Alba Gárate (born 18 December 1980), better known by her stage name, Lantalba, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, musician, producer and actress, previously known as Lantana. She was born in Barcelona and raised in

Fuengirola Fuengirola (), in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a large town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the pr ...

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

. She moved to Madrid when she was 19 years old to study acting and pursue her musical career. She was signed with EMI/Virgin by 2006 and Rubie Music in 2010. She was nominated to several important Spanish awards, including The

21st Goya Awards The 21st Annual Goya Awards took place at the Palacio Municipal de Congresos in Madrid, Spain on 28 January 2007. ''Volver ''Volver'' (, meaning "to go back") is a 2006 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The ...

MTV Spain MTV is a Spanish pay television channel which focuses its programming on general entertainment and music. It was launched on 10 September 2000 and is owned by Paramount Global. It used to be available on the Spanish digital terrestrial television ...

Awards, Televisión Española Awards Album of the Year and The Spanish Music Awards. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.

Biography

Lantana was born in Barcelona and raised in the southern city of

. It was here where she started to feel her passion for music. She remembers "I started writing on the school bus. I would sit by the window on rainy days and I would just make songs up". Her family had a pub and by the time she was 14, she started singing in rock bands and working in a local kareoke bar. Later on she would move into the jazz scene, starting and directing several groups. She then moved to Madrid by the time she was 19 years old to pursue an acting career. Here she studied acting in ECAM and NIC of Madrid. She also studied with teachers such as Fernando Sansegundo, Fernando Piernas and Marta Alvarez. It was here where she began to sing standards and jazz in different clubs.

Music career

In Madrid she started to write her own songs again. She quickly began playing in singer-songwriter clubs and was soon noticed by then EMI/Virgin A&R, Javier Liñán, who offered her a record deal. At the same time, she acted in several short films and got to be better known from her small role in the movie Azuloscurocasinegro by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, where she also wrote the original song "Imaginarte", which was nominated for "Best Original Song" at the Goya Awards. In 2006 Lantana signs with EMI/Virgin and releases a self-titled EP, "Lantana". She releases her first LP, "Desorden y Amor", the next year with Cadiz native Suso Saiz as producer. This latter album was nominated by

's spectators as "Best Artist Revelation" 2007. The same year, the electronic band Hotel Persona releases a remix of her first single, "Siempre". She also films the video of the unreleased song "Sally's Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton. In 2010, no longer with EMI, Lantana goes to London to record her third album "Ex-Corazón", produced by Dimitri Tikovoi and releases it independently with her own label, Rubie Music. She spends the rest of the year and great part of the next one touring in Spain. She also released 2 videoclips, "Ex-Corazón", which aired in most of Spain's TV channels and "Perfecto", filmed in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. She relocated to Berlin in 2011 where she started working on her next album.

El Encanto (EP - 2013)

En EP recorded between Berlin and London, was produced by

Stefan Olsdal Bo Stefan Alexander Olsdal (born 31 March 1974) is a Swedish-Luxembourgish bassist/guitarist of the alternative rock band Placebo, he is part of the electronic band Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal and launched the electronic/dance remix at Hotel Perso ...

(

Placebo (band) Placebo are a British rock band, formed in London in 1994 by vocalist–guitarist Brian Molko and bassist–guitarist Stefan Olsdal. Drummer Robert Schultzberg joined in late 1994, but left in 1996 shortly after the release of the band's epo ...

, who also played synthesizers in "Aquello del Querer" and "Desde que te fuiste".

Ex-Corazón (LP - 2007)

Album recorded entirely in London and produced by

Dimitri Tikovoi Dimitri may refer People * Dmitry, a male given name, Slavic version of Greek name Demetrios * Dimitri (clown) (1935–2016), Swiss clown and mime * Dimitri Atanasescu, Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher * Dimitri from Paris, French DJ * Dimitri Flower ...

(

, The Raveonettes, The Horrors and Goldfrapp).

Desorden y Amor (LP - 2007)

Album mostly produced by Suso Saíz, filled with many string arrangements.

Lantana (EP - 2006)

Lantana's debut album, Lantana, was released in 2006. It is composed of five songs, including "Imaginarte", song included in the original soundtrack of the movie Azuloscurocasinegro, and nominated to the Goya awards. Mostly produced by Lantana.

Present

She is currently working on a new LP, produced, played entirely, and mixed by

(

Discography

; Studio albums *2015: ''La Chica de los Ojos Dorados'' (LP) *2013: ''El Encanto'' (EP) *2010: ''Ex-Corazón'' (LP) *2007: ''Desorden y Amor'' (LP) *2006: ''Lantana'' (EP) ; Singles *2013: ''La noche de los muertos vivientes'' *2012: ''Estoy Bailando'' (Cover of Loretta and Daniela Goggi) ; Remixes *2010: ''Ex-Corazón'' (Remixes) *2007: ''Siempre'' (Remix by Hotel Persona:

and David Amen) ; Film soundtracks *2011: ''Ojalá (Vuela)'' (Original Soundtrack for The Magic of Hope) *2006: ''Imaginarte'' (Original Soundtrack for Azuloscurocasinegro)

Nominations

*2008: ''Spanish Music Awards'' (Revelation artist) *2007: '' Goya Awards'' (Best original song) *2007: ''

Awards'' *2007: '' Televisión Española Awards'' (Album of the Year)

Collaborations

*2010: Lantana joins 20 other Spanish independent artists playing in a benefit concert for the South Mozambique Foundation, helping to create music schools in that country. *2009: Lantana sang live in the

Roman Theater of Mérida Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, for the 20th anniversary of the renown Spanish pop band Tam Tam Go's.

Charity work

* 2010 – Benefit concert for South Mozambique Foundation. * 2011–2012 - All sales of her song "Vuela" went to Theodora Foundation. * 2013–2014 - Part of her music sales go to

Oxfam America Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lantana 1980 births Living people 21st-century Spanish singers 21st-century Spanish women singers Singer-songwriters from Catalonia Singers from Barcelona Spanish actresses Spanish emigrants to Germany Spanish women singer-songwriters Spanish singer-songwriters