Aya Peard

http://www.myspace.com/ayapeard
From: Santa Monica, CA

Aya Peard - lead vocals
Paul Pellegrin - drums
Kaveh Rastegar - bass
Mike Schmid - keys
James Barry - cello
Gayle Davidson - backup vocals

Sounds like: Textbook female vocal downtempo trip-pop.

There's some of Laika's bass-y space-y bubble grooves, a bit of low-key blippy electronica, the occasional acoustic guitar, and Aya's got a delicate, sweet voice that reminds me a lot of St. Etienne's Sarah Cracknell or maybe Jem. The songs are perfectly smooth and ambient, with a slightly sexy electronic vibe that generally avoids falling into stock vocal house - though it's also rich fodder for thumpy dancefloor remixes In general, though, it's quite mellow and pretty, but even her cover of the Bee Gee's song "How Deep [is Your Love]" stays just the right side of being too drippy.

I found Aya while looking up information on Raif Pomeroy, and came across a super nice memorial post in her blog...and of course had to give her a listen. It's not groundbreaking, and if you don't like the genre, Aya probably won't change your mind, but if you do, she's worth a listen.

Favorite song: 83rd Street


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