01	Doran						03:45
	02	Belle						02:28
	03	Houd Uw Kanneke						03:49
	04	Benedetta						03:05
	05	Le Grand Vent						03:19
	06	Les Douze Mois						05:30
	07	De Valse Zeeman						04:02
	08	Marider						04:31
	09	Comme Au Sein De La Nuit						02:19
	10	Dorothea						03:29
	11	Klaas						02:58
	12	De Wanhoop						03:03
	13	Tina Vieri						04:11
	14	Le Renad Et La Belette						03:18
	15	Le Gran Vent (A Capella)						02:54

Band Members
Lais

JORUNN BAUWERAERTS Voice
ANNELIES BROSENS Voice
NATHALIE DELCROIX Voice

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... & Band

Didier Laloy accordion
Ron Reuman drums & percussion
Fritz Sundermann electr&acoustic guitar
Bart Denolf bas, contrabas

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1. Biography
Two years after their widely noticed appearance at the Dranouter Folk Festival Lais finished their first CD. There are fourteen traditional songs with contemporary arrangements on this untitled debut.
Lais stands for "voice" and also refers to the medieval "lais", erotic minstrel songs. But Lais are foremost three young women from Kalmthout who fell in love with folk music: Jorunn Bauweraerts, Annelies Brosens and Nathalie Delcroix.

The past...
They've known each other since childhood, but Lais itself was born in the summer of 1994, when Jorunn and Annelies did the Barbagal song on the last morning of the Gooik Folk Training Days. "Everyone became quiet as a mouse," remembers Jorunn. After we'd finished a member of the folk band Kadril told us to keep going."
At that time music was already a blooming passion. Jorunn comes from a musical family - her father is a renowned bagpiper - and Annelies started as a classical singer at an early age.

Dranouter 1996
Lais, backed by folk band Kadril, made quite an impressive entrance on the Dranouter Folk Festival stage. Their singing opened up the audience's sleepy ears and then sent them into raptures. Even Emmylou Harris praised their harmonious part-singing and mentioned something about "angelic voices".
But they did not lose their heads over this unexpected massive response. "There we felt for the first time what we wanted to do with our lives," says Jorunn. "But we were still very young. We had to be level-headed and were not quite ready to record an album." Lais embarked on a quest for the right format to bring their music and then went together with Kadril on an extensive tour of Flanders' cultural centres.They did concerts together with Clannad, Varttina and Emmylou Harris.

South Africa
Early in 1998 the three-piece was given a warm reception at the Klein Karoo Festival in Oudtshoorn, South Africa. After that they started recording their debut album. Lais chose to sing some songs a cappella, while they were accompanied by musicians on other tracks.

First CD
The CD contains three idiosyncratic cover versions (of songs by Cantovivo, Sinead O'Connor and Jacques Brel), as well as quite some traditional lyrics set to new melodies and arrangements. The repertoire links up with musical traditions in Scotland, Sweden, Italy, Flanders and Ireland. Lais, in true Belgian fashion, takes a broad view of things. "Old lyrics are actually quite usable," thinks Annelies. "An entire world is hidden behind those words and it's so good to know that a long time ago people were working with the same words. That's our goal: to make old music live on."

Influences
A wealth of influences is gathered in Lais. Jorunn is mainly into male voices from folk music and blues and is an ardent admirer of black female singers. Due to her training Annelies is more classically inspired. She also likes Loreena McKennitt and Varttina. Nathalie swears by female singers whose personalities enable them to tackle different styles. Like Sinead O'Connor and black female singers in general.
Together they are Lais. Ready for Flanders and the rest of the world. The first single taken from their CD is 't Smidje (The Blacksmith), a tune written by dancing to its traditional lyrics.

Lais-express moving on fast
Their debut CD came out in november on Wild Boar Music (Music and Words) and was presented to press and public on november 19th at the Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp. Since then more than 4.000 copies are sold.
They recently supported Luka Bloom in a sold out Ancienne Belgique and opened the I Muvrini-concert in Forest National for an audience of 4.000 people.
They are cherished by the folk audience in their home country. Self-convinced, they now want to step beyond the borders of both the folk scene and Belgium.

Lais stands for:

Jorunn Bauweraerts
Nathalie Delcroix
Annelies Brosens


2a. Lais - Jorunn Bauweraerts
Jorunn Bauweraerts was born in Diest on February 7th in 1979. At the moment she's living in Kalmthout.

Creative with words...
During my wonder years I dreamed of becoming a writer. The course Word-Drama of the Art School was by all means a logical choice. I especially loved theatre, modern dance, photography, movie and Dutch. On the other hand, mathematics were my worst objects.
After my secundary education, I studied Jazz singing for one year at the Ghent Conservatory. Close harmony, singing, piano were my favorites.

Learn from Daniel L.
Sinead O'Connor has always been a controversial singer. Her cd "I do not want what I haven't got" was the first I ever bought. On our debut cd my favorite song is "Zeven Steken".
My big example in music is Daniel Lanois. I'd love to work together with him. Another wish of mine is a duet with Fleetwood Mac. And if a benefactor is willing to give me a one way ticket, I'm going straight to Nashville.
My favorite instrument is still the voice. If I can find some spare time, I'll certainly study guitar and piano. As far as music is concerned I know for sure that I still have to learn a lot.
Our performance at the Dranouter Festival '96 will always be printed on my mind as one of the highlights in our career. Everything was new. The atmosphere was incredible. The concert itself gave us all an enormous punch of energy. Boterhammen in het park '97 meant absolute rock bottom. Our performance was very bad, everything went wrong.

Fruit and pastas...
Although I'm not at all an early riser, I try to have breakfast on a regular basis. It mainly consists of eating much fruit.
I'm spending (too?) much time doing some cooking. In case you're having dinner with me, on the menu there are many mushrooms and all sorts of pastas.
When I'm visiting a restaurant or a pub, I'm expecting a cosy atmosphere and delicious food. And of course, there has to be played good music.

Suskind vs. Largo Winch
I like reading and going to the movies. My appetite for reading is not limited to literature. You may find me reading a book of Suskind ("The Perfume" is about the best I ever read) as well as the latest Largo Winch or XIII. I'm also a regular reader of magazines and newspapers. I alternately read Knack, De Morgen, De Standaard, Elle, Oor..
Watching TV isn't quite my piece of cake. So I can't remember favorite tv programs at all. But I enjoyed watching movies like In the name of the Father and Thelma & Louise. And I could perfectly identify myself with the character Antje De Boeck played in the movie Daens.
Emma Thompson is a magnificient actress in my eyes.

Confidence and inner self...
Your looks aren't important. It can be nice, but it represents nothing compared with your inner self. Besides, the most important thing in life is confidence. To achieve your aims, you must have faith in yourself in the first place. But at the same time take care to surround yourself with people whom you trust.
Backbiting and gossip are to me the biggest forms of waste of time. Melancholy is a feeling that's familiar to me. And, probably as most people do, I sometimes believe in a life after death. At the moment this matter doesn't keep me awake. Maybe I'll think about it more thoroughly later.


2b. Lais - Annelies Brosens
Annelies Brosens was born in Brasschaat on November 10th 1979. In the morning she adores a South African breakfast. When she's going on restarant she has no favorite dishes. Important to her is a relaxed atmosphere. And the food must be delicious ("very delicious") of course. In her free time, she likes to do as she pleases.

Singing and studying
Just like most children I had the wildest dreams and imaginations about my future. But I didn't have any well defined preferences at that time yet.
At the Lemmens institute, during my secondary education, my favorite subject was singing. That particular subject didn't change at the Ghent conservatory a few years later. On the other hand, practical harmony wasn't quite my specialty at all.
The rest of my career will be focused on three key words: studying, studying and... studying!

Keep on singing, for the rest of my life...
I mostly like to listen to "feminin rock". The first cd I purchased was one of Tracy Chapman.
My favorite instrument is the voice. I'm playing piano myself. I'd love to learn playing viola and hurdy-gurdy.
Yes, I certainly have musical ambitions. My biggest ambition is to keep on singing all my life, even to earn my living with it. One of my secret wishes: to work together once with Emmylou Harris.
I'm choosing "De Wanhoop" as my favorite song on the first Lais cd.
My favorite sentence from one on the Lais lyrics? En zei: 'Gij prei, wat zult gij mij hier wetten komen zetten.'

Lais - Spinal Tap vs. First Triumph
During our years with Lais we've been through a lot. The Brussels Concert at "Boterhammen in het Park" in 1997 was our very worst memory. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong or sounded out of tune.
I undoubtedly retain the best reminiscences of the Dranouter Performance in 1996, an overwhelming experience and the first highlight of our musical career.

Unjustice and... Emma
I can really get enraged with unjustice in all its forms. It can deal with the ever groing unjustice in the world. But it also concerns the unjustice in this country our in my street our village.
... But with my last money left I should buy a a present for Emma, Nathalie's daughter.

Actualise ancient music
To foreigners Flemish is a strange language. Perhaps that creates an exotic effect. We like the Finnish band Varttina as well, even if we don't understand a single word of it. Folk music characterises a well defined group of people and exceeds borders. It would be a sin that the language and the culture of so called European cultural minorities would vanish. By reviving the ancient music and rediscovering and calling attention to old songbooks, you carry out that culture. In Flanders this happens too few. That's why we'll keep on singing in Flemish.


2c. Lais - Nathalie Delcroix
Nathalie Delcroix was born on February 14th 1976 in Kapellen. Actually she lives in Antwerp. She has a three years old daughter Emma (° 1998), born a month before the release of "Lais", the Lais debut cd.

Art subjects and amazon women...
As a child I dind't have any special dreams or wishes concerning my future.
During my secondary school I specially loved the art subjects. I dind't come off well with subjects like mathematics, not really one of my favorite occupations.
I continued my higher education by studying for kindergarten teacher.
One of my favorite hobbies in my wonder years? Riding on horseback.

Making music in a cage...
My special musical interest is in rockabilly and blues. I don't like reggae music.
The first full cd I purchased was Tracy Chapman's "Bridges".
My favorite instrument is the big bass. I play it myself.
My musical ambitions are rather modest at the moment. I absolutely don't want to equal anyone. But I'd love to play in a church or in a cave. It would be a concert for at most 30 persons, friends preferably.
My favorite song on the first Lais cd is "7 Steken". Although it isn't a peaceful song at all. There's much bloodshed at the end of the song.
The most perfect sentence from one of the Lais lyrics? There are many. Let me keep it to 'Klaas die speelt nu op zijn fluit.'
No, you don't need to look for double or hidden meanings...

Lais - The Beginning
In fact I joined Lais by coincidence. I was just a friend of Annelies. I experienced the first big truimph of Lais, the Dranouter performance in 1996, right in front of the stage, as a spectator. I was impressed. How those girls were singing, the way they melt there voices together to one beautiful, moving and thrilling sound, it immediately appealed to me. No, it never came to my mind that I should stand on that same stage a few years later.
Jorunn and Annelies were friends of mine for quite a while, but I joined the band later. While we were going for a drive, Jorunn heard me singing. She asked me if I wasn't interested in doing an audition. At that moment I wasn't engaged in music at all. I had been present at some Lais concerts, but I hadn't the slightest idea I was able to do the same. But my diffidence disappeared very quickly. Only two weeks after the audition we stood together on the stage.
Particularly the beginning was tremendous. When we heard our single "'t Smidje" on the radio for the first time, we screamed for excitement. Hearing myself on the radio was one of my eldest dreams suddenly coming true.

With music you can influence people...
With music you can can really achieve something. Excite people, but also heal them, touch them, make them glad.
We work with the most essential musical instrument, the voice. All those emotional layers, the spirituality too, are part of the human being.
The spirituality of Lais can be compared with the spirituality of an appealing, beautiful picture or a touching poem.

Future - Back to the countryside?
In a few years you might see me striding along through a meadow wearing an apron. Who knows? I'm from the countryside. A sheep in a meadow isn't peculiar at all to us.
I live in Antwerp nowadays, but I have always lived in the country before. I suppose I'll go back there later to settle. It would suit me well, because I love vegetables and all sorts of cheese. No, no meat for me!






Lais, Dorothea (Virginmusic, Belgium, 2001)

Lais is a unique group that has no equivalent, to my knowledge, anywhere in the world of music. This seven-piece band from the Flemish region of Belgium is fronted by three alluring young women, Jorunn Bauweraerts, Annelies Brosens and Nathalie Delcroix, who sing, move and gesture in a highly dramatic manner while singing beautiful harmonies, occasionally a cappella, but more often to an eclectic accompaniment that ranges from the downright folky to something closer to electropop. Lurking behind them are four men: Fritz Sundermann, who picks a variety of electric and acoustic stringed instruments and also plays harmonium on this recording, Hans Quaghebeur on squeezeboxes, hurdy-gurdy and whistle, the percussionist Ronny Reuman and Bart Denolf on electric and acoustic basses. They consider themselves to be part of the folk scene, and most of the songs that they perform are either traditional or sound as though they could have been.

So the Spice Girls they ain't! Closer to the Irish band the Corrs, perhaps, but Lais is altogether a classier act. Indeed, Bauweraerts and Brosens studied singing at the Ghent Conservatoire, although Delcroix trained as a teacher and stumbled into the group almost by accident after having been a friend and fan of the original duo. Coming from Flanders and singing about half their repertoire in their native Flemish might be thought to limit their wider appeal, but they have actually played concerts in China, South Africa and, closer to home, France. They were even noticed, favorably, by fRoots magazine in July 1999.

If I have described Lais's style as dramatic, you may guess that I have seen them perform live. In fact I saw them at Dranouter, Belgium's biggest annual folk festival, last summer and Dranouter is where the group first made an impact, in 1996, on a public that included a highly impressed Emmylou Harris. The dramatic quality comes across well on this CD, even if mere listeners can't see the three women doing their stage business. (This might have been a suitable occasion for an interactive CD that gave some flavor of the live performance, instead of the bonus disc -- of which more later.)

The opening song, "Doran," composed by the group, sets the theatrical tone well. The lyrics are folky (in Flemish) but the music begins with throbbing electronics and insistent percussion and continues with prominent electric guitar and bass. The mood changes completely for the second track, a lyrical traditional French song "Belle qui tiens ma vie," the tune of which will be familiar to anyone who knows Peter Warlock's pseudo-renaissance "Capriole Suite." Incidentally, Peter Warlock would have made a wonderful pseudonym for a contributor to GMR, had not the Welsh composer Philip Heseltine got there first! Lais sing this song a cappella and are joined by the male voice of guest Ludo van Deau.

The a cappella sound, which presents Lais's harmony singing at its best, is also heard on a song in Italian, "Benedetta," written by Eidel and Galeazzi, who are not further identified (there is no information about any of the songs apart from the lyrics and composer/arranger details). Latin-derived languages come off well on this disc, because the ninth track, "Marider" is sung in what must be Provencal or Occitan: it was written by Mari and Rosa di Peira, whoever they may be, but once again sounds like a traditional piece with its insistent refrain and quirky hurdy-gurdy solo from Quaghebeur, followed by some virtual a cappella with minimal percussion and intermittent acoustic guitar. Perhaps most unexpected from the linguistic point of view is a song in Finnish, "Tina Vieri," learnt from the Finno-Swedish folkgroup Hedningarna but given a very Lais-like treatment, mixing electronic effects and bouncy accordion passages.

There are three other French songs on the CD. The rhythmic "Le Renard Et La Belette" sounds like a traditional dance-tune with words added. It would work just as well as an instrumental and indeed has an instrumental bridge on acoustic instruments that leans towards the Celtic, thanks to the whistle-playing of Quaghebeur. Also in French, "Les Douze Mois" was apparently written by Lais themselves but the lyrics are highly traditional in form, with a lover listing the gifts he will bestow on his beloved on the first, second, third, fourth and fifth days of the year. This piece of folkrock ends at this point, fortunately not living up to the twelve-month marathon implied by the title. Showing the group's ability to vary the mood, the final piece in French, "Comme Au Sein De La Nuit," is a mysterious song, written by Bauweraerts, of love sought and lost in a symbolist's landscape, accompanied very effectively only by simple percussion.



Naturally the group presents several songs from its Flemish repertoire: "Kanneke" deals with the oldest ballad subject in the world and explains what happens when Dianneke (little Diane) carrying her kanneke (a little pot or jug) meets a handsome youth in the moonlight. Quaghebeur is back in prominence with his dancy accordion, while Sunderman plays catchy mandocello. "De Valse Zeeman" (pronounce it and you'll guess that it is about an unfaithful sailor!) sounds exceedingly traditional, even if it was written by Brosens, and captures beautifully the mood of the maiden left waiting by the shore when her lover sails off to enjoy the company of brown girls in other lands. Sunderman's tuneful mandocello (or perhaps it is his guitar) completes the mood perfectly.



The title track of the CD, also by Brosens, is a tale of strange goings-on among the nuns of the Ghent beguinage in olden times, introduced by Quaghebeur's jaunty accordion. It leads on to another piece of a cappella, Bauweraerts' song "Klaas," in which the eponymous hero, having announced his desire to marry, is warned by his mother against having anything to do with any kind of woman ? their various defects are set out in terrifying detail until the young man is put off the whole idea. This amusing piece was one of the songs that made me reflect ruefully on the fact that there is no international audience for songs in Flemish. True, they may be appreciated in the Netherlands and possibly by Afrikaans-speaking South Africans, but compared with singers in English, French, Spanish or Portuguese, there is no world out there waiting to be conquered by singers from Antwerp.

The final Flemish song, which also closes the album, is another half-electronic, half-folk composition by Brosens, "De Wanhoop." The title means despair, and the song is one of vain and frustrated love. Like all of the composed songs on this album, it straddles modern sensibilities and traditional forms and expressions in a way that few contemporary compositions do.

I may already have implied that this disc is likely to have a limited audience. There are not more than six million Flemings, of whom a significant percentage probably have no interest in this kind of music, even if there is a healthy public for folk and related musical forms in Flanders. Even if one adds on the linguistically related nationalities that I mentioned previously, the market for this CD is sadly restricted. The inclusion of four songs in French is unlikely to command a huge Francophone audience and the occasional excursions into other languages are not enough to ensure a wider market for this music. This is a pity: the voices are magnificent, sometimes ethereal, sometimes earthy, always tuneful. The diction in the various languages is extraordinarily good: with my fluent French, my more limited Flemish and my even weaker Provencal, I could follow almost every song without difficulty. Sadly, however, the wider world is unlikely to rush to buy this "exotic" music. And this means that many people who would no doubt be intrigued, impressed and entertained by the blending of different kinds of music, always rooted in the European folk tradition, will probably not get to hear it.

I have already lamented the dearth of information about the songs. I also have a practical complaint about the booklet that comes with this CD: whoever designed it, was not thinking of middle-aged reviewers with weakening eyesight, as small brown print on yellow paper strained my vision to its limits. More seriously, I believe that a multilingual booklet, with information about the songs and their origins and possibly translations too, would perhaps draw more people to acquire the disc. Why, it might even encourage some French-speaking Belgians to find out more about the music being made by their compatriots in the other half of the country. If you have an open mind and wish to hear music that is both familiar (in its roots) and unfamiliar (in its combination of diverse styles) I can recommend this CD to you. I shall be playing it regularly and I eagerly await Lais's next recording.

Incidentally, a bonus CD contains two alternative mixes of "Dorothea" with different instrumentation (one of them including strings, electric piano and Latin percussion and quite different from the original), a live recording of "Marider" and a new (and terrific) song in French, "Le Grand Vent," sung a cappella with the addition of an unidentified male voice.

[Richard Condon]





THE LUMINOUS LIFE OF LAIS
The tip of the Flemish Iceberg

Maybe for a folk revival in a country without a popular music tradition, you simply need a band as a kind of metapher or an icon, representing the idea of folk music to a wide public and giving this style a new image.

In that sense it is not really new what is happening in Belgium right now: Lais, three attractive young girls, leading Belgian folk music to a wide popularity both for audiences and musicians. This folk music icon phenomen was recently seen in Galicia with Carlos Nunez paving the way for a huge boom of pipes and Galician Celtic music; we saw it also in France in the early `70s with Alan Stivell leading to a new French folk wave.

But still, any of these moments, any of these bands have had and have a very special place in the folk music scene: though commercially successful themselves, they are giving an enormous impact to the scene. The new Belgian heroes Lais are still on their way up, having yet gained a lot of attention especially in their home country. Now they are embarking for new markets across the world, with a fresh CD deal with an international record major.

Having seen Lais live at the Tilburg International Folk Festival in January, I was in a way impressed: a group of three pretty girls with gorgeous voices, bringing with them in concert a folk rock band, but presenting themselves in a very professional and attractive way, comparable to rock/pop bands - a high potential for stardom. Still they find the time to start the whole set with a capella folk singing in front of big audiences. Maybe the music style they do is not really new but their appeal definitely: young, charming, yet the right appeal to attract the masses. Just the right stars to lead the folk music to new audiences and new grounds...

So how did the Lais success story start - and why with folk singing? All three of them had no background in traditional singing - "traditional singing does not exist in Belgium", as Jorunn says. Yet she has a family background in folk music, with her father playing the accordeon. Lais started five years ago, in a small village near Brussels called Gooik, being famous for its folk music courses. "I have come to these courses since I was a little child. So I brought on Annelies once, in 1996. On the last evening, everyone started singing with each other; and we started singing and everyone was quiet and listening. That was the start. Among the listeners were some members of Kadril, and they said we had to go on and rehearse."

The core of Lais' repertoire are traditional Flemish songs; so if there is no traditional singing these days in Belgium, where are these songs from? "The texts are from old books. The melodies and the arrangements we make ourselves." It is not too difficult to find those books and songs; they have bought quite a few books in second hand bookshops: "There are a lot of texts that nobody ever used, so we have plenty of texts. These songs are usually not sung in Belgium these days."

Lais only sing a part of their songs in Flemish; they add to their repertoire French chansons from Brel, English pop songs by Sinead O'Connor, trad songs from Italy and Sweden. As Marc Bekaert of the Flemish Magazine 't 'Bourdonske puts it, "they seem to fit in a Pan European influenced movement. This generation grew up with lots of compact discs from all different styles and regions. There are only some vague Flemish roots, and the fact that the performers are Flemish people. But their international succes did draw the attention to the growing Flemish scene."

Having now decided to give their main attention to the Lais carreer, their university studies or their former "normal" life are quit for the moment. The success of their debut album on the Belgian Wildboar label came as a big surprise, having become Gold in Belgium, with more than 30.000 copies sold. Their music is regularly played on Belgian radio, and at the important Belgian Music Trophies "Zamu Award", they were nominated in two categories ("Best Vocal Act" and "Focus on Musical Talent - most promising act") and won the category "Best Vocal Act". No wonder that such a success draws also the attention of the record majors - for their second album Lais have had a lot of attractive offers from diverse majors, with their final decision to sign internationally with Virgin: "We just signed with Virgin. So we will be in Germany and Europe soon. We are working on the CD and hope to bring it out in October. But it has to be very good so if it's not finished yet, we will wait."

In our backstage talk, the three girls presented themselves as charming, a bit shy and modest. Not like the big stars actually. So how do they explain this amazing success? Says Jorunn, "it's something new. I think the people in Belgium needed something like that. There were some folk things, but they were not used commercially, and we tried it, and it worked." So do they think they have had an impact with their music on the Flemish culture? "Yes. -- Well especially on the folk music culture. We are one of the most well known groups. So I hope that there will be other groups that will try to follow us and try to do something like that."

Yet the current movements on the Belgian music scene are not only based on this band; Lais are only the tip of the iceberg, the icons to transport the idea of folk music to a national and international audience. Carrying also the flag of success, Ambrozijn present as well not pure Flemish traditions, but mix them with French and international folk music; and this band as well has a very special and strong live performance. Olla Vogola is a folk big band, combining French with Flemish and worldwide tradtitions and other music styles.

Marc Bekaert gives for FolkWorld a short introduction to other bands of the new folk wave in Belgium: "Besides Lais there is vocal girl power with Dames Noires and Ys, young urban folk such as (Bub), Fluxus and Ashels, modernists as Ambrozijn and Troisseur, as well as diverse combinations in duo or trio: Francois-Masure, Masure-Piccard (strings), Trio Viool (fiddle), Claeys-Laloy (melodeons), Duo Mandingma (bagpipe & melodeon) and even some solo instrumentalists such as Iep (hurdy-gurdy), Didier Francois (nyckelharpa) and Michel Terlinck (plucked dulcimer). There are also some Balkanbands (Trio Dor, KiMiz and Lioutenitsa), and a few resident groups like Shantalla (Irish) and Ialma (Galician), and Irish playing groups as The Swigshift, Eishtlinn, Galdra and Orion. By far the most interesting acts offer multicultural crossovers, like Olla Vogala, Mo-P?h, Alicantes and Keukkojoen. Finally there are also dance bands as Twalseree, Jan Smed, P.P.R. and La Poubelle in Flanders. In the Wallone part of Belgium there are less new groups (Panta Rhei, Luc Pilartz Band, Coincidence, Viridel, Topaze, Crossroads & Borrachoiz). Some of the older groups can hardly compete with all these youngsters: Alfred den Ouden, Walter De Buck, 't Kliekske, Brabant Folk Orchestra and Jean-Pierre Van Hees. The older folk rockers of Kadril seem to have reached the top with their new and young female singer Eva and so called CD."

There is definitely a wealth of new folk music in Belgium, with a lot of new friends of "New Flemish Folk". One of the fans of the Belgian scene is Gabriel Yacoub, having been two decades ago the leader of legendary French folk rock band Malicorne. He observes the scene with great respect, and has given some support as musician or producer to bands such as Olla Vogala or Ambrozijn. "(The revival of the folk scene is) mostly because of the success of this band Lais, and that is such a big success just like Stivell in France in the 70s. Behind Lais there are a lot of great bands - I go very often to Belgium, and I see new bands all the time. It's very good!"

Michael Moll
Photo Credit: Lais at the Tilburg International Folk Festival; the second last photo: (bub).
All Photos by The Mollis
c Folkworld, june 2000






LAIS - TRADITIONAL VICE IN TRIPLE

Lais was born in 1994, in 1998 their first CD appeared. Meanwhile they are recording their second CD and the group is the topact of the Flemish Folk. The trinity - Jorunn, Annelies en Nathalie - become famous with their co-appearance with Kadril during the Dranouter Folk Festival. The Angel voices and the graceful presence of the young ladies brougt the audience in a state of ecstacy. Or how the least folky folkgroep of Flanders caused a real Flemish folkmusic revival. Three modern young women who walk the roads of the traditional folk music: isn't that a reversed anachronism? Or do you have to describe the music of Lais as 'world music'? Tine Danckaers asked Jorunn Bauweraerts.

Own musical culture
Folk and world music are basically the same. The name world music is automatically given to African, Asian and Southamerican sounds. While folk-music - it's already expressed in the word - reflects the music of a particular country, a particular culture, world-music is interweaved in other musical styles. But the basic rhytms the modern music is based upon still come from a well-defined time zone and culture, and that's what we call 'folk-music'. The cause of the actual huge popularity of folk- or world-music can be found in the fact that we, northerners, are getting more and more aware of our own musical roots and are discovering our own inner world-music", explains Jorunn.

Drum 'n' bass
Lais doesn't like to be put in musical cages. The group doesn't shrink from introducing modern rhytms like drum 'n' bass in their music. Isn't the authenticity of traditional music endangered by modern rhytms? "Not at all", says Jorunn. "Authenticity is a dangerous word. Music is primerally liberating.What counts in the telt is the genuineness, the trance that causes this artictis form. I believe in the survival of traditional music. After all, this music was the foundation Lais.But we live here and now; music evolves, so do rhytms. That's why I find it enormously fascinating to complete the basic elements of our music with new rhytms like drum 'n' bass. Authentical Music Festivals, where the usage of electronic instruments isn't allowed, are to restricted for me."

Cruel voices
"We digged the old lyrics from under the dust because we are amused and gripped by the hidden messages. In the Middle Ages there was no television, but in those days as well the people asked for sensation and spectacular stories. The most suitable manner - although subject to heavy censure - was the sung narrative. Hidden behind heaps of symbolism, we get cruel and luscious stories."

No flower-folkgirls
This angle of incidence declares perhaps partially why the fresh looking singers of Lais don't answer to the stereotype image of 'flower-folksgirls'. An image Jorunn likes to get even with: "Well, we actually laugh with the fact that we are supposed to wear goatwool socks and Indian gowns. Each musical style wears its own outfit. Just look at genres like hiphop, with the obligate cap and trousers with the seat hanging to the ankles. And the popular drum 'n' bass-scene. But concerning the folk-music, it's high time we definitely prick the images of the sixties."

And the "goatwool sock wearers" will understand that as well.

Tine Danckaers
c De Wereld Morgen, April 2000
(translation: mt)





LAIS - FAMOUS BELGIANS

The most commercially succesful of the new wave of Belgian folk bands has undoubtedly been Lais. Lais stands for 'voice' and also refers to the medieval 'lais', erotic minstrel songs.

The group comprises of Jorunn Bauweraerts, Annelies Brosens and Nathalie Delcroix. Between November 1998 and January 1999, 8,000 copies of their debut album Lais were sold and it entered the national album chart at No. 29. The Antwerp vocal trio are managed by Pascal Van De Velde of the high profile Make It Happen agency. Lais are young, dynamic, and attractive and in January appeared on the cover of TV7, the local equivalent of Radio Times.

Jorunn explained Lais' beginning. "We started with myself and Annelies and another singer going to the summer camps in Gooik near Brussels. We met two members of Kadril who told us we should stay together and keep singing in a band." "We had to learn to sing as a group because up to then we were just friends who sung together", Annelies continued.

Jorunn's background is that of a folk music family. "My father has been playing the bagpipes since he was 12 years old. I had been playing the violin since I was 9 and before that I liked the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac." By contrast, Annelies' background centred on classical singing. "I knew Jorunn for 10 years but I didn't grow up in a folk music family. I went to a school for classical singing but Jorunn took me to Gooik when I was 12 and I thought it was nice. Since then I have tried to sing more in a folk style but I still do classical singing."

Nathalie Delcroix, a kindergarten teacher, came on board recently. "I was a fan of theirs and went to their shows. Jorunn heard me sing and suggested we do something together. I liked folk music but I never dreamed of doing anything with it, as there is no folk tradition in my family."

All the material on Lais is traditional, bar covers of songs by Sinead O'Connor and Jacques Brel. Jorunn: "We started with traditional songs and traditional texts but we wanted to do something special with them. We have re-written some of the texts and sometimes we would use half of the original melody and make up the rest but we make up all the arrangements ourselves. We sang with Kadril for three years and we like to use instruments behind our voices. It's very nice for us to sing a capella, but we also like to dance around and have some backing behind our voices. Most of our concerts are a capella and it's our base. On the album we decided to use some musicians. However when we sing unaccompanied we sing more easily and can hear each other better."

John O'Regan
Photograph c Marc Masschelein
c Folk Roots Magazine issue 193, July 1999



LAIS: "INDEED, WE TRULY LIKE OUR OWN MUSIC"

Whoever says folk, says Lais. It's as simple as that, these days. Not only could the ladies go on the podium for the second time in a small village in Brabant, they even dared to rename the event Folk Werchter. Hard times for rock lovers.

Whoever felt the wooden floor of the Pyramid Marquee (concert tent in Rock Werchter) turn into a trampoline during " 't Smidje" will affirm without problem: folk is 'in'. And it has been since a few years, with the constantly growing success of the folk festival in Dranouter. Many, if not all, the reasons for this can be found in these three girls from the village of Kalmthout, who some time ago started to sing together around a campfire. Is it really all their fault?

Jorunn Bauweraerts (Lais): "Objectionally, we may have been one of the most important factors, but I think that there was a demand for it anyway. After all, folk is flourishing not only in Flanders or Belgium, but also in France - and actually everywhere. Maybe we opened up the folk world: thanks to us it is no longer that closed sphere of 'bearded men'. We are just young women that happen to be doing quite a special thing. Through the success of Lais however, people became aware of the existence of folk music, which used to be a very closed circuit. But to say that we are entirely responsible for the current flourish of folk music, is somewhat exaggerated.. Though of course you notice that a lot of young people see themselves at us, as an example that one can make it as a folk musician. Even though we are no longer a pure folk group."

Goddeau: And that has offended some people in the folk world. Herman Dewit (organiser of the folk sessions at Gooik) wondered if it was really necessary to mix folk with other influences, at the expense of authenticity.
Jorunn: "I really don't blame Herman for wanting to do things his own way, but if you use drums, folk lovers quickly think that the purpose is to reach a larger audience. But the only thing that interests us is making music that we think is beautiful. Really. So we can't help it is that is more commercial music than that of most of the folk groups, that we become more professional by rehearsing more frequently, by working with a better sound system, by paying attention to the decor: . Using folk influences doesn't oblige you to stay in that little world. We, and many people around us, are glad that it has opened up a bit now. In all genres there are purists, and they feel we are being commercial. But we are honest to ourselves, we do what we feel is best, and I think that is most important.
I believe that also explains the success of Lais: that we believe 100% in what we do. Nothing is faked; we don't do anything against our wishes. In fact, that was our very first demand when we signed up with Virgin, our new record company: as far as music is concerned, we decide what should or should not happen".

Goddeau: Perhaps not as long as you continue to be successful, but aren't you afraid that will change when the hype is somewhat over?
Jorunn: "It will be over when it's over. But no: it is literally in our contract that we are free, that no one can pressure us. You anyway have to put this whole 'folk boom' into perspective. It is not that there are fifty folk groups suddenly doing well, eh? That so-called 'boom' is about maybe five to ten groups. And yes, of course there are openings: people are more interested. But I am not afraid, because when the hype stops, Lais will remain a genre in itself, with its own public".

Goddeau: So how do you explain that international folk boom?
Jorunn: "I think that it is really logical: in the sixties folk music was already very popular, especially Indian and African. World music it was called at that time, and it is exactly the same music as we make now. Through all this abstract electronic music of today - which I also appreciate - people long for pure, the same feeling as expressed by those protesting anti-globalists. An additional advantage of folk is again, that it can be combined with very different music styles."

Goddeau: At what length do you, as a group, discuss the idea of remaining authentic?
Jorunn: "Fortunately we all more or less agree on it, and therefore there are few big discussions. What we do find important, is for example that, if there is dance in a certain melody, we will keep it and are not flatten out the rhythm. Also our texts are pure folk, but for us it is not necessary that a lyre or accordion is played in each and every song. In fact Lais has become a style on its own".

Goddeau: In the first stages of the second album, you hinted that you wanted to bring about some evolution in your music. The name of 'Afro Celt Soundsystem' was heard frequently around that subject. But in the end Dorothea appeared to be more like an extension of your debut, if not a copy.
Jorunn: 'In the end that was decided fully consciously, and perhaps also a bit unconsciously. We are open to a lot of things - for example, we used some samples in the second album - but this has to be done very conscientiously. It is really easy to place a beat under something. If I hear Afro Celt Soundsystem I sometimes also think: "Well, this could be a bit more sober". For our second album, which was the first one with our own back-up band, it was important to prove that we have our own sound. Now that we have it, we can start to experiment. Anyway, that can happen anytime, it depends a lot on the producer you work with. But it is true that we did not take it too far on Dorothea."

Goddeau: How important are the musicians in the development of that own sound? What role does guitarist Fritz Sundermann play?
Jorunn: "The three of us take the final decisions, but in reality it is not that fixed because we read each other quite well. Fritz is really fascinating, as he has been active in many genres, and can handle a lot of styles. That makes it exciting to try combinations. Aside from that, he puts a whole lot of energy in the group, and we really needed someone like that. He also is a true fan of Lais: during the a capella songs he normally watches at the side of the stage. On the other hand, he is of course my boyfriend."

Goddeau: SSome first-hour fans took offence at the fact that you started to use back-up instruments. How important are those a capella songs for you now?
Jorunn: "They definitely remain very important. We like to sing a capella as well as with accompaniment. In the long run singing all the time without accompaniment is quite boring, and also very tiring for the vocal chords. I can assure you that you can't do three or four concerts per week if you only sing a capella. We do really like singing that way though. We just got back from a week in China, and there - except for three songs where Fritz played the guitar - we constantly sung without instruments. Purely vocal singing is fantastic. And it is also the base: most of the songs are first created a capella, and the instruments join in only afterwards. On the other hand it is fascinating to work with musicians, to create an own style. If it is mixed well, and the sound is good, the three voices can be more pronounced when there is accompanying music."

Goddeau: How were you welcomed in China?
Jorunn: "A lot of Chinese did come to see us. They are really weird people, you know: they mostly came to watch us like we were in a zoo. It seemed like they had never before seen any white young girls. The strange thing is that they typically hide their feelings, but not in this case - they stared and were pointing at us while giggling. In the long run however we got used to it. Strange but truly fascinating people."

Goddeau: How in the world can you have singing discussions, as the rumour goes you did during the recordings of Dorothea?
Jorunn: "Oh, that's all just a game (laughs). These are not beautiful harmonies. Singing is just a game, you can use that. A lot of funny things happened in the studio anyway. That is the most fun about Lais: that we are such a close group. Same with the musicians, the manager, the lawyer: with everyone around it really. That is wonderful. After all, it is our work environment, and more than that".

Matthieu Van Steenkiste
Foto: Katelijne Beerten
c www.goddeau.com, 10 oktober 2001

Translation: Ann Willems (for Lais Website)