New York experimental pop duo Leya talk new mixtape ahead of Wednesday's show at Orlando's TImucua Arts

Leya play the Timucua Arts Foundation on Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available still via Timucua.

In a time when the coronavirus death toll in the United States of America nears one million, and the country has yet to lament in a cohesive and meaningful way, the enchanting and hypnotic ethereal effects of experimental musical group LEYA create much needed moments of mourning in both recorded and live concert sessions.

LEYA, the NYC-based underground musical project of Marilu Donovan, harpist, and Adam Markiewicz, vocalist and violinist, uses the well-tufted fabric of tradition as a foundation for developing sonically subversive and haunting installments. LEYA’s spellbinding sounds lull audiences to hypnotic heights, moving listeners to healing through stillness and crying. Donovan’s own mellow description of EYELINE, the band’s latest release, out now via NNA Tapes, conveys its cozy atmosphere: “It should feel like a warm bath.”

The mixtape, a special collaborative project made with friends and fellow musicians and producers, was not intended to be played for a live audience. The idea to integrate their styles and visions into a unifying sound while highlighting the unique qualities of each collaborator was born last fall during a short tour, their first since the pandemic shortened a previous string of tour dates.  “Eyeline is a series of meditations and escapes," explains Markiewicz, "it’s about absorbing into different worlds. The revelation is that it’s all the same, basically, while being wildly different.”

EYELINE consists of 11 tracks, made in collaboration withartists including Claire Rousay, Julie Byrne, Eartheater, Deli Girls, James K, Sunk Heaven, Okay Kaya, Martha Skye Murphy, as well as production by British electronic musician Actress on the “Dankworld” remix. “Every track was a special experience, a sort of revelation about shared space,” says Markiewicz.

EYELINE is an album intended to comfort and encase listeners in frissons of fantasy, but it is not LEYA’s new record That’s the project they are most enthusiastic to start upon their return from tour, “I really can’t wait to get back and focus on the next record!” shares Donovan.

“It’s all going to be weird and wonderful” confirms Markiewicz. As is Wednesday's show at Timucua Arts, no doubt.


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