The all-woman trio Bela Karoli released the 2007 album titled Furnished Rooms, which embodies refined baroque pop that blends electronic percussion elements seamlessly with vocals, stringed instruments and accordion. All through the album, the band's method remains true to the consistency of their unique style.
Primary-songwriter, Julie Davis, plucks jazzy double bass rhythms, and shares vocal duties with Brigid McAuliffe, who compresses accordion bellows. Carrie Beeder runs her bow across violin and cello strings.
Preludes 2 puts the words of T.S. Eliot to music. Davis' jerky melody captures the sense of spiritual exhaustion expressed by the poem.
The morning comes to consciousnessBela Karoli put extra time into arranging and polishing their sound in the studio.
Of faint stale smells of beer
From the sawdust-trampled street
With all its muddy feet that press
To early coffee-stands.
With the other masquerades
That times resumes,
One thinks of all the hands
That are raising dingy shades
In a thousand furnished rooms.
Recording brought out the awkward situation of trying to figure out what we'd evolved into. Both the process of recording and hearing the songs made us ask a lot of questions. - Carrie Beeder
profile @ myspace
mp3 @ denverpost.com (string of lights, bela karoli)
discography @ amazon
interview @ denverpost.com
review @ brainwashed.com
review @ kaffeinebuzz.com
review @ kvchno.com
review @ npr.org
review @ the taos news
review @ tinymixtapes.com
review @ waywardpanties.com
review @ westword
review included @ baseballtoaster.com
home page @ belakaroli.com
label @ helmetroom.com
images @ flickr.com (julie davis)
images @ flickr.com (brigid mcauliffe)
