(Folk) Laïs - Laïs (Lais) - 1998, FLAC (image + .cue), lossless

Two years after their remarkable appearance at the Folk Festival in Dranouter, Laïs have finished their first CD. Their nameless debut contains 14 traditional songs in contemporary arrangements. "Laïs" means "voice" and also is a reference to the medieval "Lais", erotic mistrel songs. But mainly Laïs is three young women from Kalmthout who have lost their souls to folkmusic : Jorunn Bauweraerts, Annelies Brosens en Nathalie Delcroix.
They have known each from childhood on, but the group was formed in 1994, when Jorunn & Annelies sang the song "Barbagal" on the last morning of the folkstage in Gooik. "You could hear a pin drop", says Jorunn, "And afterwards someone from Kadril told us we should continue".
Music was a blooming passion for the girls. Jorunn is from a musical family - her father is a well-known bagpipes-player - and Annelies took lessons in classical singing from a very young age.
Laïs lived it's first big moment when the trio took the stage of Dranouter, with folkrockgroup Kadril backing them up, and brought the audience on their feet at first, and in extasy later. Emmylou Harris left them a nice note in which she spoke in praise of the "three angelvoices" she had heard.
The unexpected response didn't let them turn their head. "It was there that we felt this was what we wanted to do with our live for the first time", said Jorunn. "But we were so young at the time. We had to remain realistic and weren't ready for a cd yet." Laïs started looking for the best way to bring their music. They started with four musicians, something that didn't turn out well, and then toured Flanders in the company of Kadril.
In the spring of '98 the trio got an enthousiastic welcome at the "Klein Karoo Festival" in the South-African town of Oudtshoorn. When they came back, they started the recordings of their first CD. Laïs chose to bring their songs both a capella and with instrumental backing.
The CD contains three remakes of songs by others (Cantovivo, Sinéad O’Connor and Jacques Brel) and a lot of traditional lyrics with new melodies and arrangements. Their songbook contains references to Scotland, Sweden, Italy, Flanders & Ireland : Laïs is very broadminded, in a good old Belgian tradition.
"Those ancient lyrics can be used quite easily", says Annelies. "There is a whole world hiding behind that old language, and it is fascinating that there were people playing with words a long time ago. That is our goal : to make the music of past days live on."
In Laïs, there are a number of influences converging. Jorunn likes male voices from folk & blues, and has a high esteem for black female singers. Annelies thinks classical lines, but also loves Loreen McKennitt and Värttinä. Nathalie is a fan of singers that can adopt different kinds of music with their personality, such as Sinéad O'Connor.
Together, they are Laïs. Ready for Flanders and abroad. The first single of the CD is "‘t Smidje" (the little smith), a traditional text with a melody that the girls made while dancing. In our own country, the group is already well-established amidst the faithful folk-audience. Now the group wants to step outside. Confindent of their own strenght.