Voted best band at the VicSona'09 and Sona9'10 music competitions, and with an Enderrock Award for Best Newcomers already under their belt, La iaia are will soon be releasing their debut album Les ratlles del banyador. Ernest Crusats' band came into being in the summer of 2009 and has been wowing audiences ever since, both at their own gigs and in festivals such as BAM, Mercat de Música Viva de Vic, Cruïlla BCN or popArb.

La iaia is a very personal and intimate project, and as such it would be difficult to ascribe it to a particular genre. Echoes of indie brit-folk are definitely present, of course, as well as of more traditional Mediterranean singer-songwriters. Their many influences range from Jonathan Richman to The Wave Pictures, Herman Düne, Beirut, Sufjan Stevens, Owen Pallett or Manel.

Through his highly personal lyrics, all penned in Catalan, Ernest muses on everyday occurrences, offers an ironic take on world events and ponders on his own Catalan roots.

An early sign of success: La iaia topped the MySpace lists for national acts in mid-November 2010, with one of their songs taking first place in the Song of the Week over that period. That same month 5 other songs by La iaia charted in the MySpace Top 5.