Malena Zavala - Aliso LP

LP contains 2 double sided square posters with the lyrics printed on the inside of the gatefold sleeve. “Argentinean born Malena Zavala is set to take the world by storm” Wonderland // Debut album from Malena Zavala - entirely written, played and produced by Zavala. Its ten tracks owe a debt to Beach House, Brian Eno, Tame Impala, Cuban folk musician Silvio Rodriguez and an addictive Argentinean tea called Yerba Mate that fuelled its recording. When Zavala sings, time seems to stand still. Her haunting voice is hypnotic, her sensual songs are as much about capturing emotions as they are about telling tales. Born in northern Argentina, Malena was brought up in Britain from the age of three. For ‘Aliso’ she drew inspiration from the women in her family. Until 2016 Malena was in the band Oh So Quiet with her brother Lucas before he made a dream move to California. As an older sibling he had been a strong musical influence and, while losing her mentor was hard at first, it was a vital step for her to step out of the shadows. Visiting Lucas in California at his house in Aliso Viejo, she felt a surge of energy and desire to prove herself, writing most of her first LP in a couple of weeks. Within six months she had recorded, produced, and mixed* (*with Gareth Jones) the album, and completed all the art, visuals and videos. Set to a backdrop of liquid psych rock and dream pop, ‘Aliso’ concerns itself largely with themes of cultural identity, self-doubt, acceptance, artistic freedom, miscommunication between cultures, and relationships. The beauty of ‘Aliso’ - and the reason it sounds like no other album - is because its songs were recorded as they were written, with no boundaries, no set destination, and no rules in place to break