modern indie-pop meets alt-soul

9 MP3 Songs
POP: with Live-band Production, POP: Folky Pop



Details:
a r t i s t b i o g r a p h y

Born Elaine Sijera Lachica in Baltimore, Maryland, Elaine began studying piano, violin and singing at age 3. Growing up with a musican mother, Elaine performed and listened to all genres of music in particular classical, jazz, musicals and British and American pop music. Major music influences include the Cocteau Twins, Tori Amos, Nick Drake, Radiohead, Cassandra Wilson and Bach.

At 18, while studying classical voice at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, she formed a band called 'Azure' with guitarist Nito Gan and drummer Blaise Keller. Azure's blend of vocal layers upon hypnotic guitar/keyboard atmospherics won them positive press, radio airplay and performances at colleges and clubs throughout the east coast. As a soloist at Peabody, Elaine toured Italy, performed opera, premiered music by Peabody composers, collaborated with visual artists from the Maryland Institute of Art for multi-media pieces and was awarded the Woodhead prize for Voice.

Elaine graduated from Peabody and studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. Afterwards she moved to New York and began freelancing as a classical singer with the New York Collegium and the Waverley Consort performing and touring throughout the U.S. all the while composing songs. In 2000, Elaine was awarded a Beebe fellowship to study abroad at the Royal College of Music in London. She finished writing songs for '9' in London then returned to the U.S. and produced and recorded her debut CD for a 2002 release. Described as "alternative-soul fused with electro-acoustic soundscapes", songs from '9' receive international airplay and critical acclaim around the world.

In 2004, Elaine released her 2nd LP 'Apolune'. This current album reveals her multilayered sound as well as vocal and instrumental arrangements that are more ambitious in scope. Some songs on 'Apolune' showcase a different writing style delivering a more immediate straightforward indie-pop. Currently she plays shows with New York drummer Ryan Cavan and bassist Rich Chapple. Ryan and Rich recorded drums and bass for 'Apolune' and help to create a more dynamic live show. Elaine performs her music throughout the east coast where she has played shows at The Vault in Baltimore, CB's 313 Gallery, The Sidewalk Café, Acmeunderground, Freddy's and Vibe in New York City.



a r t i s t w o r d s

Apolune- the point of an orbit around the moon farthest from the moon's center

Musically I wanted the communication to be more direct than '9' while encompassing a wide range of emotions. I was also trying to create an album that was larger in scope in terms of arrangements and possibilities in the studio. My relationship to the piano was changing-I was trying different styles of playing and there was less of an electronic sound on this album. Ryan's nuanced drumming and Rich's textured bass playing added an entirely new dimension to the songs.

'Apolune' I wanted this song to be about bliss and learning through happiness instead of pain, a kind of surrendering. Writing sad and depressing songs tends to be easy for me. So I wanted to prove to myself that I could write a happy song.
The arrangement is full of instrumental texture to add color and depth.

'Sublunary' is a song about coming undone and how this emotional unraveling is not always something for us to understand.
I wanted the song to build-the climax after the bridge is one of my favorite moments in the album.

" Shrinking Violet' I visited the Philippines with my parents in 2003 in an attempt to "get in touch with my roots" in my parents' homeland. Outside my family's gated community in Manila, was a 3rd world country and I felt the great tension between the breathtaking natural landscapes and the poverty of the people.
I wrote these lyrics in response to what I saw. Musically I tried to convey a feeling of sinking and falling along with tension in the contrary motion of the musical lines.

In complete contrast, 'Milk River' is completely intimate and even a bit romantic. I found the title while flipping through the dictionary and I loved the way the words sounded in the air. I imagined of a warmth and intimacy between two people, something alive--liquid. I wanted to create this close space and warmth with the music and the vocal melody and lyrics.

'Diving Reflex'- a reflexive response to diving in many aquatic mammals and birds characterized by physiological changes that decrease oxygen consumption...
This was another title I found in the dictionary and I loved this image of the diving reflex. Most of these lyrics were inspired by a dream, so in the beginning of this song, I wanted to create a dream-like state or perhaps a feeling of being underwater.
The change in the song (what Rich calls my "Hey Jude" section) is the breakthrough-coming out of something, waking up and reaching out. The last section is one of my favorite parts of the entire album.

'Illumina' is about desire. It is about light, a spark at the heart of desire. Ryan's fantastic drumming really helps to create this atmosphere.

'Vela'- a constellation in the southern hemisphere near Pyxis and Carina.
I wrote 'Vela' and 'Apolune' in immediate response to my first album. I wanted to prove to myself that I could write an upbeat song. The lyrics are simple and the piano and melody are light.

'Roaming House' started as a song about my mom. I grew up in a matriarchal family with a lot of strong women around me. This song morphed into a song about this matriarchal archetype.
I loved how the guitar descant moves against the vocal melody and how it begins and ends the song.

'Dawn Redwood' is the most intimate song on this album. It's a lover's whisper and I wanted the music to build from almost nothing into a flood of sounds.


I think this album embraces more colors-and more emotions. I wanted to write about my optimism and about feeling open to the world-and to the endless possibilities...