Lara Magrinyà and Anna Sala met while studying piano at the Higher School of Music of Catalonia and went on to form L’aranná, an Ibiza-Catalan duo that blends electronic music, traditional sounds, pop and singer-songwriter influences through a universe of creative depth and experimentation. With a career that continues to grow stronger, they are currently working on their second album and preparing to launch a summer tour. They have also just released a new video inspired by the traditional Formentera song Una cançó em demanau, with the smaller Pityusic island as its backdrop. “That song was the seed of the album. We wondered what it would sound like mixed with Daft Punk and it just flowed naturally,” explains Lara, who is originally from Platja d’en Bossa.
This summer they will bring their Turmarí show to different corners of the Pityusic Islands.
A busy concert season is beginning for you both.
Yes, we’re coming off a very intense few months of concerts, even performing in Denmark and Sweden. It’s true that we had already traveled to Guadalajara in Mexico and to Madrid, but now we’re really noticing this expansion. Turmarí is taking us to many places and soon we’ll be heading to the Czech Republic. Our summer schedule is also completely full and we’ll be performing a couple of times in Ibiza and once in Formentera.
How would you describe Turmarí to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet?
It’s a contemporary music project that draws on diverse, modern styles. There’s a strong electronic essence throughout, but also the Catalan tradition of setting texts to music. The jewel of Turmarí is the traditional music of Ibiza and Formentera, which remains relatively unknown both outside the islands and even among many people from Ibiza who haven’t inherited this cultural tradition.
How do you combine traditional Pityusic music with the other styles?
We work with traditional instruments, which we know quite well through the ball pagès, and also with cant redoblat, an ancient style of singing exclusive to Ibiza and Formentera that had been almost completely forgotten. We decided to use these elements as compositional material and they became so deeply fused with the rest that they now sound like something entirely new, another color within the palette of this album.
“AT TURMARÍ WE FUSE ELECTRONICA AND POP WITH ‘CANT REDOBLAT’, AN ANCIENT WAY OF SINGING, EXCLUSIVE TO IBIZA AND FORMENTERA, WHICH HAD FALLEN INTO OBLIVION”.
And keyboards and synthesizers are also part of the mix…
The keyboards come from our academic training. We both studied classical piano and after graduating we started experimenting with synthesizers and instruments that also modulate the voice. That’s where the world of traditional instruments blends together. Everything is very blended together.
Turmarí will become an album in October, your second after La salamandra (2024). Will it include the entire live show or new compositions as well?
It will include almost everything from the live show, but also a few new songs that we’re saving for the album release.
Do the two of you handle everything yourselves? How are you managing it?
As the project grows, everything multiplies, so yes, we are feeling a little overwhelmed. We have Xavier, our manager, who is helping us enormously. Producing the songs ourselves has been incredibly rewarding. Placing each stone in its place, building the road step by step and being able to make all the decisions ourselves has been amazing.
