La Blanche Alchimie

Live on oct. 11th @ NYC’s Highline Ballroom and on oct.15th @  L.a’s Ford Ampitheatre

La Blanche Alchimie ( LBA) is an Italian alternative pop duo formed in Milan in March 2007 consisting of lead singer Jessica Einaudi ( born 7 June 1983) and pianist and guitarist Federico Albanese ( born 3 Agoust 1982 ).

When Jessica and Federico met , they had both quit University to follow their real passion : Music.

Jessica has been singing since she could speak and studied functional singing for several years , but because of her shy nature , her first live performance took place at the age of 22.From that moment on she realized what she was supposed to do and begun writing songs and stories.

In December 2006 sang in the chorus of the performance art music piece by New York-Brazilian musician-singer-guitarist, Arto Lindsay.

Federico started playing the piano at the age of three , took piano,bass and clarinet lessions and played bass and guitar with many bands since he was a teenager.

Writing songs to him has always been natural, like breathing.

His hard rock background melted with his romantic side has been the first skeleton of “La Blanche Alchimie’s sound”.

LBA started as a game, an exchange of feelings and vibes.

The name was inspired by suggestions coming from their first songs and by the wish to evoke something both pure and controversial.

The duo drew artistic influence from the Velvet Underground, Portishead , Erik Satie , asian movies and T.S Elliot poems.

After a period of experimentation fusing torch songs , acoustic- rock and cool beats the pair found their own unique voice.

It was the right time to record the nine original tracks that compose their homonymous self-produced debut record “La Blanche Alchimie” released on Ponderosa Music & Art on June 2009.They recorded the album at Elfo Studio among the hills near Piacenza, letting themselves be contaminated by the special melancholy of that landscape.

Their songs are very individual, unquestionably romantic , refined , dreamlike ,minimalistic and nocturnal.The harmonies and the continual dialogue between voice and music produce a very original sound.

Critical response to the album was excellent and their single “The Kingdom” has received significant airplay on the most important italian radio stations.

LBA played a lot of gigs in Italy, took part in “In The City Festival“ (Manchester, UK) and recently played in Germany.

The duo had a remarkable success during their live shows , and they have the ability to bring to life the hypnotic and decaying atmospheres interweaved in their songs.

“The singer’s vocals, elegant and crystalline, reminds of Kate Bush and Beth Gibbons’s tone, and the expression of Middle Eastern tradition , rich in musicality and charm…”(Live report @Off Modena)

La Blanche Alchimie is currently on tour and working on the second album.

SOME PRESS REVIEWS:

“In the present chaos a relief of white alchemy..” Mescalina

“Federico Albanese and Jessica Einaudi dreamed up an enthralling debut burdend with an existentialistic tension…neo symphonic , avantgarde rock romantic ecstasies..” Rumore

“La Blanche Alchimie’s compositions are like sounding hands going through feelings.An ethereal and carnal debut album…beautiful psych pop songs about the variations of love..” Rock star

“The album charms with inspiration and good taste only with the help of a beautiful voice and discreet and very well done arrangements” Blow UP

“Everything, from the name of the band to the cover of the album, suggests the dark atmoshere of la Blanche alchimie, full of mist and curses…a female voice sings about a confused epic made of vertigo, atmopheric agents, nails and blood, pains and shadows, queens, poison and death…” Rock it

“Nine enchanting frescos imbued with a filthy and sensual delicacy , as the controversial human soul ,perpetually suspended between desire’s whirpools and purity of feelings.The dialogue between strings, acoustic guitar , effects and Jessica’s warm voice creates an hypnotic constant, setting in the psych pop ballad frame sad stories of madness and obsession” Ritual

“Melancholics, delicates, poetically raw as serial killer, able to touch the deepest strings of the soul..once you meet them the game is done and you will fall in love with this duo and with these atmospheres so intimate that make you blush..”  Live Rock

“Refined as a Hugo Pratt page, damned as an Abel Ferrara film, tuned as the greatest music couples you can think about..the record we missed in the indie scene.” Smemoranda

http://www.myspace.com/blanchealchimie