Matinee: Carme López, solo

How can one rethink a well-known instrument and ancient traditions—perhaps in a completely different way? Carme López from Galicia shows us how. Inspired by experimental artists such as Éliane Radigue and Pauline Oliveros, she explored the Galician bagpipes on her debut album *Quintela*, released in March 2024, coaxing an experimental sound from the instrument—traditionally associated with men—that is better described as drones and ambient soundscapes than as folklore. In the fall, López released an album by her vocal project Carmela, *Vinde Todas*. It is based on her ethnographic research into Galicia’s orally transmitted singing traditions, their thematic, rhythmic, and aesthetic diversity, and the gender perspective in the transmission of these songs. Whether it’s the bagpipes or singing, Carme López blends tradition, the present, and a vision of the future into a captivating overall experience.