Erika de Casier

Erika de Casier e Ramos Lizardo is a Portugal-born Danish singer, songwriter and record producer based in Copenhagen. Born in 1990, she begins her career as part of the duo Saint Cava before moving on to solo work.

Early life and background

She is born in Portugal and moves to Aarhus, Denmark, with her family when she is eight. She attends Catholic school and later says she experiences bullying because she and her brother are the only Black students at her school. During her adolescence, she spends time painting. At 16, she lives for a year with a host family in the United States. After returning to Denmark, she joins her school choir and band and starts producing her own beats. After finishing school, she moves to Copenhagen. Before becoming a full-time solo artist, she works at a kindergarten.

Career

de Casier begins performing as one half of Saint Cava. After the duo disbands, she releases her debut studio album, Essentials, independently through her own Independent Jeep label in 2019. The album is co-produced with Natal Zeks, also known as El Trick, and appears on year-end lists from Mixmag, Gorilla vs. Bear, FACT, Dummy and Crack Magazine.

She signs to the British label 4AD in 2020. The label releases her second studio album, Sensational, in 2021. Her third album, Still, follows in 2024 on 4AD. For this record, she again works with Natal Zeks and also collaborates with Jonathan Jull Ludvigsen, Carl Emil Johansen, Niels Kirk, Christian Rhode Lindinger, Nick León, Kirsten Nyhus Janssen and Tobias Sachse, with live drums, synths, guitar and bass added to the arrangements.

Collaborations and wider work

Alongside her own releases, she performs at major festivals, writes for NewJeans, and provides vocals for tracks by Mura Masa and Shygirl. She is also associated with the Regelbau collective, alongside Danish house acts including DJ Sports, C.K and Central.

Style

Her work is described through r&b and soul, with tags also placing it within alternative r&b and downtempo.