Rauelsson
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Rauelsson

Portland, Oregon, United States

Portland, Oregon, United States
Band Folk Pop

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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Press


"Refined and understated, Rauelsson's melodies warm the soul like wool gloves."

Portland, Oregon bard Rauelsson’s folk pop is gentle to the core: if there are any drums on these two EPs, they’re commandeered with brushes or tracked very low, and the only other element that’s capable of making a ruckus is the vibraphone, which, you know, really isn’t capable of that at all. Born Raúl Pastor Medall, Rauelsson is originally from Spain, and all of his recordings on Tiempo De and Pacifico are sung (and whispered) in his beautiful native language.

With spots of bright, trebly guitar strumming over his nimbly fingered acoustics, Rauelsson conjures the sound of early 1960s balladry on his Hush debut. His songs are usually much quieter than anything intended for popular radio, however. “Guantes De Lana” somewhat resembles the more straightforward folk segments of Juana Molina’s catalog—a mild ode to wool gloves, it’s as simple and as rewarding as the author intended. Double-tracked vocals don a bridge that might have been cribbed from a favorite Spanish lullaby, and Rauelsson’s words meet faint strings and chimes that were recorded to bring out no more than a handful of notes toward the end. “Guantes De Lana” exemplifies what Rauelsson does best in less than four minutes. Best of all, there’s 13 more tracks of this bare elegance over these EPs.
- PopMatters


"Refined and understated, Rauelsson's melodies warm the soul like wool gloves."

Portland, Oregon bard Rauelsson’s folk pop is gentle to the core: if there are any drums on these two EPs, they’re commandeered with brushes or tracked very low, and the only other element that’s capable of making a ruckus is the vibraphone, which, you know, really isn’t capable of that at all. Born Raúl Pastor Medall, Rauelsson is originally from Spain, and all of his recordings on Tiempo De and Pacifico are sung (and whispered) in his beautiful native language.

With spots of bright, trebly guitar strumming over his nimbly fingered acoustics, Rauelsson conjures the sound of early 1960s balladry on his Hush debut. His songs are usually much quieter than anything intended for popular radio, however. “Guantes De Lana” somewhat resembles the more straightforward folk segments of Juana Molina’s catalog—a mild ode to wool gloves, it’s as simple and as rewarding as the author intended. Double-tracked vocals don a bridge that might have been cribbed from a favorite Spanish lullaby, and Rauelsson’s words meet faint strings and chimes that were recorded to bring out no more than a handful of notes toward the end. “Guantes De Lana” exemplifies what Rauelsson does best in less than four minutes. Best of all, there’s 13 more tracks of this bare elegance over these EPs.
- PopMatters


"Rauelsson, “Otoño Pacifico,” from Tiempo de & Pacifico EPs (Hush)"

ust when you thought Hush Records couldn’t get any lovelier, it starts adopting Spaniards. This week’s music feature celebrates the now decade-long life of the label. And, in a sappy li’l companion piece to said feature, several Hush artists graciously contributed stories regarding their first experiences with the label, as well as favorite Hush artists/albums and various other anecdotes. A name that came up a couple times among those testimonials was Raúl Pastor Medall, a.k.a. Rauelsson.

Medall, who considers himself an “adopted Oregonian,” apparently travels from his native Castellón, Spain, to Portland several times a year to conduct medical research at OHSU (impressive, no?). Upon one of these trips, Hush’s Chad Crouch happened across him, and a new creative relationship was born. Hush has now released a double-EP by Rauelsson (what Medall has coined his musical self) entitled Tiempo de & Pacifico. This number’s a delightful duet from the Pacifico side featuring none other than Laura Gibson on vocal accompaniment.

You may recognize Gibson’s earthy, crackling-fire vocals, but you probably won’t recognize most of what she, or Medall, are saying—as Rauelsson’s songs are entirely en Español. I picked out a few words: “here,” “because,” “all” (you know, vocab your basic high school Spanish class covered). Never fear: The emotion found in Rauelsson’s music easily transcends language. And, for those of us who really crave familiarity, “Otoño Pacifico” throws a few universal “oohs” in there, as well.

Crouch says Rauelsson’s songs attempt to “connect the Spanish-East Coast Mediterranean light” of Medall’s youth with the “intense green landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.” His description seems particularly apt here, considering “Otoño Pacifico” means, to my basic Spanish, “Pacific Autumn.” And the song’s enchanting instrumentation—gentle, finger-picked guitar; bright, chiming piano; and the kind of drum sound that conjures the image of someone running a brush around the snare in circles—sure portrays a sepia-tinged landscape effectively. Our Pacific autumns may often be wet and gray, but this one sounds like a softy waning Indian summer to me. To that I say, “Bring on the warmth.” - Local Cut / Willamette Week


"Say Hola! to Rauelsson"

Local label Hush Records has gone global. No longer just releasing local artists—or every single band Dave Depper plays in—the label's quest for (quiet) global domination marches on with the singing of Rauelsson, from Castellón, Spain.

Well, sort of.

The artist is an "adopted Oregonian" who spends time here, but admitting that would totally discount my whole Hush-world-takeover intro, so for the sake of this blog post (and an affront to the standards of journalist excellence... hahaha, oh man, sorry, I started laughing while typing that) let's just say that Rauelsson lives near the fjords of Castellón (I'm terrible at geography) and has never heard of Oregon.

Moving on.

Hush is releasing a pair of Rauelsson EPs this Summer, entitled Tiempo De and Pacífico, both of which showcase the gentle mix of soft melodies (en (español) and gorgeous instrumentation. Of course, since this is a Hush release, you can expect cameos from the likes of Laura Gibson, Loch Lomond's Ritchie Young, and tons more. And if Dave Depper is not this record, I owe him a tapas dinner. - Portland Mercury


"Rauelsson, “Otoño Pacifico,” from Tiempo de & Pacifico EPs (Hush)"

ust when you thought Hush Records couldn’t get any lovelier, it starts adopting Spaniards. This week’s music feature celebrates the now decade-long life of the label. And, in a sappy li’l companion piece to said feature, several Hush artists graciously contributed stories regarding their first experiences with the label, as well as favorite Hush artists/albums and various other anecdotes. A name that came up a couple times among those testimonials was Raúl Pastor Medall, a.k.a. Rauelsson.

Medall, who considers himself an “adopted Oregonian,” apparently travels from his native Castellón, Spain, to Portland several times a year to conduct medical research at OHSU (impressive, no?). Upon one of these trips, Hush’s Chad Crouch happened across him, and a new creative relationship was born. Hush has now released a double-EP by Rauelsson (what Medall has coined his musical self) entitled Tiempo de & Pacifico. This number’s a delightful duet from the Pacifico side featuring none other than Laura Gibson on vocal accompaniment.

You may recognize Gibson’s earthy, crackling-fire vocals, but you probably won’t recognize most of what she, or Medall, are saying—as Rauelsson’s songs are entirely en Español. I picked out a few words: “here,” “because,” “all” (you know, vocab your basic high school Spanish class covered). Never fear: The emotion found in Rauelsson’s music easily transcends language. And, for those of us who really crave familiarity, “Otoño Pacifico” throws a few universal “oohs” in there, as well.

Crouch says Rauelsson’s songs attempt to “connect the Spanish-East Coast Mediterranean light” of Medall’s youth with the “intense green landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.” His description seems particularly apt here, considering “Otoño Pacifico” means, to my basic Spanish, “Pacific Autumn.” And the song’s enchanting instrumentation—gentle, finger-picked guitar; bright, chiming piano; and the kind of drum sound that conjures the image of someone running a brush around the snare in circles—sure portrays a sepia-tinged landscape effectively. Our Pacific autumns may often be wet and gray, but this one sounds like a softy waning Indian summer to me. To that I say, “Bring on the warmth.” - Local Cut / Willamette Week


"Laura Gibson + Musee Mecanique + Rauelsson - mississippi studios (portland, or; nov. 7 2009)"

With violins and whispery vocals, Rauelsson lulled the shivers of a crowd freshly chilled from the rain outside. Tranquil fans smartly dressed in scarves and pea coats scattered themselves on the floor by the stage, attentive and still like a classroom full of students mesmerized by the gorgeous new substitute teacher. - melophone


"Laura Gibson + Musee Mecanique + Rauelsson - mississippi studios (portland, or; nov. 7 2009)"

With violins and whispery vocals, Rauelsson lulled the shivers of a crowd freshly chilled from the rain outside. Tranquil fans smartly dressed in scarves and pea coats scattered themselves on the floor by the stage, attentive and still like a classroom full of students mesmerized by the gorgeous new substitute teacher. - melophone


Discography

- Tiempo de E.P. & Pacífico E.P. (HUSH Records; HSH077, 2008)

- La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha (HUSH Records, HSH090, 2010)

visit:

www.hushrecordsmedia.com/rauelsson.htm

for more info on the upcoming new album.

live performance:

http://www.youtube.com/user/hushrecords#g/c/6FB3416047F3152B

Photos

Bio

Self-considered an adopted Oregonian, Raul Pastor Medall (a.k.a., Rauelsson) has spent the last years of his life living in between Portland, OR and Spain where he was born. His constant attempt to connect the Mediterranean air that raised him with the intense green landscapes of the Pacific Northwest has heavily influenced his life and his quiet, word-conscious folk pop music. Soon after playing his music for some new friends in Oregon (Laura Gibson, Loch Lomond), HUSH Records offered to release his first material as Rauelsson, a double e.p. entitled "Tiempo de e.p. & Pacífico e.p". Since then Raúl has been busy, not only flying the North pole skies back and forth between the Pacific Northwest, where he resides currently, and the lands of his native Spain, but also working on three different projects to be published in the near future: a score for a documentary film entitled ‘From River to Sea’, a collaboration with his admired friend, multinstrumentalist, Efterklang-live-band member, Peter Broderick, and his first full length album, ‘La Siembra, la Espera y la Cosecha’ to be released by HUSH Records in the US in 180 gr clear vinyl limited edition and digital formats in January 2010. The record has been recorded and produced by Adam Selzer (M. Ward, The Decemberists...) in Portland OR. It features collaborations by Rachel Blumberg (M. Ward, Mirah), Dave Depper (Jolie Holland, Loch Lomond), Laura Gibson, and Spanish singer songwriter Julio de la Rosa.