• ‘Forward thinking welsh music industry showcase’

    Metro
  • Joana Dark (Catalonia)

    Joana Dark is a musical project that was born with the intention of transporting to the present day those songs that left evidence of the customs and traditions of the last century.

    Through the recovery of ancient texts, reflection is sought on the rural roots of our current customs, as well as the analysis of their present, always from the woman’s perspective.
    Joana Dark seeks to bring these traditional melodies closer to the current audience and experiment with them, making a reinterpretation adapted to the contemporary sound context, with special emphasis on electronic music. Likewise, the voice becomes the main axis as a communicator, in the same way as it was during the era of oral tradition. The claim of the appropriation of the voice, specifically the female voice, to communicate one’s own thoughts.

    Joana Dark is a project started by Ariadna Rulló, who, while flipping through her father’s costume book by Joan Amades, decides to delve for the first time into the world of folk imaginary that she has been exposed to since childhood, bringing it to her peers by transforming its format while keeping the original lyrics.

    Daughter of folk veteran Ton Rulló (Coses, TR, La Rural, Ton Rulló i la Pegebanda), Ariadna was trained in drums and composition from a young age. After starting out in punk-rock, she began to establish herself as a singer with various bands, showcasing her powerful voice. Gradually, she ventured into the world of electronics and music editing software, and in 2012, she started producing her first album with Jordi Pegenaute (Loquillo, Jackson Browne, Jaleo…). In 2015, she released her first LP, Crystal Soul, under the “Temps Record” label, which was well received by critics and the public.

    With the duo Wölva, she presented Cycle (2019), together with electronic music producer Samuel Escudero. The album reflects on pressure, bad and good love, empowerment, and submission from a feminist, reflective, and realistic point of view on feminine essence.

    La Lireta: Joana Dark’s debut EP was created alongside artist and musicologist Júdit Pi Aloy and Arnau Vallvé (member and author of the Catalan group Manel). It also features collaboration from urban singer Lauren Nine on the song Bisbe Bo.

    La Lireta is mainly based on one of the most important works of Catalan ethnologist and folklorist Joan Amades: Folklore de Catalunya. The research and careful selection that Joana Dark has made from Joan Amades’ texts aims to achieve a key objective for the project: to give voice to the women of the past century and offer them a new perspective.






    Saturday May 10th, 2025 12:40 pmSat @ Hope Street Church