ALEJANDRA RIBERA
There's something quietly arresting about Alejandra's gaze right before she breaths her first note of a song. You can't help but wonder what she sees in her mind's eye because from the moment the music escapes her body - often trembling and contorted - it's as though she's channelling some otherworldly force well beyond the realm of the stage she inhabits. She is both ethereal and electric, exuding disarming vulnerability and animalistic ferocity as she guides her audience in a pendulous motion through the vast landscapes that make up her songs. The origins of which are as complex as her own. Alejandra was born in Canada, the only child to an Argentine father and Scottish mother. At two her family decided to relocate to Argentina. "We'd established a life there, I was enrolled in school...but in 1985 an earthquake tore through our home in Mendoza and my parents decided to return to Toronto. Within a year of being back I'd lost my mother tongue. Sometimes I wonder if it didn't profoundly affect my view of the world. I seem to always be writing about a yearning for something I barely remember belonging to me...something which has to be described in mythical terms because the nature of its very existence renders it the memory of a memory." Her songs are full of saints and soldiers, subglacial lakes and ancient tombs, whisky, broken wings and bioluminescence. "I'm drawn to extreme characters who survive and thrive under extraordinary circumstances. Whether I'm writing about extremophiles at the bottom of the ocean or Hamlet's mum - it's always about imagery that resonates in the heart and the solar plexus because this is where my instincts are. It's where my strength lies. That's where I want to touch people." After multiple comparisons to Mary Margaret O'Hara, Tom Waits and Chavela Vargas based on a self-produced demo that received favourable rotation on Canada's National Radio, Ribera set out to enlist Jean Massicotte (Patrick Watson, Lhasa, Arthur H) to produce her first studio album.
"I was so taken by his work. I trusted him to find the thread between all the voices in my head and make some sense of it". The collaboration resulted in Alejandra relocating to Montreal where she has since performed with Yves Desrosiers, Arthur H, Bia, The Barr Brothers and Patrick Watson. It's clear Alejandra isn't shy about stepping out of her comfort zone. La Boca is the culmination of a year of experimentation and careful crafting. "It wasn't always obvious to me where we were headed with the arrangements until we got there or ... ended up in a ditch. We took our time though...the songs had room to breath and tell us what they needed. I'm endlessly grateful for that." The arrangements include layering of slide guitar, piano, harp, bass banjo, bagpipes, and percussion. "I think we hit every random object in the room at least once - including the radiator." As for the future, Alejandra is clear about one thing - "I derive my greatest joy from performing, full stop. Where ever it takes me...I always feel home. If I can continue like this forever I'll consider myself a very lucky woman."
CONTACT INFO (Canada) Pandyamonium Management: info@pandyamonium.com (France) Véronique Croisile: vero@sidestreet-music.comApril 4, 2013 Jean-Despréz Hall 25, Laurier Street Gatineau, Quebec, J8X 4C8 Tickets |
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