Released: 2004
Essentials: 2004

Lali Puna is a band that was formed over five years ago, before anyone was familiar with the names Postal Service or Miss Kittin. It seems a shame people may not realize these kids, cooing vocalist Valerie Trebeljahr, along with Markus Acher (also from the belatedly-praised Notwist), Cristoph Brandner, and Christian Heiss, were forerunners of the burgeoning trend in popular music. When you hear tracks like “B-Movie”, which sounds like Valerie is directly channeling Miss Kittin, or find yourself lost in songs like “Alienation”, with sparse entrancing mantras as addictive as other bands we’ve come to love, you should remember that the subtle electronic constructions and dreamy female vocals of Lali Puna were in fact being channeled by the popular new acts today rather than the other way around. It’s about time the rest of us caught up. Read more on Last.fm.