Catalan folk duo Tarta Relena blend ancient and modern sounds in Tiny Desk Concert

Catalan folk duo Tarta Relena brought their blend of ancient and modern sounds to American public broadcaster NPR for a Tiny Desk Concert recorded live on Wednesday. 

The twenty-minute performance from Marta Torrella and Helena Ros has racked up more than 40,000 views on YouTube in less than 24 hours. 

Originally an a cappella project that began in 2016, Tarta Relena also employ minimal electronics and experimental sounds including live sampling of the sounds of various objects.

Introducing the Tiny Desk Concert, journalist Felix Contreras said his first impression watching Tarta Relena "is a reminder that the human voice may be mankind's oldest musical instrument."

Torrella and Ros sang five songs in five different languages, "not just Spanish, Greek and their native Catalan, but also Latin and classical Greek, evoking images of lyricists and vocalists from centuries past." 

It is not the first time the Catalan language has been heard at a Tiny Desk Concert. Lau Noah, a singer from Reus in southern Catalonia performed 'L'adeu' (The Goodbye) for NPR in 2019.