Calla
Calla was formed in New York City in 1997 by Aurelio Valle (guitar, vocals), Sean Donovan (bass, keyboards, programming), and Wayne B. Magruder (percussion, programming). However, the band's origins can be traced to Texas in 1993, where Valle and Magruder began performing together in the Denton band the Factory Press. The band relocated to New York in 1995, recording The Smoky Ends of a Burnt out Day with producers Kid Congo Powers and Matt Verta-Ray. The group split in 1997 and the album was not released until early 1998, by which time Valle and Magruder were pursuing new musical ventures. Most notably, Magruder worked with Bowery Electric, Main, and Windsor for the Derby.
In 1997, former Factory Press studio collaborator Sean Donovan arrived from Texas and took up residence in Brooklyn with Valle and Magruder. The trio set about writing and recording and Calla was born. Donovan and Magruder -- who had previously worked together as the Fallen Vlods -- shaped Calla's creative process around sampling and programming, marking a shift away from the approach taken by the Factory Press. A four-track demo was completed in 1998, generating interest from the Brussels label Sub Rosa, which released the band's first album to critical acclaim in 1999. Calla's self-titled debut prized apart traditional song structures and reconfigured the components into subtly apocalyptic, cinematic pieces, at times evoking electronically processed Ennio Morricone soundscapes.
Calla subsequently made the transition to performance, a process that gave Valle, Magruder, and Donovan their first taste of playing together outside a studio environment. Playing live had a significant impact on the band's sound and direction. Having been excited by the debut album, Michael Gira was particularly impressed by the way Calla's music had been changed by live performance, and signed the group to his label, Young God Records. The band's first album on Young God, Scavengers (January 2001), marked a subtle change in orientation. Scavengers was less reliant on studio processing and although it displayed a familiar atmospheric minimalist sensibility, its textures coalesced into more conventional song formats. Understanding the mixture of indie rock and high-concept art that their music represented, Televise (January 2003) solidified their jagged indie pop sound. Collisions followed two years later. Calla went on tour in Europe the following year. Their fifth album, Strength in Numbers, was released in 2007.
© Wilson Neate /TiVo
Discography
37 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Pick Your Battles
Alternative & Indie - Released by Calla on 8 Nov 2024
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Burn Cycle
Dance - Released by Golden Pineapple Studios on 13 Dec 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
-
-
Collisions
Alternative & Indie - Released by Beggars Banquet on 27 Sep 2005
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Strength In Numbers
Alternative & Indie - Released by Beggars Banquet on 20 Feb 2007
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Scavengers
Alternative & Indie - Released by Young God Records on 16 Jan 2001
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
-
Calla Live at Double Door 03/15/2004
World - Released by Calla on 15 Mar 2004
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
-
If Love Were Enough
Pop - Released by Popnotch Music on 15 Dec 2023
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Swagger
Alternative & Indie - Released by Beggars Banquet on 13 Mar 2006
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Kreisende Zweifel
Alternative & Indie - Released by Flower Records on 1 Sep 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
SELF-SABOTAGE (Remixes)
Pop - Released by Popnotch Music on 28 Apr 2023
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Hamsterrad
Punk / New Wave - Released by Flower Records on 26 May 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
It Dawned on Me
Alternative & Indie - Released by Beggars Banquet on 21 Nov 2005
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
-
-
-
-
Dream Within A Dream
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Calla & Depre on 23 Oct 2023
Available in24-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo