Written by Sarah Wise

Artist Links:
http://www.myspace.com/bcalandra

Label:
http://www.redearsmusic.com/


Elevate the Everyday Ordinary the debut album by B.Calandra is a fresh and exciting sound defiantly raising the standard for solo singer/songwriter/artists in Australia today. A pastiche of experimental, acoustic and electronic sound combined with Bianca’s raw and earthy voice hypnotizes you into a play on illusion verses reality.

As a solo artist Bianca conspires beats, samples, guitar and melodeon with her own vocals to produce a sound that is both uniquely her own and reminiscent of her pervious work with Australian artists such as Rob Demasi (Rastawookie), Dean Manning (Holidays on ice), Robbie Madrazija (Entropic), and Mark Axiak (Iota). Her sound draws from the European influence that is evident in the music of artists such as Coco Rosie and Emiliana Torrini. The re-release of this album appears to coincide with the increasing popularity of such artists.

Track 01 In Space Alone, integrates each experimental style and a sound that she expands upon in the following 5 tracks. Her lyrics proclaim a simplified mourning of accepting loneliness and are sung in a minor tone whilst the backing has a more overpowering positive feel about it, suggesting a resigned optimism that flows easily throughout the rest of the album. Track 03 Hoppety O’grando uses minimum lyrical persuasion with only the repetition of the phrase ‘Hoppety O’grando’ and rather focuses on the power of the synthesizer and acoustic guitar to create a childlike meditation session. This track also features a male voice and both singers play each other off in rounds of repetition creating a beautiful resonance of harmony and vocal styles. Track 05 Merrygoround, has a very similar feel to Hoppety O’grando in the sense that its fundamental qualities are instrumental rather than vocally focused. These tracks allow us to focus on Bianca’s musical talent and fresh electronic sounds rather than drift off in her usual beautiful lyrics. Track 04 Send in the Sun, has a very sweet melancholy yet fun electro pop sound to it. The warm inviting sound of the flute and beats coming over the acoustic guitar make you feel like getting up and bopping round to the track. This is definitely on of her best tracks.

Interestingly, b.calandra is also a visual artist. Her ink, acrylic and oil paintings influence her music and I found tracks such as Hoppety O’grando and Merrygoround took me on an imaginative journey through the world created in her music. Bianca’s insightful explorations and individual musical style are refreshing to the Australian music scene. Elevate the Everyday Ordinary will be one to add to your collection, as her work will be the basis of a new genre in Australian music