L'oiseau magnifique

Description

Armed with a flea-market synthesizer, a playful spirit and a striking vocal ensemble, the micro-choir Alice releases its second album L'Oiseau Magnifique. Hailing from Geneva, Alice’s music corrupts French and Occitan folk music to create a playful blend of complex harmonies and touching lyrics - a unique, deep and deceptively minimalist sound. Formed in 2018, Alice is the work of artists Lisa Harder, Yvonne Harder and Sarah André. Alice combines art-pop, folk songs and synth experimentation to create a unique sound captured on their 23-track album, 'L'Oiseau Magnifique'. Drawing inspiration from the songs sung in the Harder family home and from Sarah’s career as a graphic novelist, the trio weaves a rather unique method. At the keyboard, Lisa and Yvonne create a foundation over which they harmonize vocally, joined by Sarah. The lyrics reflect universal emotions and the poignant moments of their daily lives. Each track on the album is a moment from life or a lived experience, ranging from the story of a disappointing party on 'La Fête Nulle', to 'La Décapotable' which humorously comments on people driving on the highway in a convertible and trying to pretend they are having fun, or the multiple word associations of 'Fil à Recoudre', which is intended as a tribute to the unfailingly optimistic people who let you know that bad weather does not exist. Using minimalism with virtuosity, Alice returns to the essentials: voice and piano. The trio frees itself from all constraints to try everything. Ranging from the neoclassical funeral march of Petit et Gris to the melodic flight of Oiseaux Magnifique, via the chanted 20-second crescendo of La Lune, the three-voice choir creates in a playful way, without fuss but always with precision and mastery. This singular sound creates a true listening experience: all the songs exude an innocent power and plunge you into a strange state between melancholy, humor and simple beauty. It is an album you will want to play again and again.