Elika

Elika is the third offering from Thisquietarmy Record. A male/female duo hailing from Brooklyn, they are another group re-defining the new-gaze genre. With Evagelia Mazavelias and Brian Wencheback at the helm, this synth-gaze disc is amazing, subtle, and breathtaking. Nine songs that are brief, yet perfectly timed, Elika has crafted a unique and gorgeous disc.

“Elliptical White Tablet” begins with keys that are spacey and dense. Warbles and blurps fill float between the see of keys as sounds bounce from speaker to speaker. This short, introductory track, clocking in at 1:58 and is an inviting intro. “Fire” begins with more electronic feeling blips and starts. Glittery guitar comes into the mix and an angelic voice fills the void between electronic beats and more organic bliss. This moves into a shoegaze feel that is layered and wispy. The melody is catchy and the beat infectious. “You’re Not Safe at All” begins with a medium tempo beat and glittery, sparse guitar. Evagelia’s voice is hypnotic, ethereal, and gorgeous. In the midst of the tune, fuzzed out walls of sound explode through the speakers as layers contribute to the feel of the tune. The rest of the instruments give way to a funky trip-hop beat that is punctuated with a fuzzed out keyboard and Evagelia’s haunting vocals.

“Siesta” has a beautiful ambient wall of sound that floats between the speakers and is quite soothing, as the title suggests. Impressive in its beauty, I would love to hear a full length of these sorts of compositions by Elika. It is patient and focus while being ethereal, soothing, and deep. “Building Around It” has shimmering guitar and a faint beat that thumps as Evagelia croons on the sea of soundscapes. A mechanical beat fills the chorus as melancholy lyrics soar. This leads to “We Stay the Same.” Wave like synths go from speaker to speak and then fade. Acoustic guitar then comes into the mix over light drones. The vocals are patient and longing. This turns into a trip hop, chaotic beats under the chorus. The movement from one style to the others is amazingly perfect. Elika know their craft an use it to its fullest effect.

“Employment” has an ominous tone with a mechanical feel and guitars humming in the spaces of sound. A trip-hop beat plays amongst the other noises and gives way again to the grumblings of the mechanical choir. Spacey keys come into the mix along with the beats again and all the pieces layer upon one another. This leads into “Farewell.” A lighthearted synth piece, this is a perfect conclusion to this disc. Mid-tempo and punctuated with snare and acoustic guitar while space sounds float by here and there, Elika leave the listener with wanting more. Hopefully, this brief disc will translate into a later, much longer full-length and the, perhaps, Elika will tour the world and let all who have ears to hear, will hear the excellence and creativity that is Elika. - somewherecold.com

Always leave them wanting more.

As Elika, New Yorkers Brian Wenckebach and Evagelia Maravelias have quietly released two homemade EPs of their dreamlike, echo-drenched atmospheric electronic music. This month, a full-length album finally emerged, through Montreal's fledgling Thisquietarmy label; yet, the bulk of the self-titled CD's material previously appeared on those hard-to-find EPs.

Live appearances by the mysterious "boy and girl from Brooklyn," meanwhile, have been few. Indeed, according to Wenckebach, Elika have only been playing live for a couple of months.

"We had no idea what to do," he says of translating the duo's densely-layered ambient sounds to the stage.

'We had to start from scratch'

"We had to start from scratch. And live, it became a completely different thing. Really, by the time we were finished recording those EPs, we had put together so many interlayered parts we had no idea what we'd played anyway."


In fact, Wenckebach adds, only one song from those EPs, the melancholy Acting for You, has survived the transition to become a regular part of Elika's live set. And no, of course, that song cannot be found on the limited-edition Elika album.

"We have changed a lot since we started," Wenckebach explains. "The songwriting has improved and we have a better idea of who we are."

And who is that, you ask? Wenckebach and Maravelias are veterans of Brooklyn's music and art scene, having served time separately in other musical projects including being former members of the art-rock quartet All the Ghosts.

They began writing and recording songs for what would become Elika while holidaying in Greece, following that tentative Stars & Moonlight EP a short time later with Over Runways, a six-track release recorded at home in Brooklyn.

In a previous life, Elika would have found a home on the UK-based 4AD label alongside Dead Can Dance and The Cocteau Twins.

Today, Wenckebach and Maravelias volunteer the following description of their trippy music on the duo's official website: "Elika is equal parts Slowdive and Boards of Canada combined with elements from My Bloody Valentine, Aphex Twin and Flying Saucer Attack."

"Ultimately," Wenckebach says of the defining statement, "somebody is going to pigeonhole you. So you might as well do it yourself. It's better than having somebody write, 'They're NKOTB mixed with Madonna.' Of course, we've only been doing this for about a year, so it's ever-changing."

Change, then, is the only constant for Elika. This, after all, is a duo (and occasionally a trio, when there's room in the van for a bass, bass-amp and bassist ... which there isn't this time around) that has played barely a dozen shows. Onstage, vocalist Maravelias and her partner play a variety of instruments; while, a laptop fills in the gaps.

"It's a different thing live," Wenckebach says, "and we're still learning. It's funny, though, I thought when we went in to record a few additional things for the album, that because we'd been playing the new material live it would be simpler -- but it wound up becoming more multi-tracked than before."

Onstage, that sound is stripped down, and abetted by beat-matched visual projections.

It's all very artsy for a duo that has asked the musical question, "Isn't it time we got over ourselves?" But it works. And the songs alone were enough to win over Thisquietarmy, the label run by Montreal's Eric Quach. (The band of the same name will be sharing the bill at the Avant-Garde Saturday.)

It's early days for Elika, and listeners want more. Wenckebach, meanwhile, continues to dream of change. "I have this fantasy that we'll move to Athens," he says, noting that he is attempting to learn Greek, the language of Maravelias' family.

"The lessons are going okay," he says. "I'm teaching myself through Drive-Time lessons in the car, and I'm up to Lesson 14. I can't wait for more." - Ottawa Sun Newspaper

Made me feel like dancing in some dark secluded foreign club in beautiful heels with too much lipstick on and nothing but naughty thoughts in my mind. Then....after a fulfilling night of sweaty dancing, a walk home through the dimly lit streets, being misted by the rain and having that fulfilled feeling that a good night dancing can give a girl. Definitely great of visuals and setting a mood. Pleasant female vocals as well. Sexy. Subtle. Nice use of keyboard and sampling as well.
- livingstonhollow from Eureka Springs, Arkansas on 9 Nov 2005
- garageband.com