Ilya are a duo from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England. The band consists of Joanna Swan and Nick Pullin. The band released their debut album '' They Died for Beauty'' in 2004, receiving a massive critical acclaim. It was followed by ''

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

'' in 2006, after the departure from major company

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. The pair has been self-producing most of their music ever since then, in their home studio near Bristol. Ilya have often been compared to

Zero 7 Zero 7 is an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. Both of them began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001; their song "Destiny" stayed in ...

and other post-2000 downtempo acts, whilst also being considered as continuing the trip hop tradition, originated in Bristol in the 1990s. The third Ilya album, ''Hootchi Cootchi'', was released early 2007, through online orders only. But due to its very different sound, which explores a rougher, sometimes darker, and definitely more electronic and experimental side of Ilya, the pair decided to release it under the name Jo Swan, so as not to disturb early fans, used to the jazzy Ilya sound. Still in 2007, Joanna Swan from Ilya has recorded an album with Belgian female artist Lunabee. Eventually released in November 2007 after a few months of postponing, it was simply titled ''Lunabee & Swan'', and was also only available by mail orders. That same year, Joanna Swan wrote lyrics and recorded voices for an album with French composer Francois-Elie Roulin, "Alien Robots Orchestra". It was first digitally released in France on 11 September 2008. The fourth album (but the third one as Ilya), ''Carving Heads on Cherry Stones'', was released on CD on 23 June 2009 and exclusively sold through the band's website. Digital release followed next September. On this 10-track album, the music goes in a more abstract and rugged direction, focusing on voice and guitar. Before the digital release of the ''All Around My Heart'' 4-track EP (21 April 2010), an exclusive track (''Carrion Crows'') was given away to fans through the Ilya mailing list. The duet announced the making of a new album, to be released during autumn 2010, possibly containing a couple of tracks from the EP. Another project is in talks, involving Dan Brown, the third Ilya member during the making of 'They Died For Beauty'. On 14 September 2010, Jo Swan released, under her own name, a 17-track compilation album, ''Songs From the 90's (A Retrospective of Previously Unreleased Recordings)''. Digital release only. An extra live track (''In Timeless Light'') is offered to fans to announce this release. The fifth Ilya album, ''Fathoms Deep'', is being released on 12 January 2012 (digital only). Financing the sixth album (titled ''Blind as Hope'') went through a crowdfunding process, as the band opted for a more ambitious – and somewhat more expensive – orchestral sound. Recording was done during late Summer 2013. A few months later, singer Joanna Swan requested from the pledgers to volunteer for backing vocals on one track, ''Blind as Hope'', by sending their home-recorded parts. The album was first sent to crowdfunding backers on 31 March 2014. Ilya's seventh album, ''Gospel'', an obvious return to lounge atmospheric jazz that was the trademark of their early sound, was digitally released on 10 May 2016 by the band itself, through an announcement on their Facebook page. The opening song "Running for Superman" had been given away as a free download in November 2015. The band had then announced the forthcoming release of a collection of 11 songs. Eventually, ''Gospel'' featured 10 songs.

Trivia

The song ''Bellissimo'' was used by

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it remains. Revlon was founded by brothers Charle ...

in their advertising, as well as in the French TV commercial for

Cacharel Jean Cacharel SA () is a French company of ready-to-wear clothing, perfume and accessories, founded in 1958 by Jean Bousquet. Cacharel designs are characterized by their youthful style, femininity, lightness, refinement, and use of bright colours ...

perfume "Amor, Amor".

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most ...

from ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' and

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is an English actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she received ...

from ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' are featured in the ''Bellissimo'' music video. ''Soleil Soleil'', from Ilya's first album, can be heard in the film '' Mr Brooks'', starring

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. For his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for B ...

and

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

Discography

Albums

* 2003 '' They Died for Beauty'' (

) * 2006 ''Somerset'' (

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

) * 2007 ''Hootchi Cootchi'' (

Chrysalis Music Chrysalis Music is a British independent music publisher. The company's roots started in west London in 1967 when Chris Wright and Terry Ellis formed the Ellis-Wright Agency. It was formed to manage and book the bands Ten Years After, Clouds an ...

) (released under the name Jo Swan) * 2009 ''Carving Heads on Cherry Stones'' (

) * 2010 ''Songs From the 90's (A Retrospective of Previously Unreleased Recordings)'' ( Ilya Sounds) (under the name Jo Swan) * 2012 ''Fathoms Deep'' ( Ilyasounds) * 2014 ''Blind as Hope'' ( Ilyasounds) * 2016 ''Gospel'' ( Ilyasounds)

Singles/EPs

* 2003 '' The Revelation EP'' (

) * 2004 ''Bellissimo'' (

) * 2004 ''Bliss'' (

) * 2004 '' Soleil Soleil'' (

) * 2010 '' All Around My Heart'' (Ilyasounds) * 2015 ''Kaleidoscopes'' (Ilyasounds) * 2016 ''2 Songs'' (Ilyasounds) *2018 ''In My Other Life'' (Bandcamp Compilation of all Patreon releases from April 2017/18)

References

External links