Once in a while, a new act emerges that creates such a unique sound that you can't fail to sit up and take notice. An act whose music redefines musical boundaries, that experiments with different sounds with glorious consequences.
Ilya - namely Joanna Swan, Nick Pullin and Dan Brown, who hail from Bristol, have done just that with their debut album 'They Died For Beauty,' a tantalising set that combines haunting yet delicate vocals and melodies, with a laid back jazz-influenced production style that somehow fuses Jacques Brel with Scott Walker, James Bond, Ipanema style and Curtis Mayfield-remnant basslines. From the gaps in between a fresh and new sonic style emerges and the result is something special that just can't be pigeonholed.
"Each song is like a little theatre production," says Joanna, whose sensuous, smoky voice powers Ilya's songs. The lyrics are poetic and ambiguous and the ambience of each song leaves you in doubt as to whether the vocalist is mad, sad or glad as she delivers her story. "There's a lot of humour in the lyrics, but you can also read them in lots of different ways. It's setting a scene and when I'm singing them it's like I'm embodying a personality - I'm aware of all the atmosphere and all the feelings that go with the mood of each song."
Joanna and Nick originally formed a group before disbanding and setting up on their own. They were very much part of the Bristol music scene, becoming well known on the city's live circuit. However, things began to progress when they met with Dan, who then perfected their pioneering sound.
Joanna describes Dan as the "missing link" in their path to completion as a band, and his insightful production style - a combination of many different influences and genres, that " all got mixed up," says Dan, "began to sound really interesting." It was from this that their unique and mesmerising sound emerged and subsequently, evolved.
The concoction of genres, eras and styles that transpired is so fresh and so unforced, as Nick is keen to emphasise. "It was very organic, the references are integrated rather than just pasted on - we just did whatever felt right for the song."
