PRESS
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Mi and L'au | Review
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www.treblezine.com/ | Jeff Terichit's nothing if not pure emotion01.30.2006The self-titled debut release by Mi and L'au is a cold record. It's not that it's distant or unfeeling, because it's nothing if not pure emotion. It's just that it's actually downright frigid. Everything is stripped to the barest of essentials, leaving everything sparse and ghostly, a barely there specter of an album. The snowy cabin on the cover seems to depict the perfect imagery to match the duo's haunting tunes. While they're comforting and atmospherically pleasing, they convey a sense of isolation and one of graceful melancholy. That very cabin may or may not be the locale where the recordings for this album took place. Mi, a Finnish former model, and L'au, a French instrumentalist, recorded this album in some sort of log structure in Finland, the landscape of which certainly played a part in this glacial recording. Much like Finnish folk contemporaries Lau Nau or Islaja, Mi and L'au take a simple, spare idea of folky, atmospheric compositions and pressurize them into something strikingly beautiful and unobstructed by ornamental indulgences. Instead, it's a very simple and slow record that reveals its beauty simply by leaving it exposed. The first track,......
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Mi And L'au | Review
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Pennyblackmusic.com | Jamie Rowland a wonderfully serene album; simplistic, but very affectingJan 30/06Michael Gira clearly has a good ear for music. The latest release on his Young God label, the self-titled debut of European couple Mi and L'Au, easily meets the high standard set by previous releases from artists such as Akron/Family, Devendra Banhart and Gira¹s own project, Angels of Light. Mi met and fell in love with L'Au in Paris a few years ago. After living in Paris for some time, the couple moved to a secluded cabin in the Finland woodlands, where they now spend all their free time creating music. You might not think it's too important to know the relationship these artists have with each other, or their living situation, but I can't think of a better way to describe the music on this record: these songs sound like they were written by a couple in love out in the middle of nowhere. Now that may well sound a bit pretentious, but I'm sure if you listen to the album, you'll agree. Mi and L'Au play folk music without all the quirks and gimmicks which seem to go hand in hand with the genre these days.......
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Akron/Family | Interview with Dana Janssen
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Albuquerque Tribune | Paul Maldonado Jr.Justin Timberlake? Music: Akron/Family: a far cry from humdrum January 27, 2006 The musical collective known as Akron/Family favors experimental whimsy, creating a psychedelic, pastoral pop akin to the Beatles meets Captain Beefheart. On the band's latest release, the split CD "Akron/Family & Angels of Light," the group went for constant invention and sonic chaos, recording it live with few overdubs. The music is in perpetual flux, alternating between gospel beauty, psychedelic mantras and country stomps, often within the same song, yet grounded firmly by gorgeous vocal harmonies. "I like music that's diverse, not the same thing," says the band's Dana Janssen in a recent phone interview. He was taking a walk in New York City during a tour break. "I like to keep change in our music. It keeps it interesting. As for our music, I'd say it's psychedelic rock, just that."The band, which besides Janssen is Ryan Vanderhoof, Seth Olinsky and Miles Seaton - all are vocalists and multi-instrumentalists - has been together for 2 years. "It's just a matter of knowing people," Janssen, 25, says, explaining the band's evolution. "I grew up with Seth in Pennsylvania. I met Ryan when I lived......
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Angels of Light & Akron/Family | Review
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The Illinois Times | René Spencer SallerHis saturnine baritone gains new strength from these measured infusions of chaos. Jan 27/06 Depending on your tolerance for so-called freak folk ‹ the latest hipster-sanctioned descriptor for acoustic-based music that doesn't reek of unchecked earnestness ‹ ex-Swans leader Michael Gira is either a hero or a villain. As the founder of Young God Records, he may be lauded or cursed for unleashing Devendra Banhart on an unsuspecting world a few years back. Since then, Banhart has been pretty much ubiquitous ‹ ridiculously prolific in his own right and a tireless champion of lesser-known acts. But if Banhart is freak folk's Jesus (long hair, full beard, swarthy complexion, and all!), Gira is its Jehovah. Now Gira has a new messiah to pimp: Akron/Family, a ramshackle New York City-based collective that does double duty as Angels of Light (a.k.a. Gira and whomever he anoints to back him). Last year, Akron/Family released its self-titled debut and supported Gira on the latest Angels of Light outing; now the band wears both hats at once on the split CD Akron/Family & Angels of Light, which consists of seven original tracks sans Gira, four tracks penned and sung by......
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Mi and L'au | Interview
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Knoxville News Sentinel | Wayne Bledsoe Songwriting couple meld their musical and romantic relationships January 20, 2006 "We met at a Halloween party," says Mi, calling from Jamaica, where she and L'au are visiting for his sister's wedding. "L'au came up and spoke to me, and the discussion has gone on for four years."Mi, a native of Finland, was working as a model in Paris. L'au, a French native, was also based in the city.The two quickly developed a musical and romantic relationship. For their professional partnership, the duo shortened their given names, Mira Romantschuk and Laurent Leclere, to Mi and L'au.L'au was already a guitarist and composer, and the two began writing lyrics together almost immediately. "Lot of times, we'll have a discussion about a film we saw or just life," says Mi. "Later words (lyrics) will come out of what we talked about."We lived in Paris, not buying a home, moving every six months, and I wanted to show L'au where I came from. It also gave us a chance to really know each other."While getting to know each other better, the two wrote approximately 300 songs."You live 24 hours a day with someone, you cannot play the......