LEYA

Booking Agent : Giorgio Salmoiraghi & Luca Ciscognetti

LEYA – the avant-pop duo of harpist Marilu Donovan and vocalist/violinist Adam Markiewicz – has long inhabited a beguiling world, blending Medieval-sounding origins with modern folk, classical, and more. From deep roots in the NYC underground to international recognition as a crossover force, their work has found its way into spaces ranging from fashion runways to Pornhub, and beyond.

The basis of LEYA is the unique tuning system of the harp, designed by Donovan for the project, which pairs with the distinctly wide, operatic singing range of Markiewicz, who further blends these vocals with processed violin tones. The template for this sound is found on their 2018 debut The Fool and further developed on their 2020 breakthrough follow-up Flood Dream, which the New York Times called “the auditory equivalent of awakening in the fog of a bad dream only to discover you’re still trapped in the nightmare.” This sense of unease has become a distinctive tone for the project, a sort of collision of beauty and calamity that both soothes and disturbs its listeners.

Since their inception, LEYA’s distinctive sound has drawn attention from artists across genres and mediums. Following the release of their very first single in 2018, they were approached by rapper Brooke Candy to provide scoring and live acting for her adult film I Love You, which was produced by Pornhub for its Visionaries’ Directors Series, and featured sound design by Sega Bodega. After an initial feature on The Fool, they followed in 2019 with the collaborative EP Angel Lust with Eartheater, with whom they have continued a close working relationship. Following the release of Flood Dream LEYA released remixes with Actress, Drew McDowall (Coil/Psychic TV), and Christina Vantzou, and an additional single with Liturgy. In 2022, they dropped a feature-heavy mixtape called Eyeline. Notable collaborations there and since have included Ecco2K, Varg2TM, Julie Byrne, Okay Kaya, claire rousay, Martha Skye Murphy, Deli Girls, James K, and many others. Amidst this time, they have also found themselves collaborating with fashion designers Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein x i-D, Acne Studios, Elena Velez, HoodbyAir, video artists Charles Atlas and Jeremiah Carter, choreographers such as Loni Landon, and a myriad of others in varying modes of performance, scoring, and installations.

LEYA’s new mini-album I Forget Everything, out November 22 via NNA Tapes, marks their first return to the studio since 2022’s Eyeline. It is their first solo release containing elements of electronic production, sourcing from home-recorded to high-fidelity sounds, tracing the bounds of new experiments, while remaining rooted in harp, strings, and voice as the sole source of these sounds. The work regards a “haven scorned,” shifting in perspective between the larger world and one that is private, even imagined. A reaction to calamity, it imagines that abandonment is necessary. The release will usher in a new era of work for a duo already notorious for the unexpected.

LEYA has toured extensively, including dates with Eartheater, Machine Girl, William Basinski, Boy Harsher, Mt. Eerie, Okay Kaya, Liturgy, HTRK, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Wolf Eyes, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, and many more. Their festival appearances include Le Guess Who?, Rewire, Oblivion Access, LOST, Maifeld Derby, Hyperreality Wien, Experimenta Festival, Jazz is Dead, Les Siestes Electroniques, and more.

 
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