Laki Mera

Laki Mera

Laki Mera is an electronic and trip-hop group from Glasgow, Scotland, active since 2004. The group forms around Laura Donnelly, Andrea Gobbi, Tim Harbinson and Keir Long, and their music combines electronic production with acoustic and organic instrumentation.

Background and formation

Donnelly and Gobbi first meet in Glasgow, where Gobbi is nearing the end of an audio engineering course. Gobbi, who is born in Italy, has come to Glasgow to pursue studio work, while Donnelly has been away from music after her previous band splits up. When Gobbi records Donnelly singing with only guitar accompaniment, Donnelly hears the result as a new direction for her work. That collaboration becomes the basis of Laki Mera.

Harbinson later joins on drums and percussion after previously playing live electronica with another local band. Long, who has classical training, joins as a pianist and synthesiser player and also works with Gobbi on film and theatre scores. The band record at Carrier Waves studio in Glasgow, owned by Gobbi and Long.

Sound and style

The group’s music crosses electronic, indie, alternative, electronica and trip-hop territory, but is described as difficult to place within a single genre. Their sound brings together synthesisers, pianos, guitars, strings and vocals, combining technological and acoustic elements. Donnelly writes lyrics that are personal but often disguised, while her voice remains a focal point in the group’s recordings.

For some songs on The Proximity Effect, the band leaves Glasgow and records in a turf house in Achiltibuie in the Highlands, using the setting to shape a more organic sound. The album title refers both to an audio engineering term and to ideas of emotional and psychological connection.

Recordings

Laki Mera’s debut EP, Clutter, is released late in 2010. It draws comparisons with artists including Cocteau Twins, Portishead, Blue Nile, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Radiohead. The release is noted for layered, looped arrangements and trip-hop and ambient electronica influences.

The band’s debut album, The Proximity Effect, expands on the approach of Clutter. Tracks such as “Fingertips” explore fragile folk elements, “Solstice” uses ethereal textures around Donnelly’s vocals, “More Than You” mixes sinister electronica with pop melody, and “Onion Machine” is a near-instrumental piece built from retro-futurist synthesis, cello, guitar and an angular rhythm. Other named songs include “Double Back”, “Reverberation” and “Seagull’s Nex”.