Swept Away! Into the Poetic Musical Cosmos with Bébé La La!
By Mary Dezember, Ph.D.
A “From Dr. Dezember’s View” Review
I click “play” on YouTube to hear and see the Bébé La La first official music video, of their song entitled “Bébé La La.”
The video starts, the music enters…and I am swept away!!
Truly, Baby Wow!
Bébé La La takes me into the pure poetry of music, beyond the comprehension of lyrics into the scenery of soul freedom.
Vignettes fill my senses:
from the entrance of musical duo Maryse Lapierre and Alicia Ultan, slowly from invisible to visible,
onto the rocky hills and magical woods of the Land of Enchantment,
to wild horses running,
to dancers in the forests,
to the spiraling Milky Way,
to the performance stage,
to flowered fields,
to animation,
to wild clouds touching ocean waves,
to rushing brooks,
to the mechanical whirring of a clocks—
all wrapped in spirited wind,
sweeping me away
with Alicia’s guitar and Maryse’s lead vocals.
As if casting a spell, Maryse and Alicia enter the enchanted landscape and sweep me into the music and images with them. When they leave the landscape, and the music video ends, the charm stays.
The music and the images seem to say: enjoy the richness of our cosmos filled with life’s moments.
Together, Maryse and Alicia punctuate the French lyrics (written by Maryse) with the refrain of the name of their musical duo—bébé la la—a chorus that announces their arrival on the music video scene.
After being swept away in the astounding sensory loveliness, I read the French lyrics and the English translation provided on the video’s YouTube page. (See the video above, if you have not watched already. Lyrics in French, and English translation, are provided there.)
What I find is that the refrain is a clever play on words to both punctuate their band name and to call out the “you” of the song—possibly, on one level, the would-be lover who won’t grow up or grow into a responsible adult romantic relationship. But the lyrics say so much more. Writer Maryse describes the song “Bébé La La” as follows:
“The lyrics have to do with the masculine in general inside each of us, and how we are balanced or not between our yin and yang, and also love stories and relationship through time... reincarnation.”
The lyrics and the music video fit perfectly.
After the thrill of the music video, now…
…Pop in their first CD, High Wire (Produced by John Wall, Wall of Sound Studio, and Bébé La La: 2015).
I have the same experience of being swept away. Each of the ten songs are individual trips into unique sounds with Alicia on vocals, guitar, viola and Maryse on vocals, accordion, and harmonium. Guest artists add bass, cello, alto saxophone, percussion, drum, trumpet, harmonica and upright bass.
Lyrics range from woes we share (such as in “IRS”) to relationships with others (such as in “Sister Sister”) to a spiritual tribute to America’s Pre-Columbian people (“Ruins”).
“Ruins,” written by Alicia, is inspired by her visit to New Mexico’s Gran Quivira ruins where, she states, she “experienced a palpable connection to the history of the land.”
This song, featuring Native American medicine man Oatzinu Shé é lake é on chants and percussion, won Best Native American award in the New Mexico Music Awards, 2016.
Garnering another win in the 2016 New Mexico Music Awards—in the Singer-Songwriter category—is “Sister Sister,” also written by Alicia.
10th Anniversary CD
Some songs from their upcoming second CD (10th Anniversary CD) currently in production, highlight difficult events of recent years. This CD will feature nine songs, one of which is the song of the music video—”Bébé La La.”
Select lyrics of two other songs—“One Minute at a Time” (nominated in 2021 for a New Mexico Music Award) and “Remember (George Floyd)”—both written by Alicia, follow:
…This day, this hour, this minute
Is all we know
There’s hope inside this evil foe
What is this new world we find ourselves in?
Wearing masks and gloves and fear
Losing our jobs, social distancing
Closing doors and steering clear
One day, one hour, one minute at a time
There’s comfort in knowing
We’re all on the line
Can we go back to the age of innocence?
Dancing circles, holding hands
Spraying crazy foam and laughing
Like the world would never end
One day, one hour, one minute at a time…
—from “One Minute at a Time” by Alicia Ultan
Formerly from Minneapolis, Alicia responded to the murder of George Floyd with “Remember (George Floyd)”:
…How can I sleep
When my city’s in flames
When they’re killing our brothers
Like they don’t have names
How can I breathe
When they left you to die
His knee on your neck
Ignoring your cry
How can I sing
When your voice has been silenced…
—from “Remember (George Floyd)” by Alicia Ultan
You can read more about their CD in production, and support its release, on the gofundme page by clicking here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bb-la-la-10th-anniversary-cd
Bébé La La—lyrics, singing, arrangement, production, mastering—stellar in every way!
You can hear Alicia and Maryse perform and speak with them about their collaboration, which they call “A Wonderful Series of Unexpected Events,”
at Creatives in Conversation,
Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 5:30 pm MT.
Join Us for Bébé La La ~ A Wonderful Series of Unexpected Events
Join us for New Mexico's Award Winning Musical Duo Bébé La La,
featuring singer-songwriters Alicia Ultan and Maryse Lapierre,
as they perform and speak about their musical journey, collaboration and upcoming release.
Wednesday, April 6, 2022. 5:30 pm MT via Zoom!
About Bébé La La
An award-winning indie Folk Americana Français duo hailing from Albuquerque, NM, Bébé La La features singer-songwriter, guitarist, violist Alicia Ultan and singer-songwriter, accordionist Maryse Lapierre, who is originally from Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2010, the group combines Lapierre's French influences with Ultan's original folk inspired ‘art’ songs and boasts a unique and lovely repertoire that highlights their signature "stunning" harmonies. Over the years, the duo has developed a diverse and extensive repertoire and have performed throughout Albuquerque and surrounding areas, including at the Outpost Performance Space, the International Balloon Fiesta, AMP Concert events, the Corrales Harvest Festival, The International Balloon Museum, The Regional Arts Council of Truth or Consequences, NM and at many other venues.
Bébé La La released their debut album, High Wire in 2015, for which they received three nominations and two awards (for Ultan’s song “Sister Sister” in the Singer Songwriter category and for her song “Ruins” in the Native American music category) at the 2016 New Mexico Music Awards. Recorded at the multi award-winning Wall of Sound Studios in Albuquerque, the album comprises nine original songs by Ultan and a French ballad by Catherine Le Forestier. Guest artists on the album include renowned trumpeter Bobby Shew, with whom the duo performed a sold-out concert for the Corrales Arts Center House Concert Series in 2018; and New York based jazz saxophonist Javon Jackson (who was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers). In a review of High Wire, music writer James Mahoney wrote, “Wild - Alternative – Magic! Hearing this music is, strangely, like opening up a new set of Tarot cards- with very new images: wild re-structurings of the dramas in each of the cards, so that both vital mystery and authentic emotion - along with a symbol system - are all living together in an advanced beauty.”
Bébé La La recently released their debut music video featuring Lapierre’s original French song (and band namesake) “Bébé La La” (co-written with Ultan) from their upcoming sophomore CD, which they plan to release this coming summer. The album also features 8 original tunes by Ultan and a viola, harmonium, vocal instrumental and several special guest musicians.
Bébé La La performs both as a duo and as a full band, and rounding out their already richly textured music are Micky Patten on bass and Cal Haines on drums, both of whom are members of the esteemed Bobby Shew Sextet as well as other ensembles in NM.
The Bébé La La band will be performing live this spring for the Second Saturday Community Coffeehouse series on April 9 and at Solid Grounds Coffeehouse at St. Stephens United Methodist Church, Albuquerque, NM, on May 14.
For more information visit https://bebelalamusic.com.
NOTE about Bébé La La Music Video, September 15, 2021:
Video made possible by the generous donation of videographer/director Rob Raucci, Two Spirits One Voice Films
Produced by Bébé La La & Rob Raucci
Song Recorded by John Wall, Wall of Sound Studios, Albuquerque, NM
NOTE: Photos and lyrics (except for CD cover photo) provided by Alicia Ultan and Maryse Lapierre.
NOTE: CD album cover art by MikoZen (ArtbyMiko.com)
About the Author
Mary Dezember, PhD, loves being swept away into magical places and spaces, such as how she feels when hearing the sound of Bébé La La. Mary is a poet, an author of fiction and non-fiction, an educator, arts scholar, arts advocate, and a lover of visual, verbal, musical art, and the beauty of language.
Mary earned her PhD in Comparative Literature, specialization in Comparative Arts, from Indiana University in 2000, with PhD minors in Art History and Performance Studies.
Professor Emeritus of English, she taught Comparative Arts, Art History, Creative Writing and Literature at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology from August 2000 to May 2021.
She enjoys performing her poetry and advocating the creativity of others. She is a tour guide for Santa Fe Art Tours.
She is the founder and host of Creatives in Conversation.
Her publications include several non-fiction essays and articles and two books of poetry: Earth-Marked Like You (Sunstone Press) and Still Howling (CreateSpace Independent Publishing), with the title poem being First Place winner of the Best Beat Poem Contest, 2016, sponsored by Beatlick Press. Her novel, Wild Conviction, a winner of the Inkshares 2020 All-Genre Manuscript Contest, is in the works to be published.
Her writing examines the historical basis for contemporary social issues and the internal quest or rite of passage to identity. She strives to inspire champions to create a new and better day.