The Thousands

I’m always on the look-out for something new to listen to. I don’t care if it’s indie rock, nu metal or Chinese rap. It’s all about the tantalising thrill of discovery. It’s impossible for iTunes to satisfy my hunger, so I regularly trawl online playlists, blogs and music apps looking for something fresh. I was wandering around Emusic the other day, looking for something with a bit of a global flavour and found this ‘unearthed treasure of ineffable beauty and incalculable worth’ – Brossa D’ahir by Pep Laguarda.**I downloaded it thinking it was from a new crop of Spanish indie folk artists and quickly warmed to its layered organic sound. More surprisingly though, Brossa D’ahir was released in 1978 and was the only album produced by Pep Laguarda (and band Tapineria), helped along by (Australian) Daevid Allen and Pau Riba. Described as ‘acid-folk’ the music is melodic, hippie and atmospheric, its Mediterranean heritage giving it a slightly mystical quality. It fuses its Catalan folk with elements of progressive rock, jazz and acoustic guitar to create songs that seem to be as young now as they were in 1978. Perfect for lazy Sunday afternoons in Mallorca…