Mi and L'au

You can't get much more sparse than the self-titled debut full-length by the French/Finnish duo, Mi and L'au. But there's good reason for the lack of instrumentation. It turns out that Mi (a model, who represents the French equation) and L'au (a former music-industry employee, who represents the Finnish equation) live together in a small cabin, in an isolated part of Finland. It was their surroundings that influenced their music, which is usually comprised solely of voice (both split lead vocal duties), acoustic guitar, and a very modest bit or two of additional instrumentation. Interestingly, although the recordings were created in the aforementioned cabin, overdubs were done at a locale that is probably the furthest removed from isolation you can get — the busy streets of Brooklyn, New York. With all the songs following the same sonic recipe, the 14-track album is best experienced in one sitting — from front to back — rather than individual selections. That said, the merger of Mi's voice and orchestral flourishes certainly make tracks like "Older" stand out. If you're looking for music to put you in a mellow mood, Mi and l'Au would be a perfect selection.