where ethereal voices melt into machines

-How did your collaboration begin? Do you remember a specific moment when you realized - yes, we want to create something together?

Elīna: I think we sensed it subconsciously before it became reality - the idea that we could create something together had been living in our subconscious for a long time, even since our study years abroad. I remember the first time I saw Evija perform - I deeply resonated with the way she expressed music, with the way she lives it. Back then, she had a completely different setup.

Evija: Elīna’s absolutely right, even before we were friends, we just kind of knew. Back then, you pretty much knew everyone studying abroad and kept track of what they were doing in music. I remember having this sort of vision of both of us on a stage. Of course, I had no idea how it might sound, and even less that I’d ever be able to play anything besides singing, especially with these kinds of instruments. I imagined that Elīna and I had a band where we stood facing each other and played music. The vision had no sound - it was just a feeling.

And then we both returned to Latvia. At first, we met through friends in different projects where we collaborated. What truly connected us was free improvisation, a subtle dance where you have to deeply feel the other. We’re both sensitive souls, tuned to that same wavelength. Making music together feels like that kind of experience: you emerge fulfilled, with a clear sense of why you’re creating.

-Do you have any unspoken rules between the two of you when you work together? Like, “don’t interrupt during an improvisation,” or “no criticism before coffee”?

Evija: Well, not really, sometimes we have loose guidelines, like agreeing to begin the set with Elīna’s choral loop. But usually, we just start playing and let it flow until about 50 minutes later, when we stop. The longest set we’ve played was three hours straight. It was intense, but incredible - because you have to dig deep and pull something new from within yourself. You naturally want to stop, but then you find yourself coming up with new ideas to keep going for twice as long.

-Just like a marathon!

Evija: Exactly! It was great - and afterwards we actually felt pretty good: tired, but happy.

-What surprises or impresses you most about each other musically?

Elīna: I’m always amazed by what Evija does with synthesizers. I love that I can never predict how her rhythm patterns will shift or what sounds she’ll come up with - her approach is very orchestral. She builds beautiful, immersive sonic worlds, and that lets my imagination drift toward potential compositions or conceptual ideas. I immediately start visualizing scenes. What surprises me most is that every session is completely unique. I feel like I’ve gotten used to how we work and what we do, but then something unexpected always happens and that’s what I love most about this project. I never know what’s coming, every session is a surprise, and always a joy.

Evija: Yes, I should probably mention - for now, all our sets are completely improvised. Sometimes we even forget to say it out loud because we assume people already know. But about Elīna, the way she uses her voice... I don’t know anyone else like her. Her approach is absolutely unique. She triggers my imagination, I hear so many colors and beings in her voice. Sometimes she reminds me of sea creatures, sometimes air spirits, sometimes underground insects. When Elīna starts singing, there’s no hesitation, no “am I allowed to do this?” - and that’s so liberating for me and also interesting because as a person, she’s the complete opposite. But once she picks up the microphone, all those walls fall away and she just lets whatever is flowing through her come out - completely unfiltered. For me, that’s the true magic of the moment.

-I was just about to ask about your stage alter egos - do you have any personas that only come out during performances?

Evija: I think we do, but we haven’t really fully shaped them visually yet. I feel like we already know them - they’re there - but even just dressing a bit differently helps them become more alive. It’s easier to let that persona out than if you’re in your everyday clothes, because then you just feel like “Evija, who was just doing the dishes.”

Elīna: For me, music in general feels like a portal to a parallel world, like the beings Evija just described. The visual side helps open that door and step into another reality.

-Tell us what we heard during this performance. What instruments were you using? Any unusual techniques?

Evija: We were playing freely improvised music, just following where it took us. I used my favorite combo- Moog Drummer from Another Mother (DFAM) together with the Erica Synths Black Sequencer. Also Moog Mother-32 and Erica Synths Sample Drum, DSP, Black Octasource, and some other fun bits.

Elīna: I used a Ditto X2 pedal for looping and other effects, and the green Line 6 DL4 delay pedal. These two pedals already offer so many features that they’re more than enough for me. And then there’s the Voco-Loco mic preamp, it lets me run my vocals through guitar effects pedals.

-This concert was filmed without an audience- is having an audience connection and reaction important to you?

Evija: Absolutely. Since our sets are improvised specifically for the space we’re in, the energy in the room is everything. If we’re playing late at night and people are dancing, we’ll definitely go for this danceable, dreamy rave vibe - we like to call it “dream rave” ourselves. But if the audience is seated, we shift into more abstract sonic worlds. I really love Elīna’s choral parts when she layers her voice into rich harmonies. So yes - the space, the people, the energy - it all deeply affects us.

Elīna: Exactly - the concept, or even the unconscious concept, emerges in the moment. The space, the people, the timing- it all influences the concert’s direction.

Evija: And also the sound system! At Erica Synths Garage, the speakers are so good. When I listen to our music there, I immediately start traveling from one sonic space to another. Everything I play sounds amazing. Usually, you have to fight some frequencies and work a bit harder but here, the speakers are so juicy, clean, and precise that I just want to turn knobs and enjoy every second of it.

-Has there ever been a comment or reaction from an audience member that made you completely reconsider one of your pieces?

Evija: It’s hard to single out one specific moment because I’ve been in this field for quite a while, but it’s definitely true that people’s comments can make you see yourself from a different perspective. I think the moment that stands out most for me was when someone mentioned me and Björk in the same sentence - not in a “Wow, I’m like her” kind of way, but more in the sense that my music was interesting enough to be referenced like that.

And all those comparisons, that I’m like a gnome or an elf… At times, when Elīna is singing and I’m weaving sounds through modular gear, it feels as though we slip into a hidden realm, one inhabited by mystical beings and flickers of forgotten magic. It's all a kind of sacred play, a dance with the unseen. I also really like that people describe us as opposites coming together - meditation and aggression, earth and air, machine and the organic. It’s helped shape how we see ourselves too, like yin and yang

Elīna: Comments are definitely inspiring! Even the negative ones help in some way - of course, it depends on how you process them in your internal “sorting room.”

-How would you define the core principles or values of your creative work? Are there any recurring themes or techniques that have stayed with you from the beginning until now?

Elīna: For us, acceptance is everything. You have to embrace yourself fully and welcome whatever unfolds musically, without resistance. Without that, the idea can’t fully come through or even happen. Sometimes when I’m playing, I have this inner moment “Oh Elīna, is this really happening now?” But I know that if I don’t just allow the idea to be, if I don’t accept it right from the beginning, it won’t go anywhere.

Acceptance is what allows flow to happen, and through that flow, music and creation are born.

-What inspires you outside of music? Any visual art, books, landscapes, or tastes that influence your sound?

Evija: Honestly - nature. Very cliché, I know, but for a while now, I’ve been listening to nature a lot. My favorite “musician” is this one bird, he lives near rivers, and around summer solstice I always go visit my friends and sit on a dock, just listening to him. He’s wild! Nature sounds inspire me deeply - they’re calming, always changing, and constantly evolving. There’s a quiet beauty in them that always sparks ideas.

Elīna: Same here. The older I get, the more I appreciate how beautiful this world is and how lucky we are to live in it. Just going outside, smelling the air in Riga, looking at the blue sky- it all inspires me. In these chaotic times, even the quiet little street I’ve seen through my window a hundred times feels romantic. That sense of peace, just living in Latvia, feels deeply inspiring.

-Do you have a musical mission?

Evija: We both know that whenever we feel a little uninspired or unsure of ourselves, simply playing together brings the confidence back - it recharges us. Right now, it’s not about reaching outward; it’s about turning inward: friendship, meditation, and nurturing the connection between us.

-That’s a very worthy mission in itself! Any plans for an album or upcoming shows?

Elīna: We’re working on our debut album and looking forward to our summer residency, which will take place in the heart of summer, surrounded by the beautiful nature of Latvia. A full, uninterrupted week awaits us, where we can immerse ourselves completely in our ideas and music.