Second LP from Berlin-based songstress, that delivers 10 gentle, dreamy pop songs.
Eleni Era was raised in a small Cypriot village, before moving to Berlin at eighteen, to study classical voice and piano. A few weeks ago, she released her second album, “Younger Heart”, via Louvana Records, one of the most notable and unique indie labels – since 2009 it has brought us some really interesting and respectably successful albums of the Greek/Cypriot region and Greece.
Across the 10 tracks of the album, Eleni Era sings both in English and her native Greek tongue, while she plays the piano, rhodes and synthesizers. Accompanied by Louvana Records’ founders, Lefteris Moumtzis and Andreas Trachonitis, among other musicians, she unfolds an elegant blend of chamber pop music and piano-driven ballads with the emotional vulnerability and nostalgia of – mainly – the ‘70s.
“Walk With Me” is Eleni Era’s second single, and it has gotten a spectacular feedback from beehype’s team.
Her voice is crystal clear, warm and playful at times, while her compositions are adventurous, euphoric and healing, with strong melodies which shift through tenderness and melancholy.
“Younger Heart stands on the horizon of two time periods. On one, it presents a palette of previous shades of my heart, the excitement, the naivety, the devastating pain, but also the majestic, passionate love of a young heart. The rest of the songs were written during the last couple of years and are songs of hope, of compassion, of unity, of a new dawn.”
— Eleni Era
For some strange reason, I really liked the Greek spoken songs of the album, “The Hurt” and “Psyche”, but I am not sure if it’s because of the tone along with the use of her voice in Greek language or the small outbreaks of the tracks.
Meanwhile, I sense that the jazzy and bossa nova influences suit Eleni Era impressively well, and if she sparkles her compositions a little bit and spreads her wings, she will definitely shine even more.
Stream “Younger Heart” LP on Bandcamp and Spotify.
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Eleni Era on Instagram, Facebook.
Photo: Filep Motwary
