Ioanna Gika - Thalassa (2019)

The debut solo album from Ioanna Gika (FKA IO Echo), 'Thalassa', takes its name from the primeval spirit of the sea, a nod to the singer's Greek heritage and a thematic touchstone for the self-produced 10 song set. Written in Greece during a period of familial grief and romantic dissolution, 'Thalassa' documents an unanchored soul facing nature at its most unforgiving. Gika's unique voice is laid bare, a beacon above the black water of dense, looming production that lies beneath. Her elegiac lyrics chart a path through her own mourning, while luring the ear like a sirens call. From expansive opener Roseate to the stark loneliness of closer Drifting, she channels the helplessness of being plunged into the depths of Thalassa's great waves, along with the adrenaline of not knowing if she will come up for air.