And now for something completely different
June 1, 2017 3:55 AM Subscribe
London native, Paris artist ALA.NI's album You & I came out in Europe about 18 months ago. Happily, it's finally being released here. Put Judy and Billie into a blender with Katie Melua, a generous dose of melancholy, and you get an album you can listen to as an NPR First Listen: ALA.NI - You & I.
Because the word Europe was capitalized, I thought the album was You & I came out in Europe. Then that title just kept coming. Anyway, sweet voice, so rich, such an intimate style.
posted by Oyéah at 9:34 AM on June 1, 2017
posted by Oyéah at 9:34 AM on June 1, 2017
I see what you did, hippybear, with the Monty Python reference in the title, because this is the Torch Singer Who Goes NI.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:54 AM on June 1, 2017
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:54 AM on June 1, 2017
I was in Cardiff last year with a friend and on a whim we got tickets to see Rufus Wainwright at the Opera House. Ala.ni opened for him. I'd never heard of her. She came out and absolutely blew our minds. At one point I could feel the entire audience holding its breath. I was just absolutely not expecting her, or the entire experience she brought with her. She was captivating and completely transformed my entire body and state of mind.
At about the middle of the show she sang Darkness at Noon. When the song gets really low, the lights dimmed and then completely dark, she put the mic down and tiptoed off the stage. It was just her voice, in a haunting, wailing cry throughout the pitch black opera house as she wandered through the audience. She eventually popped out the other side of the stage and the lights picked back up again and she recouped all her energy and went into a solo drum session with her hands on the chair. It was goddamn incredible.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:25 PM on June 1, 2017
At about the middle of the show she sang Darkness at Noon. When the song gets really low, the lights dimmed and then completely dark, she put the mic down and tiptoed off the stage. It was just her voice, in a haunting, wailing cry throughout the pitch black opera house as she wandered through the audience. She eventually popped out the other side of the stage and the lights picked back up again and she recouped all her energy and went into a solo drum session with her hands on the chair. It was goddamn incredible.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:25 PM on June 1, 2017
She's also hilarious and unabashedly playful. She teased an audience member who clapped too soon, and that became a running gag throughout her set.
At one point she clicked her heels, barefoot.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:27 PM on June 1, 2017
At one point she clicked her heels, barefoot.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:27 PM on June 1, 2017
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Absolute sincerity, maybe.
posted by Leon at 6:37 AM on June 1, 2017