SF/Arts Curator Insight

If it sounds like Tarta Relena are singing in tongues, it’s probably because you’ve never heard a Catalan a cappella duo tackle ancient Greek, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Catalan, and Ladino. Marta Torrella and Helena Ros expertly toy with the sacred and profane in their quest to build a repertoire that spans Mediterranean folk traditions and modern electronic experimentation. Their 2024 album draws from diverse sources: flamenco, Georgian laments, the mystic works of 12th-century abbess Hildegard von Bingen. Catch them at The Lab for their San Francisco debut, alongside two equally brilliant experimental composers out of Oakland: Sholeh Asgary and Leila Abdul-Rauf.