Ioanna Gika
Thalassa

Thalassa in Greek means sea. A tumultuous, dark, violent sea. A sea with high waves that assaults us, from which we cannot escape.

Ioanna Gika, a singer-songwriter of Greek origin but naturalized American, wrote her debut solo album (previously part of the duo Io Echo) precisely with the thought of the sea that afflicts, that is ruthless, and whose waves are made of pain and despair.
In recent years, Ioanna has seen many certainties of her personal life collapse that seemed unbreakable, which seemed impossible to destroy. The deaths of her father and stepfather in a short time, Greece's economic downfall, political unrest in the United States after Trump's election brought the singer to an inner upheaval. As if a tall wave of the sea had formed in front of her that she couldn't avoid. Thalassa is the documentation of this period in her life, made up of terror, adrenaline, resignation. But Thalassa is also the overcoming of these negative moments, the overcoming of that wall of saltwater using the only possible weapon available: music.

The album is dark pop infused with electronics, with the bucolic flavor of gothic folk. Intriguing and gloomy, the opening track “Roseate” immediately lays all the cards of this album on the table. Here Ioanna's voice is angelic yet delicate, while the throbbing drumming and echoing, dark synths recall the soundtrack of the film The Social Network, written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The almost dance-like tail highlights all the influence of the eighties electronic pop that permeates the record.
The next track “Out Of Focus” is beautiful and mysterious. A daring and seductive song, halfway between Chelsea Wolfe not yet possessed by the metal demons of Pain Is Beauty and the ethereal and enchanting Kate Bush of Wuthering Heights.

Ioanna Gika calibrates her voice to perfection, measuring it between moments of very high and whispered notes and other more evocative and intense moments. A siren voice of Ulysses, mistress of a bad and violent sea. A sea that oppresses and frightens. A sea that becomes inspiration to find courage and face it by raising one's head and freeing oneself from its cold and ruthless waves.

The whole album travels on massive electronic sounds, weaving sinuously between the most refined art-pop and elegant dark-folk. Bold sounds, which bring out great character when enhanced by Ioanna's captivating voice. Thalassa perfectly captures the sometimes graceful, sometimes violent flow of life and death.
A formidable emotional combination that explodes in the beautiful track “Swan“, a clear example of how the Greek-origin singer excels in creating strongly characterized pop tracks, yet imbued with a fascinating spectrality.

At some moments perhaps, the dense presence of nervous electronic drumming dims a timid rock sound that could have been highlighted more. An example of this is “New Geometry” a great slow and refined track but hiding the guitars overshadowed by the synths. Also the rhythmic “Messenger“, which is supported by a solid backbone of strings and orchestral sounds, could perhaps have been more incisive and dramatic if more guitars had been highlighted in production. But these are small details that certainly do not affect the final success of the album.
On the contrary, the synthetic and obsessive sounds of “No Matter What” are incredible, elegant and perfect. A track that enchants, recalling the recent sonic sophistication of Radiohead and the poignant magic of Portishead.

Thalassa is an album that transports you to a fragile, chilling, and painful world but at the same time inspires courage, urging you to face life's evils by confronting them head-on. The sea of electronic sounds is fascinating and mysterious, waves of vigorous synth and drums with strong emotional impact.
Ioanna Gika's enchanting and gothic singing hypnotizes, stirs souls. Thalassa transports the listener into open sea, a cold winter sea riddled with obstacles. A record that knows how to strike the right chords and win hearts. Thalassa is a great debut for Ioanna Gika, often reaching levels of great compositional beauty.