Ailá is a band that developed during the vibrant foliadas (Galician celebrations and music sessions) at Casa das Crechas, a popular music bar in Santiago de Compostela, located in northwestern Spain.
Ailá’s musical project draws inspiration from reverence for tradition and Galician heritage music, as well as an inclusive vision infused with scents, rhythms, and hues from diverse global cultures.
Additionally, Ailá is part of the new Galician Tradis Tribes movement, a genre that transcends music, combining dance and music as a way of perceiving life and existing in the world.
Their first album, self-titled Ailá, was developed through intimate music sessions where they performed songs and melodies influenced by archival sounds, traditional songbooks, and vintage recordings. Gradually, a band was formed around this collaborative creation, led by the seasoned accordionist and firefighter Xan Pampín, who brings extensive musical experience from groups like Radio Cos and Banda das Crechas. Pampín assumes the roles of researcher and arranger for the material.
The band also aims to reintroduce unique musical instruments like the gaita rosca, also known as rosca, which is a shepherd’s bagpipe. Unlike the conventional elder reed pipe, the rosca features a cow horn resonator at its lower end. Additionally, the quartet employs tarrañolas (a type of castanet with two separate wooden, stone, or tile tablets), seashells, and frying pans, offering a captivating musical journey through Galician musical traditions.