Laikamorí came through our reality in a collective dream circa 2014 in Lima, Perú. Their first sonic demonstration appeared as an electronic voice phenomenon in underground music blogs. Soon after, these two entities made their first physical appearance and their aim was clear: provoke a depersonalization in their audience by providing a wholesome audiovisual experience.
Within the underground music scene, the experimental electronic and dream pop duo, Laikamorí, are known for their unique visual and sound identity. By using masks, visuals, and anonymity they try to immerse the viewer in a theatrical, visual and sound experience. This exploration led them to be named by Noisey as one of the best Peruvian live acts. With this quest in mind, Laikamorí has released the animation music video for “Masken”, one of their singles that make it to several official Spotify playlists. Lately they caught the eye of underground blog CVLT Nation, and they performed a live set in confinement, using VFX.
Follow Laikamori via their website, Facebook, Instagram, Spo
𝐹𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑒𝑠𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑎𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑖
Saudade
We have always felt a strange attraction to this Portuguese word, Saudade. A sort of longing towards someone or something. We have felt saudade for how past events and memories are perceived as lost in time. We wanted to change that perception of linearity with our aesthetics and music. That’s why we dress in a atemporal kind of fashion and our sound is a subtle mix of all our influences.
Doze state
It is a state between being sleep and awake, a moment when dreams entwine with reality. The mind wonders and creates melodies that are completely different to the compositions made when fully awake. It is a state of freedom from consciousness, a possibility to explore the depths of the mind. However, the body needs to be able to come back soon to the conscious plane in order to transcribe these melodies, otherwise they are forever lost.
Myths and oral history
A lot of our songs are named after myths and episodes from oral history. The song “Norfolk” refers to a popular myth that appeared around the end of WWI. It is about a battalion of soldiers that were supposedly abducted by a green cloud. The song is written from the perspective of one of the soldiers that dissapeared and even tries to emulate what he would say and the sound of his alien voice, lost in space. Another song that is inspired by oral history is “Mesina”. This was written after reading testimonies of people during the black plague. The song is inspired by the story of a father that buries his ill son. Finally, “Organic” is about a trace found in the Chauvet cave in France. The trace showed a child and a wolf. We found it endearing, like if someone from 30 000 years ago was trying to communicate with us now, in the present. This list could go on and on, as most of our songs are written thinking on this kind of episodes.
Intense music acts
Our main musical influences are bands that carry a strong message sound wise and are profoundly beguiling. Music made sincerely, unabashedly. We are very inspired by Nirvana, Radiohead, Beach House, Cocteau Twins, Sleep Party People, Sigur Ros, etc.
The surreal
We have always been drawn to artistic manifestations that evoke the uncanny feeling present in surrealist pieces. Visually and story wise, we find the ouvre of David Lynch, and particularly Twin Peaks, a surreal masterpiece. Also, the fantastic stories of Haruki Murakami.
We find amazing the way the author has of distorting daily life events and transform them in otherworldly situations. That’s how we want our live sets to be experienced. We are always experimenting live with images and sounds, trying to recreate an unearthly atmosphere. That is why we have created these faceless identities and the shows are structured like if they were rituals. We want people to escape, although for a brief moment, from this reality.
More about the band:
Laikamorí is a Peruvian musical project active since 2014. The duo explores different musical genres such as dreampop, psychedelia and experimental electronic music, creating rich soundscapes by combining atmospheric melodies and synthesized vocals.
The aesthetic aspect, carefully curated by the band, also adds to the dreamlike, unearthly quality of the music. By using masks, visuals, and anonymity they try to immerse the public in the music.
The band’s first EP “°°°°°°°” was released on August 2014 through the label Hype Records. The EP had an outstanding acceptance from the audience as well as praising reviews by the local and international music press, being chosen as the EP of the year. In April 2018, They released their second álbum “Persōna” through the independent label Plastilina Records, which has received good acceptance within the Peruvian underground music scene. It was ranked as one of the bests albums of the year by several national music blogs.
Their first LP has being produced by Mario Silvania of the acclaimed shoegaze band from the nineties Silvania.
Laikamorí has been the supporting act of international artists such as Future Islands, CocoRosie, Molly Nilsson, Moderat, Drab Majesty and Mika Vainio. Moreover, the duo have played in festivals such as Autoplacer in Madrid, Keroxen in Canarian Islands, Neutral in Santiago de Chile and SIM in Sao Paulo.
“The mystery they project is reminiscent of the gothic universe of what the 4AD label once was.” – Noisey (Best albums of 2018: #2)
“Despite the masks, the national duo has developed a unique identity: its sound. Persōna is, to date, its greatest mise-en-scene, where they not only ratify their experimental vocation, but also an interesting musical dichotomy: they sound organic and artificial at the same time. Pure duality.” – El Comercio (Top Best 25 Albums 2018 : #2)
