though their voices filter through from time to time. More often, the hubbub is at a slight remove, perhaps from the next bower, occasionally drifting over to investigate what the strange Spanish musician is up to and contributing the odd growl, chortle or recitation of ABCs. Tunes come and go, generally with the sort of rhythmic character you get when playing kalimbas and balaphons. In between, the music floats off almost without purpose, accommodating the distant crying of a child here, providing obbligato for a spirited, perhaps tipsy mommy there.
It’s an entirely whimsical undertaking which, while it doesn’t present itself as anything more than it is, manages to create a fanciful, Fellini-esque aura. Part field recording, part performance, this trolley contains something quite wonderful and comes as a breath of innocent, brisk air into a scene that can get a wee bit hermetic.
Lalia has no website but ErstDist should also have copies. Otherwise, anyone interested may
inquire directly at laliarecords@yahoo.com
Normally goes under the name "Un Caddie Renversé dans l'Herbe" - there are two other releases on Dekorder, a 3" from 2003 (Now There's A Weird Taste In My Mouth) and a full length album a year later (Like A Packed Cupboard But Quite).
http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2004/03mar_text.html#11
Only listened to this new one once so far, but the most interesting thing about it is trying to get the CD back into the packaging once you've managed to open it. Thanks for the link to the photo demonstration Brian!
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