"Taiko, Floor Tom, Bass Drum, Glockenspiel, Gong, Bells, Crotales, Jingles, Air Conditioner Metal Tube, Trowel, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Synth and Voices."
While Lili Refrain's credits for her recent album "Mana" for sure read as something potentially intriguing, it's also noteworthy that she starts this list with the huge Japanese taiko drum, which is among the instruments she usually doesn't play when she performs live. And no matter if you already take this as an indication or not - it's undeniable that show and album are two kindred, yet also quite different experiences with this Italian artist.
LILI REFRAIN - Mana (pink vinyl LP) (2022)
Her performance on the first day of Roadburn Festival still ranks high among my very favorite shows of this year. It was a magical epiphany of musical joy and connection, a perfect emotional storm like I've seldom witnessed it before. Lili's vocals alone would have completely mesmerized the crowd, as she effortlessly channeled operatic class and the mysticism of exceptional singers like Maria Franz (Heilung), Amalie Bruun aka Myrkur and the eeriest, almost "evil" highs of Anna von Hausswolff and Lisa Gerrard.
All this is of course also on display here. The big difference lies in the build-up of the music. On stage every song begins very small as the multi-intrumentalist loops and pieces together each and every sound, until the mashup of ancient mystery, folk, electronic, tribal sounds, drone and metal becomes a huge elemental force of notes, noises and voices.
This studio recording doesn't need the whole long setup and doesn't swell to the same endless crescendo levels. Instead Lili concentrates more on song structures and fleshes out the beauty and detail of key elements instead. It's a much more traditional approach, but one which is the absolute right choice and still results in wondrous compositions of otherworldy transcendence. If you love any of the artists which I mentioned above (or her Subsound labelmate Dalila Kayros), there's no doubt that this should be a must-listen for you. Because "Mana" is a rapturous masterpiece with just that one single flaw of the length not fully reflecting its grandeur - or to put it a little more prosaic: Why is this not longer? Ok, it's not a real complaint. The format is probably perfect. You can easily spin this beautifully packed pink vinyl twice without getting tired of it.
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| Lili Refrain live |
This studio recording doesn't need the whole long setup and doesn't swell to the same endless crescendo levels. Instead Lili concentrates more on song structures and fleshes out the beauty and detail of key elements instead. It's a much more traditional approach, but one which is the absolute right choice and still results in wondrous compositions of otherworldy transcendence. If you love any of the artists which I mentioned above (or her Subsound labelmate Dalila Kayros), there's no doubt that this should be a must-listen for you. Because "Mana" is a rapturous masterpiece with just that one single flaw of the length not fully reflecting its grandeur - or to put it a little more prosaic: Why is this not longer? Ok, it's not a real complaint. The format is probably perfect. You can easily spin this beautifully packed pink vinyl twice without getting tired of it.
The other question my rambling hopefully raised is: Should Lili Refrain release a live album at some point? Without question yes, alone to make sure that both sides of her are represented in her discography. But that's a concern for another time, because right now is the time to bathe in the bliss of "Mana"! [edit: Oops, said live album "Ulu" already exists.]
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