Iowa debut | Las Rubias del Norte (The Blondes of the North) was started
seven years ago in Brooklyn when classically trained vocalists Allyssa Lamb
and Emily Hurst decided to quit the New York Chorale Society and start a
group of their own.
Unable to find classical duets that struck their fancy, the two found
themselves inspired by the songs of ‘30s Tejana vocalist Lydia Mendoza. They
added Olivier Conan, a French native on the guitar-like cuatro, and
incorporated boleros, Peruvian waltzes, Andean huaynos and
Cuban guajiras.
The result plays like a dreamy soundtrack with classical harmonies set
to a Latin beat. Remaining somewhat true to their original plan, they do the
“Confutatis” and occasionally a Mendelssohn or Schumann duet. But a
rendition of Caetano Veloso’s “Baby” (a song he wrote for Os Mutantes in
1968
at the height of the psychedelic-inspired Tropicalia movement in
Brazil), cowboy songs and a mashup of Abba’s “Fernando” with “Quizas, Quizas,
Quizas” (a hit for Desi Arnaz in the 1950s) adds up to something uncommon
and wonderful.
Their
two albums, Panamericana
and Rumba Internationale, were praised by the New Yorker,
NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts.”
Time Out New
York wrote, “A
pair of angelic voices pushes this elegant, Latin-flavored band's swoon
rating into the stratosphere.”
In the Gazette, Diana Nollen calls Las Rubias' latest CD, Ziguala,
"pop gems with Latin flair ... as refreshing as a summer breeze, [with]
plenty of heart and sophistication, and an underlying innocence that makes
you want to get your groove on." Read her full review.
In the Press-Citizen, critic Jim Musser
writes "Unfailingly
beautiful, delightful time-shifters, Las Rubias del Norte simply must
be heard to be believed."
Read
his full review.
