Elaine Lachica
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
"Alternative soul meets ethereal electro-acoustic soundscapes."
Status:
Most recent release, I Think I Can See the Ocean (2010)
See also:
Elaine Lachica's siteElaine Lachica's Bandcamp site
Elaine Lachica is also in the band Arc Waves.
Comparisons:
She lists the Cocteau Twins as an influence and it shows. I hear Area in there pretty strongly at times. And i hear more and more (albeit subtle) Kate Bush as i listen, too. Other reviewers on the web list Radiohead, Liz Fraser, Lisa Gerrard, Tori Amos—take it all with a grain of salt but obviously it's ecto-friendly. (damon)
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Elaine Lachica obviously gets her inspiration from bits and pieces of the pan-ecto spirit. Her own description of her sound is 'fusing alternative-soul vibes with layers of ethereal electro-acoustic soundscapes', which fits. It's pretty firmly ethereal music of the good and interesting kind. At some points the music seems almost operatic, at others it takes on a more poppy feel but always tempered by ethereal sensibilities. Elaine's voice is very listenable and quite haunting, and sometimes she does a more muted Kate-Bush-the-banshee thing that sends shivers. (damon)
Recommended first album:
9
Recordings:
9
Release info:
2002—self-released
Availability:
See Elaine Lachica's site
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Elaine Lachica
Guest artists:
Nito Gan—drums, bass, closer
Produced by:
Elaine Lachica
Comments:
It took me quite a while to get into the groove of this CD, but i'm glad i took the time to do so; this is good music.
Unfortunately the Guide copy is a somewhat fuzzy CD-R which tends to break up and distort a bit at the louder/higher moments, so hopefully the levels have been adjusted for later copies or this one was a fluke. In addition, the music initially seemed somewhat unfocused or 'samey' to me. All of this did make it hard at first for me to break through to what was underneath.
Once i did break through, though, i landed on a soft carpet of sound the term 'soundscape' applies very well to this CD. It's broken up into tracks and each is certainly distinct but overall there's a cohesiveness to this that makes it difficult for me to pull out and comment on individual pieces. I think this is what made me label it 'unfocused' to start but once i figured it out this turned into a strength, the unbroken soundscape aspect. Combine this overall feel with gentle instrumentation and a haunting voice and the effect is very, very dreamy; this literally would be a good album to relax and fall asleep to. The lyrics certainly promote this aspect right from the opening of the first track, "sirens":
darkness opens up her wings
through the untold sighs and things
I couldn't feel today
wouldn't know what to say
rapture yes I'm captured
by your sleepy night eyes
falling crawling, digging deeper
into the sight of the blindA couple of other specifics i can pick out: in the second track, "be that day", the vocals make me think of Kate Bush's banshee mode but far more tempered. "garlands racing" gets very Area.
In summary—good stuff! Another much-needed disc for the nighttime rotation. (damon)
Apolune
Release info:
2005—self-released
Availability:
See Elaine Lachica's site
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Elaine Lachica—vocals, piano, bass, violins, synths, guitar
Guest artists:
Ryan Cavan—drums
Rich Chapple—bass (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Produced by:
Elaine Lachica
Comments:
Technically better produced than the previous album, Apolune is also more immediately catchy: the first (title) track is a real winner. This is still often more soundscape than catchy song, though her voice plays with songs atmospherics and a deep intensity where the vocal tone reminds me very much of Katell Keineg. All in all I would say that while the album retains much of the dreaminess of the previous album, there is are more striking moments in it, like the first track and particularly the playful "vela". This is mood music with interesting edges. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Thanks to damon for work on this entry.
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