[LBN013] laura mura and the Seven Dwarves – “My bootleg” (16 January 2012)
laura mura & the Seven Dwarves live at Alkestis – november 6th, 2011 – (warning: Contains Italian)
laura mura & the Seven Dwarves:
laura mura – vocals, toy trumpet, thingamagoop
francesca corrias – vocals, glockenspiel, melodica, toy piano, toy guitar
fabio ciggiotzkij coronas – vocals, trombone, flugelhorn, bass, melodica, toy guitar, beatbox
elia casu – vocals, guitar, balalaika, bass, toy guitar, glockenspiel, melodica
special guest: Batman - beatbox (more or less)
Gianluca Pischedda - cello
honest live recordings w/Zoom H4: Paolo Fiuzzeddu Cugusi at Alkestis Theatre, Cagliari
slight audio nursing: Alessandro Coronas
cover: Fabio Coronas
I’ll never trap your memory
rehearsing rehla w cello (bonus track)
Marianna (complete audio streaming)
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Show description
Last night we went to Laura Mura’s concert at Alkestis theatre, so small, yet perfect for her show. She had arranged her good music with few instruments, many toys, a great deal of wizardry and even some self-consciousness which she would laugh about with her audience, while offering some tea and cakes, establishing a continuous contact that would at once reassure her and make everybody feel at home. What we appreciated most was her ability to turn ordinary things into events, as well as the opportunity to enter her odd and tender world, smart and poignant, yet never stinging. Laura, with her big blue eyes, her delicate face and a voice that’s whispered into her microphone, gave us millions of inspiring moments and we believe she would grab the attention of any audience, regardless of their nationality and ‘’social class”. Her lyrics, ranging from Italian to Arabic, Portuguese (Francesca’s track), Japanese, English, Sardinian and Romanian, reveal her need and will to communicate with as many people as possible, albeit with a few at a time, as Laura does not seem to be in a hurry. In a speedy world, she strolls peacefully, with her brown shoes, her knee socks and her hair in bunches; she treads along the world from within her magic little one. It is real fun to see her play a colourful little trumpet she had dipped into soapy water, bringing out so many music bubbles enchanting every single member of the audience. Her songs are beautiful, each of the melodies that combine to make them is strong enough by itself, that’s why the tunes stick in your brain. They do not need anything more than their own inner strength. This is yet not enough for Laura, and here is why the precious ‘other three’ are there, making true in a simple way what she had drawn in her mind. A few well-balanced sounds are sufficient for Laura’s simple songs that are nonetheless as grand as Laura is, together with Francesca, who represents a safe haven for everything that could go wrong and also for everything that turns out right. Francesca is multi-tasking, she sings and plays such instruments as guitar, glockenspiel, melodica and a small toy piano that eventually becomes an unusual drum she plays both with a drumstick and her hand, complete with wedding ring. Francesca sings with her eyes, with her smile and a beautiful voice that’s always ready for her friend Laura. Never overshadowing any other, though she could easily inundate the stage with her skills. She is even greater because of the low profile she keeps. For each song, she invents new ways to beat time; she is like a thread sewing together all the pieces of precious fabric that Laura chose for her musical blanket. Together they are even more extraordinary. Then there is Ciggiotskij, aka Fabio Coronas, who is also multi-tasking; he plays the trombone and flugelhorn, the melodica, the acoustic bass, and sings.
At one point, he grabs one of the three toy guitars as the musicians start circling Laura, like a merry-go-round that stops only at the burst of a well deserved applause. Fabio also beatboxes, he is nice, at ease and he says the right thing at the right time. Elia plays the guitar, balalaika, melodica, bass and for the first time in his life he also sings, and though embarrassed he is always accurate and perfectly set within the precious world that we are all there to admire. We wish this awesome example of artistic sincerity to be shared around the world, while the beautiful Cagliari will always be here, faithfully waiting for them.
Valeria Martini
Laura Mura
laura mura biography
I was born in Cagliari in 1972 and grew up in a household where the predominance of opera and classical music (I mainly loved Russian composers) was disturbed by Andean protest songs, pop, punk, progressive and psychedelic rock and some jazz. I started composing music at the age of 4, but my wish to attend the local Conservatory of Music crumbled as my parents explained I would only be allowed to perform other people’s works. That’s why I turned to the idea of singing. As a kid, I used to spend hours, armed with a dictionary, trying to translate my favorite bands’ lyrics. I wanted to sing in English so I chose to study foreign languages in high school. Then I completed my education by studying advertising photography at the European Institute of Design, where I learned to nurture my creative urges. When I was about 16 I started performing in public. This soon led me to my first jazz quartet, with Manolo Cabras, Matteo Carrus and Alessandro Garau. Later I had the pleasure of singing with Alessandro Di Liberto, Sandro Fontoni, Augusto Pirodda, Marek Patrman and Riccardo Pittau. I seized the opportunity to attend Paolo Fresu’s series of “Nuoro Jazz” seminars, enjoying master classes with John Taylor, Butch Morris, Airto Moreira, Uri Caine and David Linx. I am truly grateful to Maria Pia De Vito and Sheila Jordan, who ridded me of any hang-ups regarding self-expression. In Cagliari I learnt overtone singing with Llorenc Barber and Yiddish singing with Alberto Jona, besides attending workshops by Rachel Gould and Miriam Meghnagi. After taking time out to work at a photo studio and then as a cabin attendant, I started writing songs again in 1996 with the trip-hop band Mucca Macca, whose records were distributed in several Euopean countries and were particularly popular in Japan. Having my toes in many pies: music, feltmaking, photography and psychology translation, I happened to become EMDR expert Roger Solomon’s interpreter, subsequently I turned a cuckoo corner and my life was never the same again. From 1996 to 2010 I wrote around 100 songs, mainly for other musicians such as the visionary guitarist and producer Rosario Castagnola, various DJs and pop/dance producers, the great Igort, indie musician Alessandro Coronas and the fine Francesco Sotgiu. My decision to devote myself entirely to music (so to speak…as I am a mother too!) resulted in “il mio disco” (“My cd”), an outdated Lo-Fi pop record celebrating my life (until June 2010) and those who shared some of it. “My cd” was financed by 120 supportive people paying in advance for copies, covering the production costs. I am performing “My cd” live with three multi-instrumentalists and eventually a cello player: Francesca Corrias, Fabio Coronas, Elisa Casu and Gianluca Pischedda. Ours is an atypical and ‘portable’ quartet/quintet, bringing colour to streets, courtyards and small city corners, or cosy little theatres where we can look into our audience’s eyes.
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Laura Mura “My CD”
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Reviews
25/01/2012 – Pensieri e-Motivi – “Ascoltando questo live, si sente fisicamente l’amore e la gioia di comporre musica, aldilà di ogni calcolo ed interesse economico”.(more)
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21/01/2012 – NetMusic Life – “Un baule colmo di incanti sonori lontani da ogni luogo e tempo…” (more)
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