vocalist, composer, recording artist, producer, programmer, sound designer.
Elk is the illuminating new album from singer/songwriter Inga Liljestrom.
Her voice has graced recordings from Gerling (hit single Dust Me Selecta), Friendly, d.i.g. (directions in groove - Curveystrasse) and many others, while her own compositions beautifully merge an amazingly individual voice with evocative lyrics, a talent for programming and string arrangements, plus an unexplainable otherworldly quality.
Inga works within an aesthetic that is uniquely subversive and beguiling. Conjuring strange and mysterious landscapes- a cinematic complexity of orchestrated strings set against fractured electronic beats, her music explores the emotional terrain of fragility, melancholy, altruistic love, broken-ness...
She studied jazz improvisation for four years at University and has vast experience in the industry as both vocalist and composer for film (including two tracks on Australian feature films Angst and Sample People), radio, SBS documentaries, and performances including Rove, Big Day Out, Adelaide Fringe, Homebake and many more.
The Australia Council for the Arts has awarded her two grants to produce original recordings. Her first solo album 'Urchin' was independently released in 1998 and features a collage of corroded beats, rich strings and sung poetry, with overtones of Bjork and Portishead. Described as '... dry as the breaking of insect wings ...' Peter Miller (sound designer of The Ring and The Final Cut);
'... a fucked up, extremely original and dazzling piece of music that outshines the latest offerings from Bristol'.
Pete Rivett-Carnac (Single Gun Theory).
Her latest project is entitled 'Elk', and artistically it draws from her Scandinavian roots, embracing the beauty and freshness of the northern hemisphere. Inga's compositional skill's explode in this unique collision of smouldering warmth and icy landscapes, catapulting the listener into a filmic sojourn of 40's romanticism set against a cold climate that imbibes and caresses. Reviewed as '... a world class piece of work that lives at the edge ...'
Tim Ritchie (Radio National);
'...from its lush and swirling opening strings - singer, songwriter, programmer, arranger and ingenious mood sculptor Inga Liljestrom unveils a new collection of tunes that once again spotlight a voice that is undoubtedly the most unique in Australian contemporary music.'
Paris Pomper (Drum Media).
In late 2003, Triple J featured the track 'Glow' from 'Elk' as part of their 'New Crop' artists and are funding a video clip through '4 Minute Wonders', to be released in 2004.
Currently performing with an ensemble of musicians to create the music of ELK live, she is striving to retain her artistic integrity at every point of her musical journey.
Remixes of Elk can be heard by Deepchild, Frost, Kevin Purdy, Groovescooter, Andy Rantzen, Raven, Ollo, Buckman, ENS and BrokN.
