Els Berros de la Cort is the band that embodies the intriguing paradoxes of Catalan music and life: the medieval world is still part of the everyday; the raw and edgy sits besides the modern and stylish; their roots are both in the soil of that very distinct region, but also enriched by the wider world it’s cultivated over millennia.

Los nòstres vices e pecats (Our vices and sins) their third release, brings to life the repertoire of the Catalan and Occitan troubadour. Gluttony and lust are the themes in the album’s eleven different tracks, two of the most common sins, both in the Middle Ages and today. Thus, “Ques tolgues es tongues” (track 9) refers to the habits that women like men to have and those they hate; and “Aissi cum” (track 6) is a medieval recipe for a natural ointment to get and prolong erections.

All of the lyrics have been taken from medieval Catalan manuscripts like the 14th century Llibre de Sent Soví – the oldest preserved cookery treatise written in Catalan – and Speculum al foder, a medieval sex manual which is the first European treatise to include a whole section on positions for coitus.

Studying ancient songs and methods, and using the instruments from that earlier time Els Berros de la Cort share with today’s audiences what they’ve retrieved from the work of 12th to 14th century writers like Berenguer de Palol and Beatriu, Comtessa de Dia. Arrangements combine a rich and forgotten musical heritage in tune with popular music of today. Employing double reed wind instruments, string instruments, percussion, chorus and voices, the powerful unison creates a wild, impacting experience.