Laïs
Encyclopedia
Laïs is a Belgian group that creates folk
, and world music
consisting of polyphonic close harmony songs, occasionally a cappella
, based on self-composed melodies with lyrics dating back to the Middle Ages. "Laïs" is a Celtic word, meaning "voice".
), performed a song at a folk festival in Gooik
, near Brussels
. Nathalie joined the group somewhat later. They had their breakthrough after their appearance at Folk Dranouter
, near Ypres
, in 1996.
Their debut CD album, sung a capella as well as accompanied instrumentally by the folk rock band Kadril, was released in 1998. They performed at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
in Oudtshoorn, South Africa
(1996), at Vorst Nationaal
, Belgium (1998), Canada
, France
(1999) (as a supporting act for Sting), Spain
(1999, 2000), the Netherlands
and China
(2001). During the summer of 2000 they performed at important festivals in Belgium such as Pinkpop
and Rock Werchter
. In 2001 they made a much acclaimed return to the festival at Dranouter.
In 2003 they made a mini tour along Flemish churches and chapels, singing a capella with the vocal support of Ludo Vandeau. This resulted in the CD "A la capella".
In April 2004 they released their third CD to the market under the title Douce Victime, with covers from Jacques Brel
and Herman van Veen
. This time it not only contained a capella songs but also Cajun music
, the London Chamber Orchestra
and some World Music
influences. It was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios
in London
.
With their album The Ladies' Second Song, released in September 2007, the group changed their approach and tried to reach a broader public. They could no longer be characterized as folk
. The album introduces the use of electric guitars, loops and electronic beats. Their lyrics have equally undergone a thorough overhaul. Instead of drawing their lyrics from old Flemish songbooks, they have turned to poetry from William Butler Yeats
, Paul Verlaine
and Pablo Neruda
.
:
They are accompanied by four men:
Laïs has also renewed their band:
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
consisting of polyphonic close harmony songs, occasionally a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
, based on self-composed melodies with lyrics dating back to the Middle Ages. "Laïs" is a Celtic word, meaning "voice".
History
Laïs' career started in 1994, when Jorunn and Annelies, together with Soetkin Collier (who later became a vocalist with the Belgian folk music group Urban TradUrban Trad
Urban Trad is a Belgian folk music group, consisting of both Flemish and French speaking people and a close connection with Galicia.-Members:*Yves Barbieux: flutes and Galician bagpipe*Veronica Codesal: vocals*Soetkin Collier: vocals...
), performed a song at a folk festival in Gooik
Gooik
Gooik is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Gooik proper, Kester, Leerbeek and Oetingen. On January 1, 2006 Gooik had a total population of 8,895. The total area is 39.70 km² which gives a population density of 224 inhabitants...
, near Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Nathalie joined the group somewhat later. They had their breakthrough after their appearance at Folk Dranouter
Folk Dranouter
Folk Dranouter is a yearly folk festival spanning four days at the beginning of August in the Belgian village Dranouter. Since 2005, a second, smaller festival, Dranouter aan zee is organised in De Panne on the beach near the end of April....
, near Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, in 1996.
Their debut CD album, sung a capella as well as accompanied instrumentally by the folk rock band Kadril, was released in 1998. They performed at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees is an Afrikaans language arts festival that takes place yearly in the South African town of Oudtshoorn. The festival includes both the visual and the performing arts and is officially recognized by the South African government as a national arts festival...
in Oudtshoorn, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(1996), at Vorst Nationaal
Forest National
Forest National or Vorst Nationaal is a multi-purpose arena in Brussels, Belgium. The arena can hold 8,000 people. It hosts indoor sporting events, as well as music concerts, by a wide variety of music artists....
, Belgium (1998), Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1999) (as a supporting act for Sting), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(1999, 2000), the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(2001). During the summer of 2000 they performed at important festivals in Belgium such as Pinkpop
Pinkpop
Pinkpop Festival, or Pinkpop for short, is an annual festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is held annually on the Pentecost weekend...
and Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter is a Belgian annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, since 1974. It is one of the five biggest annual rock music festivals in Europe...
. In 2001 they made a much acclaimed return to the festival at Dranouter.
In 2003 they made a mini tour along Flemish churches and chapels, singing a capella with the vocal support of Ludo Vandeau. This resulted in the CD "A la capella".
In April 2004 they released their third CD to the market under the title Douce Victime, with covers from Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
and Herman van Veen
Herman van Veen
Hermannus Jantinus "Herman" van Veen is a Dutch stage performer, actor, musician and singer/songwriter and author. He is most famous as the creator of the Dutch-Japanese cartoon Alfred J...
. This time it not only contained a capella songs but also Cajun music
Cajun music
Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin...
, the London Chamber Orchestra
London Chamber Orchestra
The London Chamber Orchestra ' is the longest established professional chamber orchestra in the UK. Based in London, LCO has a residency at St John's Smith Square in Westminster.-History:...
and some World Music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
influences. It was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
With their album The Ladies' Second Song, released in September 2007, the group changed their approach and tried to reach a broader public. They could no longer be characterized as folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. The album introduces the use of electric guitars, loops and electronic beats. Their lyrics have equally undergone a thorough overhaul. Instead of drawing their lyrics from old Flemish songbooks, they have turned to poetry from William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
, Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
and Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
.
Members
The female vocal trio part of Laïs are three young women from KalmthoutKalmthout
Kalmthout is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the village of Kalmthout. On January 1, 2007 Kalmthout had a population of 17,508. The total area is...
:
- Jorunn Bauweraerts
- Annelies Brosens
- Nathalie Delcroix
They are accompanied by four men:
- Fritz Sundermann (electric and acoustic instruments, harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
) - Hans Quaghebeur (squeezeboxSqueezeboxThe term Squeezebox is a colloquial expression referring to any musical instrument of the general class of hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophones such as the accordion and the concertina...
es, hurdy-gurdy, whistle) - Ronny Reuman (percussion)
- Bart Denolf (electric and acoustic bass)
Laïs has also renewed their band:
- Elko Blijweert (guitar)
- Bjorn Eriksson (guitar, elektronica),
- Jeroen Stevens (drums)
- Filip Vandebril (contrabas).
- Dan Lacksman (synthesizer, former Telex (band)Telex (band)The Belgian synth-pop group Telex was formed in 1978 by Marc Moulin, Dan Lacksman, and Michel Moers, with the intention of "Making something really European, different from rock, without guitar — and the idea was electronic music." Mixing the aesthetics of disco, punk and experimental electronic...
, Dan Lacksman's Alliance, producer) did the mixing at the sound console.
Discography
- Laïs, ALEA, 1998
- Dorothea, Virgin Music Belgium, 2000
- Dorothea ltd. ed., Virgin Music Belgium, 2001
- A la capella, Virgin Music Belgium, 2003
- Douce victime, Virgin Music Belgium, 2004
- Documenta (Compilation), EMI, 2006
- The Ladies' Second Song, 2007
- Laïs Lenski, 2009 (together with the cellist Simon LenskiSimon LenskiSimon Lenski is a cello player from Antwerp, Belgium. His main activity lies within the band DAAU which he co-founded in 1992.As a cello player, he is a much sollicited guest musician for other artists and music groups, often together with his brother Buni Lenski. In 2004 he set up a collaboration...
)
Singles
- t Smidje, ALEA, 1998
- De Ballade van Boon, EMI Belgium, 1999
- Le grand vent, Virgin Music Belgium, 2001
- Le renard et la belette, Virgin Music Belgium, 2002