Loka

Loka is an electronic group from Liverpool associated with Ninja Tune. The project begins as studio experiments between Mark Kyriacou and Karl Webb in 1999, and the duo signs to Ninja Tune a year later. Its sound draws on jazz, classical music, BBC Radiophonic influences and 1960s psychedelia, among other sources, and it develops through a changing line-up and a mixture of studio work, live performance and collaboration.

Releases

Loka’s first release is the EP Beginningless, which appears in 2003. The group’s debut album, Fire Shepherds, follows in 2006 on Ninja Tune. A single titled “Beginningless” also appears before the album. Another album, Passing Place, is later assembled from sketches first worked on in a rehearsal space in Liverpool and then developed further in South West Wales.

Collaborations and recording

Passing Place involves a number of guest musicians and vocalists, along with a full brass section from the Welsh brass band Beaumaris Seindorf Band. The album features vocals by Columbian artist Lido Pimiento, Canadian singer Eleanor Mante and Welsh vocalist Jaci Williams. Thighpaulsandra, known for work with Julian Cope, Spiritualized and Coil, engineers, co-produces and helps with arranging the brass parts at Aeriel Studios. Recording and mixing continue there before the album is completed.

Live work and remixes

After Fire Shepherds, Loka performs live and appears in radio sessions, including a session for Gilles Peterson’s BBC Radio 1 show. The group also plays the Colchester Signals Film Festival and headlines the jazz night at Liverpool Music Week. It remixes Blockhead’s “Sunday Séance”, reworking it into a long live-jazz arrangement.

Line-up

Mark Kyriacou remains the central member of Loka and carries the project forward after Karl Webb leaves in 2007. The current live line-up includes Kyriacou on keyboards, electronics and composition, Tom Sumnall on bass, Ian “Budgie” Jones on drums, Stu Macdonald on guitar, Jaci Williams and Eleanor Mante on vocals, and the Seindorf Beaumaris Band.