LEYA + Vanessa Bedoret

Information

Pop Mutations presents:
LEYA

• Vanessa Bedoret
  Friday 23rd May
  The Flying Duck
  18+

LEYA, the avant-pop duo of harpist Marilu Donovan and vocalist/violinist Adam Markiewicz, have defied expectations throughout their career, obtaining a singular, legendary status for their unmistakably beautiful and disturbing work. Through two studio albums, two EPs, a mixtape, a porn, and a flurry of collaborations, they have traced almost every genre of contemporary music. The duo’s long list of cohorts includes Eartheater, Actress, Ecco2K, Brooke Candy (via PornHub), Sega Bodega, Varg2TM, claire rousay, Okay Kaya, and many more.

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, and further blends with his 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 collision of beauty and calamity that both soothes and disturbs its listeners.

LEYA’s distinctive sound has drawn collaborative 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, LEYA followed with 2019’s 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 unveiled a fully collaborative mixtape, Eyeline, which featured nine guests. Additional notable musical collaborations include Ecco2K, Chanel Beads, Varg2TM, Julie Byrne, Okay Kaya, Claire Rousay, Martha Skye Murphy, Deli Girls, James K, and many others. LEYA have also worked with fashion designers Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein x i-D, Acne Studios, Elena Velez, HoodbyAir, Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen, and many more, video artists including Charles Atlas, choreographers including Loni Landon, and a myriad of others in varying modes of performance, scoring, and installations.

LEYA’s latest full-length release, I Forget Everything, marks their first return to the studio since 2022’s Eyeline. It is their first solo record 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 known for the unexpected.