Tarta Relena was born in 2016 as a project by two singers to explore the sounds of different styles of vocal music a cappella. Far from wanting to create a label of the traditional and to define Mediterraneanity, Tarta Relena wants to make its own a repertoire that ranges from oral tradition music to singer-songwriter songs that, in one way or another, are related to the Mediterranean geographical area.
Tarta Relena sings from the perspective that what we call folklore is a living and evolving repertoire. Therefore, this reality is malleable and can be reinterpreted with the instruments and sounds that are currently at our disposal. A key tool is electronics, with which they re-signify melodies without abandoning their origins. The study and knowledge of the journey and contexts that have embraced these musical pieces open the doors to experimentation towards new meanings. In Tarta Relena's work, there is also a desire to play with blurring the concept of authorship, allowing anonymous traditional melodies and their own new creations to coexist under the same umbrella, treating them in the same way and placing oral transmission, a central element of tradition, at the core.
One of the project's strengths lies in its complexity within simplicity, and maximum expression with minimal elements. The repertoire work incorporates resources from different vocal techniques (flamenco, lyrical, traditional, jazz…), allowing for a vast exploration of the voice's possibilities.
In January 2019 Tarta Relena released their first recording called Pray for us (The Indian Runners, 2019), Enderrock Critics' Award for Best Folk Album of 2019, consisting of eight a cappella songs with a subtle presence of electronics. In April 2020, during lockdown, they released their second work, Intercede for us (The Indian Runners, 2020), which was recognised by Rockdelux as the best national EP of 2020, and which emphasises the importance of the dialogue between voice and electronics.
Image: Duna Vallès and Clàudia Torrents
